As promised, here is a post that sums up the mystery of all of the movies, we discussed in the previous four posts:
- Lost Houdini Film(s) Based on The Master Mystery – The Marked Woman
- Lost Houdini Film(s) Based on The Master Mystery – The Lure of Power
- Lost Houdini Film(s) Based on The Master Mystery – The Law Pirates
- Lost Houdini Film(s) Based on The Master Mystery – The Doctor’s Vengeance
Well, it is pretty obvious, that The Master Mystery was re-cut into these four new attractions, which according to John Cox at Wild About Houdini was a practice that went on in the days of silent films.
With that said, I believe the following ad that appeared in the Moving Picture World on January 8, 1921 and January 15, 1921 pretty much sums up the mystery of the four movies:
Now, we just need to find prints of these pirated movies.
Oh, wow, I love that you found that notice! I always wondered if this was pirating or some sort of after market way of milking money from serials. Now we know. We also know it was work of one company, Amber Productions. This is an awesome discovery!
Thanks John! It’s fun discovering news things WRT Houdini.
WRT these pirated films, I wonder if were comprised entirely of stolen clips of the MM or if they were shot with some scenes and grafted to the reels of MM.