The Master Mystery - The Original Terminator?

 

In 1918, Houdini made a Silent Movie Serial called The Master Mystery. Before the Terminator, before Skynet,  before AI, Houdini faced the danger that we all are concerned about today,  Q-The Automaton. This was the first evil movie robot in American movie history.  They called it an Automaton, because the word 'robot' had not been coined yet, let alone, 'android', 'cyborg'  or any other sci-fi word.

The movie is a 15 serial, or 15 episode production. IMDB says of the movie, "Quentin Locke, a Justice

Department agent, is sent to infiltrate a fraudulent patents company. In an attempt to gather evidence on the phony patents, he takes a job as the manager's secretary who takes up residence in the mansion of business partner Peter Brent. Brent wants our of the nefarious scheme and has been rendered mentally incapable of cooperating with Locke through exposure to "Madagascar Madness", a chemical substance that was added to the wax of candles in his room. Locke accepts the challenge of protecting his daughter Eva as the gang pushes forward with their unethical agenda. The vicious gang of thugs use an ambulatory mechanical man to assist them in intimidating the household into supporting their plans."

The original robot is lost to time. But a few years ago, master builder John Gaughan rebuilt Q and he even made an appearance at a Magic History Conference. Today, two of them exist, one in John Gaughan's collection, the other in Roger Dryer's Houdini museum. Im assuming Mr. Gaughan built both of them.

The Master Mystery marked a new chapter for Houdini, the movies. He had made smaller productions in 1905 and 1909, but The Mastery Mystery would be seen by many more people and would lead into several other movies.

Now, if you have nearly 4 hours, you can watch this epic silent movie!

The Annual Halloween Event - HOUDINI

 Every Halloween I make sure to watch the one movie that got me interested in magic to start with, HOUDINI starring Tony Curtis & Janet Leigh. It's a highly fictionalized version of his life, but it's a fun movie and for whatever reason gets me re-energized. So in a few minutes, I'll be watching it on DVD.

But for those Houdini fans that would like one last dose of the real Houdini before Halloween is over for another year, here is a treat. The Master Mystery starring Houdini! I found it on Youtube and it's broken up into 20 parts, so you can watch it all at once or watch an episode a night if you prefer. Any way you decide to do it, enjoy!