1922 Boys Cinema Card – Deep Sea Loot

Posted on March 17, 2013 by hhce

Lately, we have seen a number of these cards for sale. I have seen them sell anywhere from $67.66 to $400 and I have seen them listed as high as $1,499.99 on eBay. Check out Kevin Connolly’s blog (Buy Me Now Before I Cost $3000) and the comments section for a discussion we had regarding price, condition, and grading.

Now, let’s focus on the card itself. The card with Houdini was number 4 of a set of 24 famous heroes that was issued in England by Boys Cinema as an insert in their magazine March 25th, 1922. It measures 2 1/16″ x 3 1/16″.

The image on the front is from still 298-63 of the Grim Game.

The bottom of the front of the card only lists Artcraft as opposed to Paramount-Artcraft; Paramount and Artcraft Motion pictures were part of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation; In January 1918 Artcraft became a subsidiary of Paramount and in 1921, Paramount was part of a Federal monopoly investigation that caused Artcraft to be closed.

Now for the image on the back, it shows his birthplace as Appleton, Wisconsin which is not at all surprising. But what is surprising is that “Deep Sea Loot” is listed as chief among his films. So what was Deep Sea Loot?

During the 1910s, Houdini worked with underwater filmmakers J.E. and Ernest Williamson on a never-completed film (prospectively titled Houdini and the Miracle) that promised to show Houdini’s escape from a photosphere (an observation chamber that housed a camera that was attached to the bottom of a barge by a long tube). This film project was included in Houdini’s typewritten list of screen credits as Deep Sea Loot but was never made. [Disappearing Tricks by Matthew Solomon, pages 95, 98-99]

See the Movie Picture World, April 28, 1917, “Houdini For Pictures” article on page 622 and John Cox’s blog (Houdini’s Underwater Epic that wasn’t ) for more details on this Deep Sea Thrill.

Review of G&G and its connection with the GG

Posted on March 10, 2013 by hhce

I finally received my long awaited copy of Magicol January 2013. I was not disappointed. My primary interest in this issue was the Magicol article that John Cox at Wild About Harry did on the Guests & Ghosts (G&G) of 278. You see, I was fortunate enough to meet the Guest & Ghosts of 278 at the Magic Castle on Wednesday, July 18, 2012. That is, I got to meet John Cox at the Magic Castle in Hollywood for the first time and hear his abbreviated version of the G&G talk he gave at the Magic Collectors Weekend in Chicago; it was quite the honor.

I have to agree with Magicana blog, that “John does a beautiful job highlighting some of the more famous and arcane visitors.“

John starts his article and presentation with a connection to the Grim Game (GG) which of course I found fascinating.

Apparently, Houdini added the Family Guest Book to his Harlem home right after making the GG. John mentions that Houdini, Bess, and Hardeen “christened the book with their signatures on August 1, 1919”. He also mentions that Larry Weeks (magician and Houdini collector) signed the guest book on April 22, 1956; Is it possible that Larry acquired what is said to be the only surviving print of the GG on this day?

Props to John for doing an outstanding job researching and presenting the Houdini Family Guest book from 278 W 113th Street.

See Ann Forrest on a motorcycle in the Grim Game

Posted on March 3, 2013 by hhce

The photo below is my rendition of what Ann Forrest might look like riding a motorcycle:

Scene 325 of The Grim Game takes place on a mountain road where we see Mary (Ann Forrest) riding in on a motorcycle. After riding a long distance, the road is too rough for Mary to go any farther. She stops and gets off of the motorcycle and proceeds quickly up a path. [Paraphrased from files at Margaret Herrick Library]

Paramount-Artcraft Pictures: Classic Houdini Publicity Poses

Posted on February 17, 2013 by hhce

The above photo of a classic Houdini pose just sold on eBay February 9^th for $204.70; congratulations to the winner.

Below are other classic Houdini publicity poses taken when Houdini was working for Paramount-Artcraft Pictures:

The above image of Houdini appears on the cover of the pressbook for The Grim Game as well as the pressbook for Terror Island. This image of Houdini may have been used more than any other image of Houdini for publicity abroad; See Kevin Connolly’s blog.

The signed photo above will be auctioned by Lawsons in New South Wales on Friday, February 22, 2013. See John Cox’s blog for more info on auction.

Note: All of the above images can be found on various cards. Below are some examples from eBay that as of this date are currently for sale:

Still 298-80 (L302-80): Happy Valentines Day!

Posted on February 14, 2013 by hhce

Let’s Elope?

This photo (Still 298-80) appeared in a Swedish Program [HHCE Collection] and a Danish Program [Arthur Moses Collection] for the Grim Game.

So what is going on in this photo?

Harvey Hanford (HH) calls at the Cameron home and finds Mary Cameron (Ann Forrest) in the garden. HH and Mary are sitting on a rustic bench. To her he explains the great newspaper scoop he hopes to put over which will make it easier for them to elope. Mary is quite enthusiastic over her lover’s attempt to land a big story and agrees with the plans. Their plans all arranged, HH kisses Mary good night. [Paraphrased from files at Margaret Herrick Library]

Houdini Relaxes on Set with Marguerite Marsh Not

Posted on February 10, 2013 by hhce

The image above is the front and back of card #38 from Houdini: The World’s First Superhero” cards. And once again the image on the right (back of card) is
misidentified. But instead of misidentifying the actress as Gloria Swanson like William Kalush and Larry Sloman did on page 360 of their book, The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of Americas First Super Hero; the card misidentifies the actress as Marguerite Marsh. Close, but no cigar. The actress is not Gloria Swanson or Marguerite Marsh, but Ann Forrest (Houdini’s co-star) from the Grim Game. Houdini did spend time with Gloria Swanson on the Lasky set, but was never in a movie with her. See my blog Harry gets cozy with a young Gloria Swanson (and Ann Forrest) at Lasky Studios. Houdini also cozied up with Margaret Marsh when he made the serial The Master Mystery. As the card above points out, Margaret Marsh played Eva Brent, the imperiled damsel in distress in the Master Mystery.

Houdini cozies up to Marguerite Marsh in The Master Mystery

1953 Houdini: In Search of the Lost Plane to Plane Transfer

Posted on January 6, 2013 by hhce

For some time now, I have been intrigued by John’s blog at Wild About Harry titled: LIFE photos reveal cut wing walking sequence in 1953 Houdini biopic. So last year, I decided to go to the Margaret Herrick Library Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in search of the Lost Plane to Plane Transfer. I got to look at the press book, stills, newspaper clippings, and a number of different versions of scripts for the 1953 movie starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.

Unfortunately, there were no plane photos/footage, nor any mention of the plane to plane transfer in any of the versions of the script that I read.

However, I did discover the mention of the plane transfer buried in some production 11495 department records:

Apparently, on October 21, 1952, it was listed as Montage number 5 of 6 montages:

Needle Trick
Levitation
Bullet through Woman
Cremation
Plane Transfer (Crank at 16)
Shot of Canon Close up Tony

Note: Montages 4, 5 and 6 did not make the cut, but montages 1, 2, and 3 did appear in the movie.

It was still listed as a Plane Transfer montage on a production call sheet dated: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31^st, 1952, along with the Needle Trick, Levitation, Bullet thru Woman, and Cremation montage. Also, the Milk Can shows up for the first time on this call sheet as a montage, but the canon montage is missing on the call sheet. Note: The Milk Can did not make the cut, either.

Also, on a RETAKES AND MONTAGES sheet dated 10/31/52 there is a brief description of a plane transfer shot taken on 10/31/52 that read as follows:

MED. LONG SHOT – Houdini on rope swings to wing of plane – MOVES DOWN as he lands – releases rope – climbs down (BLACK & WHITE).

The RETAKES AND MONTAGES sheet also included a brief description of montage shots for the Canon, Cremation, Milk Can and others (e.g., Bullet thru Woman, needle trick, levitation, card tricks).

In reading the scripts and shooting schedule for the movie, discovered some other illusions/routines that did not make the final cut: IRON MAIDEN ILLUSION, ELEPHANT ROUTINE, PAPER BAG ESCAPE, WINDMILL ESCAPE, CARETTE ESCAPE, FOOTBALL ESCAPE, and BURIED ALIVE ESCAPE.

Although there were no photos of the plane transfer, there were some LIFE photos of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis performing the Cremation Illusion and the Bullet thru Woman Illusion. Also, there were a couple LIFE photos of Janet Leigh escaping from a
see-thru lace straight jacket which unfortunately didn’t make it in the movie. And, there were two official Paramount Picture Corporation stills, 11495-43 and 11495-78 that showed the cremation illusion and the milk can escape respectively.

In future related blogs, I plan to describe some correspondence WRT trying to locate original Houdini material (e.g. handcuffs, Milk Can, Overboard box, Book of Life illusion, and Water Torture Cell) for use in the 1953 movie. As well as describe in more detail some of the montage escapes and illusion sequences that didn’t make the cut. I also plan to do a blog on what Harry Houdini and Tony Curtis have in common?

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2013 by hhce

Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence (HHCE) Wishes You All a HAPPY NEW YEAR And Invites You to the GREATEST THRILLER EVER FILMED! HOUDINI in “THE GRIM GAME”:

The evening herald. (Albuquerque, N.M.), January 01, 1920, Page 4, Image 4

2012 has come and gone. Now it’s time for our New Year’s Resolutions.

In 2013, HHCE will continue its mission statement and purpose for this blog site:

Bring Harry Houdini and The Grim Game to life so that we will all feel like we have seen the movie
Plan to present all the evidence and research gathered to date one blog at a time
Evidence and research will consist of Exhibits(ads, newspaper articles, press clippings, lobby stills, lobby cards, relatedlinks, blogs, posters, ebay, books, etc…)

I am also planning on doing a number of series (in no particular order) on the Grim Game:

Series on Grim Game covers
Series on Grim Game programs
Series on Grim Game cards
Series on Grim Game merchandise
Series on Auctions WRT The Grim Game

In addition to the Grim Game, I may include some posts on Houdini and his other movies.

I hope 2013 is a great year for everyone!

2012 – An Amazing Year for HHCE

Posted on December 30, 2012 by hhce

2012 was an amazing year for Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence (HHCE) for a number of reasons:

Got to see most of the Grim Game and its exciting escape sequences at the Margaret Herrick Library:

Discovered some amazing Grim Game advertisements:

Motion Picture News Advertisement that includes Lobby Display photos of The Real Aeroplane used to advertise “The Grim Game”

Cinema Chat Advertisement that includes 5 images (298-4, 298-7, 289-21, 298-22, 298-25), 3 of which have not been published since 1920 as far as I know.