Two reels of Houdini Film “Lost and Found” at Sherman Grinberg Film Library

Sherman Grinberg Film Library (Lance Watsky)

Last year (Dec 2019), I received the following email from our friends Dick Brookz and Dorothy Dietrich (D&D) at the Houdini Museum in Scranton:

Hi Joe,

Just got 14 minutes of digital Houdini film highly watermarked to protect ownership

.Each reel is about seven minutes

One is Houdini hanging from a bed sheet from a 4 story building, swinging from window to window swinging over to a drain pipe and lowering himself to the ground.  It is in broken segments as it was filmed.

The other is various clips we have seen small part of before but these are more lengthy.  One lowering a person on a shipment, and kissing Bess, a couple quickies wit Harry Kellar, Houdini taking a bow, the putting him a crate and dumped overboard, him being tied up by a gang of monks, etc.

Any thoughts?

Dick Brookz and Dorothy Dietrich

Without seeing the film clips, my initial thought was that they all sound familiar and that there is a “hanging from a bed sheet” scene in The Man From Beyond (TMFB).

Meanwhile, D&D let Lance Watsky at Sherman Grinberg Film Library know I was an expert on Houdini Films, and got permission for me to study and review the two reels, which I did in December 2019.

It turns out, I had gotten a gimpse of the two reels once before, when Librarian Bill Goodwin shared them at our Houdini Nuts gathering at the Magic Castle (June 2018), but at the time was not allowed to describe what I saw, nor study the films.

Well, thanks to Sherman Grinberg Film Library (Lance Watsky), Dorothy Dietrich & Dick Brookz, John Cox (Wild About Houdini), and the Academy of Magical Arts (Magic Castle), we can now share what’s on them to a larger audience.

In fact, on the Magic Caste website (August 20, 2020), AMA Trustee Shoot Ogawa presented Episode 37, “Behind The Bookcase” with guests John Cox and Lance Watsky, who showed the world premiere of this recently discovered film footage of Houdini.

The quality of this footage is amazing, which is important. Lance Watsky believes the film Sherman Grinberg Film Library owns was struck from a copy of an orginal 35mm negative.

Here’s a breakdown of the Houdini Footage on Reel 1.

Monk Table Tie Escape (0:00:00)

This is footage of Houdini doing an escape on the set of Haldane of The Secret Service. This is not from the movie itself. The scenario appears to be that he’s being challenged by monks (played by actors and assistants.) This is the same cut footage that has appeared in documentaries, but is of much higher quality. The uncut version shows the full escape and Houdini being raised up on the of the shoulders ecstatic monks.

Houdini, Kellar and Hardeen (0:01:48) 

This is familiar footage of Houdini shaking hands with Kellar, and then the two getting into backseat of car driven by Hardeen. But, because of the high qualify of the footage  (and John Cox going thru frame by fame), we now know that this is Kellar being picked up at the Hotel Astor in Times Square New York and being driven to Flatbush, N.Y during the week of Nov. 5-11 1917 (most likely Nov 10, 1917 the day before Houdini hosted the Antilles Benefit at the Hippodrome).

 

Houdini and Kellar Rope Ties (0.02:15) 

This footage (found on Film-Flamming and other documentaries) was shot in front of Dash’s house in Flatbush (where Houdini and Bess was living at the time). Per Bill Goodwin, the footage is so clear you can read the address on the porch; Houdini and Kellar are seen taking turns demonstrating rope ties. You also see a shot of Bess with Kellar and Houdini in front of the house. As well as Kellar having fun demonstrating his famous Kellar rope tie escape by having Houdini and Hardeen tie his wrists.

 

Behind the Scenes filming of The Man From Beyond (0.03:21)

You see Houdini rehearsing a scene on a vessel and then consulting with Burton King about the scene. You also see the famous footage of Bessie “sprucing up” Houdini and getting a little smooch from him.

 

Master Mystery Packing Case (0.05:02)

This is familiar footage from the Master Mystery movie of Houdini doing a Packing Case escape.

 

Miscellaneous (0.06:15)

This is familiar footage of Houdini in white bathing suit handcuffed with 4 pairs of handcuffs.  You then see Houdini surfacing and resurfacing with the handcuffs, checking to see they got some good shots.

So the footage on Reel 1 has appeared on documentaries and much of it is available on YouTube (at a much lower quality).

 

Now Reel 2 is unique and has never appeared on any any known Houdini movie, nor documentary for that matter.

Scaling a Building (0:00:00)

Houdini is hanging from a bed sheet from a 4 story building, swinging from window to window swinging over to a drain pipe and lowering himself to the ground. It is in broken segments as it was filmed.

(0.00.00) We see Houdini opening the shutters of the top window of a 4 story building and looking around. He then pulls out bed sheet’s tied together and hooks them to the window. Houdini then puts his left leg outside the window and grabs the bed sheet ladder.

(0.00.47) We see the bed sheets hang down to the bottom of the second window. Houdini grabs the bed sheet ladder and starts climbing down. He kicks open the right shutter of the second window below and climbs down grabbing hold of the left shutter. He then swings himself attached to the shutter and bed sheet to the adjacent window where he grabs the right shutter and lets go of the bed sheet ladder. He then swings the right shutter close while grabbing the left shutter.

(0.01:50) We see Houdini holding onto a drain pipe and then dropping to the ground and walking away.

(0.01.59) Similar to (0.01:50) footage.

(0.02:06) We see back of Houdini from the waist down on the drain pipe jumping down and walking away.

(0.02:14) Similar to (0.02.06) footage

(0.02:25) We see back of Houdini’s head and hand on drain pipe looking down before he starts to climb down.

(0.02:30) Similar to (0.02:25) footage

(0.02:41) We see Houdini from the waste up climbing down the drain pipe and jumping down.

(0.02:54) We see most of Houdini climbing down the drain pipe and jumping down and walking away.

(0.03:03) Similar to (0.02:54) footage

(0.03:12) Similar to (0.00:00) footage.

(0.03:52) We see Houdini on adjacent window after he let go of bed sheet ladder and shutter of adjacent window. And then we see him make his way to the next adjacent window shutter and then the drain pipe. He then climbs down the drain pipe pass two stories of windows until he reaches the ground.

(0.05:30) We see Houdini at the top window going down the sheet ladder to window below, swinging over to the adjacent window, and from there swinging over to another adjacent window.

(0.06:36) We see Houdini swinging over to another adjacent window, transfer to drain pipe and then slide down the drain pipe.

So where is this footage from?

This footage is not from The Grim Game (TGG).

Although, the TGG synopsis for the scenario writer had Houdini escaping from a jail, then using the rope of a flag pole from the building to scale down each story; arriving on each window ledge, he cuts off the end of the rope, ties it to he cell bar on the window and lowers himself again. TGG script also had Houdini freeing himself from a strait-jacket, swinging like a pendulum at the end of a rope, catapulting his body through a small window, and then scaling a wall and disappearing over the other edge.

Escaping and scaling buildings definitely was a theme in some of his movies.

And Houdini was also known to do “human fly” stunts.

Per a Wild About Houdini post:

He climbed the exterior of 278 to bring Bess flowers on their anniversary. He performed at least one human fly stunt during his return tour of the UK in 1920, when he climbed to the top of a castle in Newcastle and dangled from a parapet.

Houdini also shot random scenes in London, Edinburgh and Paris for a movie he was going to call The Dupe. Some of that footage was later used in Haldane of the Secret Service. But some footage was never used.

This footage is not from the TMFB or is it?

The Man From Beyond (TMFB)

Well, The “hanging from a bed sheet” used in TMFB is totally different. But after examining screenshots of Houdini in each of his known films, I came to the conclusion that the “hanging from a bed sheet” footage on reel 2 resembles Houdini during the making of TMFB. And that he filmed two different escapes from sheets, and the one on reel 2 was not chosen for TMFB.  John Cox concurs and also points out that because of how clear the film is, you can tell that a haness and stunt double (Bob Rose?) was used.

Susposedly, Bob Rose was an uncreditied stunt double for Houdini. Below are a couple related newspaper references:

In all that time, I have never been in a hospital. That may be destiny- or it may be a close adherence to the precepts laid down for me by my teacher, the greatest stunt man of them all – Houdini. [30 Sep 1934 LA Times article by Bob Rose]

 

It was the first time he [Bob Rose] had ended in a hospital. He had always stuck to the rules laid down to him by Houdini who said, “Do every stunt scientifically. Don’t do it on nerve . Don’t attempt a stunt if you are afraid. Stunt work must be done on the same basis as gambling. You’ve got to have a feeling that it is a cinch or you must not do the stunt.” [04 January 1936 Larne Times]

Houdini wrapped up TMFB (and Haldane) in 1921.

The Man From Beyond (TMFB)

Special Thanks to Sherman Grinberg Film Library (Lance Watsky), Dorothy Dietrich & Dick Brookz, John Cox, and the Academy of Magical Arts for allowing me to review and comment on this extroadinary footage.

Update:

The film treatment, Marvelous Adventures of Houdini, self-published and copyrighted in 1917 has a scene where Houdini uses sheets on side of warehouse and makes his way down a water pipe or from window to window. There are also many elements of the Marvelous Adventures story that echo in his other films.

Related:

 

Houdini Movie Lots

An episode 10 Master Mystery Poster sold yesterday (7/25/2020) at Heritage auctions for $43,200 which included Buyer’s Premium.

Also, yesterday (7/25/2020) , there were some great Houdini Movie Lots (390, 397, 398, 398A, 404, 405, 406, 410, 418, 419, 432, and 434) from The Magic Collection of Jim Rawlins and others that sold at Potter & Potter. Click here for prices realized.

While I have many of these items already, I had my eyes on Lot 398A (which had 2 items I had never seen before) and Lot 404.

Lot 398A

Houdini, Harry (Ehrich Weisz). Houdini “The Grim Game” Airplane Photographs. Circa 1919.  Uncommon group of five possibly unpublished photographs of Houdini and others on the set of “The Grim Game,” one of Houdini’s films.  One photo shows Houdini standing next to the Curtiss “Jenny” camera airplane piloted by Al Wilson; Lt. David E. Thomson, pilot; Robert Kennedy, Houdini’s stunt double; and Lt. Christopher Pickup, pilot of second airplane. Other photos show various images of pilots, cameraman, director, and co-star Ann Forrest. During the filming of a sequence, the planes collided in mid-air but managed to land safely, in what was likely the first airplane collision ever filmed. The damage to the one of the airplane’s wings is clearly visible in three of the photos. Very good.

Notes: Three of the five photographs have been published before. For example pages 94, 95 and 97 of “Locklear: The Man Who Walked on Wings.”  But two of the photographs, AFAIK, haven’t been published before.

Lot 404:

Houdini, Harry (Ehrich Weisz). Houdini Mastery Mystery Invitation. [New York], 1918. Brown ink on cream stock, listing the names of each character and actor playing the role, including Houdini as “Quentin Locke,” and being a “special invitation performance given at the Strand Theatre” on Nov. 7, 1918. 8 ¼ x 5 7/8”. Central folds.

Notes:  A broadside from my personal collection gave Newspaper reviews for this special performance at the Strand Theatre on Nov 7, 1918.

Congrats to the winners.  BTW: I won Lot 404, which will complement my Master Mystery broadside nicely.

Two reels of Houdini Film

Received the following email from our friends Dick Brookz and Dorothy Dietrich (D&D) at the Houdini Museum in Scranton:

Hi Joe,

Just got 14 minutes of digital Houdini film highly watermarked to protect ownership

.Each reel is about seven minutes

One is Houdini hanging from a bed sheet from a 4 story building, swinging from window to window swinging over to a drain pipe and lowering himself to the ground.  It is in broken segments as it was filmed.

The other is various clips we have seen small part of before but these are more lengthy.  One lowering a person on a shipment, and kissing Bess, a couple quickies wit Harry Kellar, Houdini taking a bow, the putting him a crate and dumped overboard, him being tied up by a gang of monks, etc.

Any thoughts?

Dick Brookz and Dorothy Dietrich

Without seeing the film clips, my initial thought was that they all sound familiar and that there is a “hanging from a bed sheet” scene in The Man From Beyond (TMFB).

Meanwhile, D&D let the owner know I was an expert on Houdini Films, and got permission for me to review and comment on the two reels.

It turns out, I had seen these two Pathe reels at a Houdini Nuts gathering at the Magic Castle last year, but at the time was not allowed to describe what I saw, nor study the films.

Well, thanks to D&D, and the owner of the footage, I can now share what’s on them.

Here’s a breakdown of the Houdini Footage on Reel 1.

Monk Table Tie Escape (0:00:00)

This is footage of Houdini doing an escape on the set of Haldane of The Secret Service. This is not from the movie itself. The scenario appears to be that he’s being challenged by monks (played by actors and assistants.) This is the same cut footage that has appeared in documentaries. The uncut version shows the full escape and Houdini being raised up on the of the shoulders ecstatic monks.

Houdini, Kellar and Hardeen (0:01:48) 

This is familiar footage of Houdini shaking hands with Kellar, and then the two getting into backseat of car driven by Hardeen.

Houdini and Kellar Rope Ties (0.02:15) 

This footage (found on Film-Flamming and other documentaries) was shot in front of Dash’s house in Flatbush (where Houdini may have been living at the time). The footage is so clear you can read the address on the porch.  Houdini and Kellar are seen taking turns demonstrating rope ties. You also see a shot of Bess with Kellar and Houdini in front of the house. As well as Kellar having fun demonstrating his famous Kellar rope tie escape by having Houdini and Hardeen tie his wrists.

Behind the Scenes filming of The Man From Beyond (0.03:21)

You see Houdini rehearsing a scene on a vessel and then consulting with Burton King about the scene. You also see the famous footage of Bessie “sprucing up” Houdini and getting a little smooch from him.

Master Mystery Packing Case (0.05:02)

This is familiar footage from the Master Mystery movie of Houdini doing a Packing Case escape.

Miscellaneous (0.06:15)

This is familiar footage of Houdini in white bathing suit handcuffed with 4 pairs of handcuffs.  You then see Houdini surfacing and resurfacing with the handcuffs, checking to see they got some good shots.

So the footage on Reel 1 has appeared on documentaries and much of it is available on YouTube.

But Reel 2 is a different story.

Scaling a Building (0:00:00)

Houdini is hanging from a bed sheet from a 4 story building, swinging from window to window swinging over to a drain pipe and lowering himself to the ground. It is in broken segments as it was filmed.

(0.00.00) We see Houdini opening the shutters of the top window of a 4 story building and looking around. He then pulls out bed sheet’s tied together and hooks them to the window. Houdini then puts his left leg outside the window and grabs the bed sheet ladder.

(0.00.47) We see the bed sheets hang down to the bottom of the second window. Houdini grabs the bed sheet ladder and starts climbing down. He kicks open the right shutter of the second window below and climbs down grabbing hold of the left shutter. He then swings himself attached to the shutter and bed sheet to the adjacent window where he grabs the right shutter and lets go of the bed sheet ladder. He then swings the right shutter close while grabbing the left shutter.

(0.01:50) We see Houdini holding onto a drain pipe and then dropping to the ground and walking away.

(0.01.59) Similar to (0.01:50) footage.

(0.02:06) We see back of Houdini from the waist down on the drain pipe jumping down and walking away.

(0.02:14) Similar to (0.02.06) footage

(0.02:25) We see back of Houdini’s head and hand on drain pipe looking down before he starts to climb down.

(0.02:30) Similar to (0.02:25) footage

(0.02:41) We see Houdini from the waste up climbing down the drain pipe and jumping down.

(0.02:54) We see most of Houdini climbing down the drain pipe and jumping down and walking away.

(0.03:03) Similar to (0.02:54) footage

(0.03:12) Similar to (0.00:00) footage.

(0.03:52) We see Houdini on adjacent window after he let go of bed sheet ladder and shutter of adjacent window. And then we see him make his way to the next adjacent window shutter and then the drain pipe. He then climbs down the drain pipe pass two stories of windows until he reaches the ground.

(0.05:30) We see Houdini at the top window going down the sheet ladder to window below, swinging over to the adjacent window, and from there swinging over to another adjacent window.

(0.06:36) We see Houdini swinging over to another adjacent window, transfer to drain pipe and then slide down the drain pipe.

So where is this footage from?

The Man From Beyond (TMFB)

This footage is not the one from TMFB, nor is it from The Grim Game (TGG).

Although TMFB had an escape where Houdini freed himself from bedsheets, then used the bedsheets to scale down the building.

And TGG synopsis for the scenario writer had Houdini escaping from a jail, then using the rope of a flag pole from the building to scale down each story; arriving on each window ledge, he cuts off the end of the rope, ties it to he cell bar on the window and lowers himself again. TGG script also had Houdini freeing himself from a strait-jacket, swinging like a pendulum at the end of a rope, catapulting his body through a small window, and then scaling a wall and disappearing over the other edge.

Escaping and scaling buildings definitely was a theme in some of his movies.

And Houdini was also known to do “human fly” stunts.

Per a Wild About Houdini post:

He climbed the exterior of 278 to bring Bess flowers on their anniversary. He performed at least one human fly stunt during his return tour of the UK in 1920, when he climbed to the top of a castle in Newcastle and dangled from a parapet.

Houdini also shot random scenes in London, Edinburgh and Paris for a movie he was going to call The Dupe. Some of that footage was later used in Haldane of the Secret Service. But some footage was never used.

All of this said, this footage on reel 2 has never appeared on any known Houdini movie, nor documentary for that matter. Incredible!

Thoughts?

Special Thanks to D&D and the owner for allowing me to review and comment on this footage.

Related:

“The Master Mystery” Broadside of Newspaper Reviews

The Master Mystery (first four episodes) was first shown at a special trade show on November 7, 1918 at the Strand Theatre in New York City.

To honor this special event, I shared the following 1918 Master Mystery Newspaper Reviews on the day they appeared 101 years ago:

And as promised, today, I tie all the reviews together by sharing from my personal collection, this special broadside used to advertise “The Master Mystery” when it first came out:

Master Mystery 101 Years Ago – Variety

The Master Mystery (first four episodes) was first shown at a special trade show on November 7, 1918 at the Strand Theatre in New York City.

To honor this special event, I am sharing from my personal collection, the following 1918 Master Mystery Newspaper Reviews on the day they appeared 101 years ago:

  • Sat Nov 9
  • Sunday Nov 10
  • Friday Nov 15
    • Variety
  • Saturday Nov 16
    • Exhibitors Trade Review
    • The Billboard 
  • Saturday Nov 23
    • Motion Picture News
    • The Moving Picture World

And at the conclusion of this series, I will do a special post that ties it all together.

Today, I share the review from Variety:

Master Mystery 101 Years Ago – The Morning Telegraph

The Master Mystery (first four episodes) was first shown at a special trade show on November 7, 1918 at the Strand Theatre in New York City.

To honor this special event, I am sharing from my personal collection, the following 1918 Master Mystery Newspaper Reviews on the day they appeared 101 years ago:

  • Sat Nov 9
  • Sunday Nov 10
    • The Morning Telegraph
  • Friday Nov 15
    • Variety
  • Saturday Nov 16
    • Exhibitors Trade Review
    • The Billboard 
  • Saturday Nov 23
    • Motion Picture News
    • The Moving Picture World

And at the conclusion of this series, I will do a special post that ties it all together.

Today, I share the review from The Morning Telegraph:

 

 

 

Master Mystery 101 Years Ago – The New York Review

The Master Mystery (first four episodes) was first shown at a special trade show on November 7, 1918 at the Strand Theatre in New York City.

To honor this special event, I am sharing from my personal collection, the following 1918 Master Mystery Newspaper Reviews on the day they appeared 101 years ago:

  • Sat Nov 9
    • The New York Review
  • Sunday Nov 10
    • The Morning Telegraph
  • Friday Nov 15
    • Variety
  • Saturday Nov 16
    • Exhibitors Trade Review
    • The Billboard 
  • Saturday Nov 23
    • Motion Picture News
    • The Moving Picture World

And at the conclusion of this series, I will do a special post that ties it all together.

Today, I share the review from The New York Review:

 

 

Read What the Papers Say of HOUDINI in “The Master Mystery”

­

Coming up on 101 years, The Master Mystery (first four episodes) was first shown at a special trade show on November 7, 1918 at the Strand Theatre in New York City.

To honor this special event, I plan to share from my personal collection, the following 1918 Master Mystery Newspaper Reviews on the day they appeared 101 years ago:

And at the conclusion of this series, I will do a special post that ties it all together.

100 Year Anniversary – Houdini Breaks Wrist

Photo courtesy of Marc Wanamaker, Bison Archives

On June 30th, 1919 Houdini informs Oscar Teale that he has broken his wrist while filming The Grim Game. [Silverman NOTES to Houdini!!!].

One paper reported:

HOUDINI, the handcuff king now working at the Lasky Studio on the Pacific Coast, met with a bad accident while filming a new thriller now in preparation. Houdini’s wrist was broken and he will be incapacitated for a fortnight or more. [Reading Times, July 4, 1919]

Another paper reported:

Houdini, star of “The Grim Game” now being filmed at the Lasky plant, broke his left wrist a few days ago while doing a simple trick for the picture. [Buffalo Evening News, July 19, 1919]

So how did he break his wrist?

One paper reported Houdini sustained injury in making “The Grim Game” doing the following stunt:

In a fierce battle in which Houdini fights with a quartet of burglar “extras” his wrist snapped in the midst of the action and, though the scene was finished, further work on the picture had to be postponed for several weeks for it was found that a large bone in his wrist had been broken clearly in two. [The Mt. Sterling advocate, March 02, 1920].

However, I can tell you that the incident described above was how he broke his wrist in “The Master Mystery” not “The Grim Game”. That is, he broke his wrist in the Master Mystery while swinging from a chandelier during the fight. So how did he break his wrist in “The Grim Game”?

Silverman has an answer:

And in escaping one of the prison cells, he again fractured his left wrist, not as badly as the year before [in making the Master Mystery], but enough to have his arm wrapped and delay completion of the film by two weeks. [Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss by Kenneth Silverman]

According to Houdini:

“It is unexpected that always happens.” Though doing daring stunts thousands of feet above good old Mother Earth, flying in cranky aeroplanes, climbing the outside of buildings, swinging from the top of a swaying flag-staff a hundred feet in the air, leaping on and off heavy motor trucks and the like, I never got a hurt, but from a three-foot fall I again broke my left wrist, not so badly as before, however for then a bone was broken in three places, while this time I escaped with one fracture. This accident has detained me in California longer than expected, but my wrist is now rapidly completing its “knitting work”, and I shall soon be able to give the necessary personal attention to the finishing stunts of the picture and return to New York. [MUM July 1919]

BTW: On July 26th, The Los Angeles Times reports:

Mr. Houdini has just completed the making of his mystery serial entitled “The Grim Game.”

What effect did Houdini breaking his wrist have on the film?

It delayed completion of the film by two weeks, but had no effect on the aeroplane stunt despite what Silverman reports:

Houdini had been willing to attempt the transfer despite his arm sling, but Willat refused to risk aborting his picture by losing his star.

You see, the aeroplane stunt which Houdini was never scheduled to do, took place well before Houdini broke his wrist.

But it did affect other footage. According to the Paramount Script:

Houdini frees himself from a straitjacket, swings like a pendulum at the end of the rope, catapults his body through a small window; and then scales a wall and disappears over the other side.

Photo courtesy of John Cox

However, this changed to the following:

Captured after a fight, Houdini was taken to a rooftop, strapped in a straitjacket and suspended head down over the side.  He released himself, fell into an awning, then dropped to the ground [right hand is holding awning and you can’t see the left hand].

And, if you watch the movie closely, there are scenes filmed where the cast on his wrist is visible, despite the fact they try to hide it and not film his left-side. For example, before he boards the plane (when he is still on the ground), Houdini’s left arm is in a cast but when you see him on the wing, the cast isn’t there; obviously filmed at different times.