Houdini wrote, produced and starred in two of his feature films; he wrote a number of treatments – plots for potential productions; and he self-published several of these treatments. *
This post continues a series of posts where I summarize (or share tidbits about) film treatments (published and unpublished) by Houdini
- The Marvelous Adventures of Houdini (1917)*
- The Man From Beyond (1921)
- Haldane of the Secret Service or Mysterious Mr. Yu (1921)*
- Frizzo––Master Magician (1921)
- Yar, the Primeval Man (1921)*
- Il Mistero de Osiris or The Mystery of the Jewel (1921)*
- The Great Tontine (unpublished)* [Tom Boldt Collection (TBC)]
- The Monster (unpublished)* [TBC]
- The Vulture (unpublished)* [TBC]
- Floating Through Space (unpublished)* [TBC]
- Blood Brothers (unpublished) [TBC]
- Out of the Shadows (unpublished) [HHCE Collection]
* “Film Treatment” can be found in Patrick Culliton’s book, Houdini’s Strange Tales – A Collection of fiction by the legendary Harry Houdini [1992]
Today, we look at Out of the Shadows, from my personal collection.
Like the film treatments in the Tom Boldt collection, this manuscript was dictated by Houdini. It is 4 leaves written (entirely in pencil) on stationary with HOUDINI engraved in the upper left corner.
Out of the Shadows
The story concerns a man (called “Hero” in the outline) who went to jail to protect his younger brother. Upon his release, he has his heart broken, becomes a wastrel, falls in love, becomes a D.A., survives blackmail and several attempts on his life and finally marries the girl.
Note: Although Out of the Shadows was never filmed, there are elements in the story that echo in some of his other films.