Category Archives: The Grim Game

Two reels of Houdini Film

Posted on by
9

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:

Aerial Delivery: “A Message From The Clouds” Dodger (Leaflet)

Posted on by
1

“Last week, John Cox and I had the extreme pleasure to be able to share Noel’s story of discovering a rare Australian The Grim Game Premiere Advertising card.

Well, there is more to the story.

Was the card dropped by an aeroplane to filter down onto the streets in Sydney?

We know the card was found in a diary of a road workman, so maybe he found it on the ground.

As we pondered the question, Noel found the following piece of evidence:

Description:

1920 (Sept 27) Melbourne-Longreach-Melbourne #51ba Pals “A Message From The Clouds” advertising leaflet showing the Aeroplane dropped from the Maurice Farman Shorthorn biplane flown by RG Carey on the Herald and Weekly Times promotional flight to the Gulf of Carpentaria, endorsed ‘Dropped from Pals aeroplane Port Melbourne 27/9/20’ on back, Cat $650.

Further research revealed:

Carey’s extensive ‘Message from the Clouds’ promotion records cover War and Peace Loan flyers, Vacuum Oil Company, Wangaratta Woollen Mills, charity and sporting events, various traders’ association shop locally campaigns, Palm and Cubitt brand cars and Velvet Soap. Dodgers (leaflets) were scattered from the plane overhead as a novel marketing device similar to that of towing aerial banners or sky writing objectives today. Mindful of promoting his own aviation and motoring business, Carey periodically included huge captions on his planes such as ‘Carey’s Chickens’, ‘Melbourne Air Service’ or ‘Carey’s Auctions’.

So, A Grim Game “Message From The Clouds” dodger was dropped by a Carey delivery plane, found by a road “workman” and used as a bookmark in a diary…

Incredible!

Thank you again, Noel!!!

Coincidentally, Aerial Delivery, was a boasted feature of “The Daily Call” newspaper in “The Grim Game”. The use of these delivery planes was always part of the script but not the crash that turned out to be a really nice bonus and was incorporated into the script and marketing campaign. It enabled “The Grim Game” to show on the screen and advertise “the only airplane collision in the clouds ever photographed”.

Related:

Australian The Grim Game Premiere Advertising Card Found

Posted on by
5

I am honored to be able to share Noel’s incredible story about discovering this rare item:

Hi,  greetings from Australia,

I got your link from the wildabouthoudini site, and since your site is devoted to this movie I thought you might be interested in this..

I discovered this heavy paper stock card (approx playing card size)  advertising what I believe to be the first screening of the movie (possibly in Australia)  at the Haymarket Theatre in Sydney,  in 1920. Note the personal written movie synopsis in Houdini’s own words, (MESSAGE FROM THE CLOUDS… or at least from an imaginative theatre employee??)   and that it is the  first  opening of the movie ‘TODAY’ on the 12th June.(1920) … I believe this would have been a card/flyer handed out to the  public to get them to the cinema (haymarket theatre  in Sydney,  aka Capitol theatre) ….I literally found this only yesterday by chance in an old diary I had bought at a market about 6 months earlier,  and presume it was used as a bookmark or the like,  as I was repacking some of my paper ephemera collectibles into plastic tubs,  it just fell out as I flicked the pages of the diary/journal of what appears to be diary of a road works workman.  This may well be the only copy of this item??

Kind regards Noel

I love Noel’s story, especially the fact that the card was used as a “bookmark” and fell out of the book on its own steam. Noel informed me that the book was destined to be put in a plastic tub along with other ephemera and into storage. So, it could have been years before it came to light again. At first when Noel saw the planes and Houdini, he thought it was a ticket to his flight demonstrations in Australia in 1910, but soon realized it was relating to a movie. Prior to finding this card, Noel had no idea that Houdini was featured in films, but he does now.

And now his incredible find can be enjoyed by others.

Thank You Noel!

Bonus:

Below is an advertisement (The Sydney Morning Herald) for a screening of The Grim Game, June 12th, 1920 at the Haymarket Theatre in Australia.

Update:

Related:

100 Year Anniversary – Private Showing of The Grim Game In New York

Posted on by
15

MUM-New-York-August-1919-page-17

One Hundred Years ago, Houdini gave a private showing in NYC.

The following passage is excerpted verbatim, even to the punctuation from a private letter WRT to a private showing of The Grim Game on August 18th, 1919:

Monday night 8 o’clock shapr [sic] there will be a private show of my latest picture The Grim Game which will be shown only to a few chosen magic friends before the regular trade showing and if you have desire to see same would like to have pleasure of having you attend.  Takes place at the production room of Lasky Famous Players offices, 400 [485] Fifth Ave near 42nd St. Monday August 17th [Note: Monday was really August 18th] Tried to get you twice on phone and no answer. Regards sincerely yours Houdini. [The Houdini Code Mystery by William V. Rauscher, page 106]

Note:  Koval places the private showing at 485 Fifth Avenue, which was the address of the corporate main office right across from the New York Public Library.

Aug 18 – A private showing of “The Grim Game” is given to Houdini’s chosen friends at the Lasky Famous Players Offices at 485 Fifth Avenue, New York City.

The Society of American Magicians officially endorsed The Grim Game at this private showing:

The endorsement was given at a private showing of the picture for the members of the society in New York, which was attended by Messrs. Houdini, Howard Thurston, Francis E. Werner, G.G. Laurenz, Hardeen, William J. Hilliar and about forty others.

…

After the showing,  Mr. Howard Thurston said: “I have always thought Houdini was a great showman, but I expected nothing like this.  It leaves nothing undone.  Houdini may now retire, confident that he has done his greatest work.  It is one of the most wonderful things I have ever seen”.  At the conclusion of Mr. Thurston’s speech, Oscar S. Teale, Secretary of the S.A.M. said:

“Gentlemen, I move that the Society of American Magicians pronounce the picture a glowing success, worthy of highest commendation, and that it go forth as officially endorsed by this society.”

[The Sphinx, September 1919]

Bonus:

According to a 17 September 1919 New York Clipper article, the Famous Players also had New York City offices at 428 Fifth avenue, 729 Seventh avenue and at 469 Fifth avenue, but at the termination of the leases, the company will use the entire front of the Putman Building [at Forty-Third street and Broadway] for its offices:

NY Clipper 17 Sep 1919 Putnam Bldg To Become Theatre

Next week:

  • 100 Year Anniversary – B.S. Moss Broadway Theatre Screening

 

100 Year Anniversary – M U M SAM Monthly

Posted on by
2

This month marks the 100 Year Anniversary of the Society of American Magicians endorsing The Grim Game. To celebrate, thought I would share some interesting things from my personal copy of the Magic—Unity—Might M U M The Society of Americans Magicians Monthly Vol 9 No. 3 New York August 1919.

The first is a photo of Dean Kellar, Wizard of Wizards, Irvin W. Willat, Wizard of the Camera, who directed “The Grim Game”, and Houdini, Wizard of Escape. This picture was taken while Dean Kellar was visiting the studio during the picturization of the great story.

Second, Houdini shares new light on the bullet catching trick:

Third, is a highly sought after four-page color insert:

And last, is an exchange between a Mr. Levett and Houdini regarding Robert Heller and Laura Keene:

 

White Studio Houdini Movie Photos

Posted on by
Reply

The following two White Studio, NY “Houdini Movie Photos” advertised as “originals”  from an estate of magic and circus collection sold yesterday on eBay.

  • Original Houdini Magic Studio Photo #1 ($371.00 + $8.95 shipping):

Note: This is from Terror Island

  • Original Houdini Magic Studio Photo #2 ($515.09 + $8.95 shipping):

Note: This is from The Grim Game

The following White Studio photo below shows the above two White Studio photos (2 Terror Island, 8 Grim Game) plus other White Studio photographs from his movies (1 The Grim Game, 5 Haldane, 6 The Man From Beyond, 9-11 Master Mystery)

Note: This photo is courtesy of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Billy Rose Theatre collection. It was also part of the Houdini Art and Magic exhibition/book.

100 Year Anniversary – Houdini Breaks Wrist

Posted on by
9

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.

UPDATE: Houdini broke his wrist on June 26th, 1919.

This was reported in the June 27th Los Angeles Times with the heading, Houdini Breaks Finger [Wrist]:

After all, Houdini, the escape king, doesn’t bear a charmed life, as heretofore thought. Yesterday he had the misfortune to break one of the small bones in his left hand, while doing a very simple stunt in his current Lasky picture. He had completed a really hazardous feat high in the air, and came off safely. Then he got down to earth, and when about two or three feet from terra firma sustained the injury mentioned.
Luckily it will not seriously hamper him because it can be so bound as to avoid his feeling pain.
“It’s the irony of fate,” he said, “to have this thing happen in such an absurdly simple way after going through really difficult stunts on airplanes, roofs, flagpoles, walls, etc.

And on June 28th, Houdini wrote Quincy Kilby:

Broke my left wrist again. Luckily the picture is 90% finished. We can’t be back until end of July.

On July 12th, Houdini wrote Quincy Kilby:

My wrist getting along okay, July 20th, will try and finish the last few scenes and return to New York leaving on or about July 25th
…
The Grim Game will be finished next Sunday [July 20th], my wrist will be strong enough to do the finishing stunts.

100 Year Anniversary – Aeroplane Crash Tidbit continued

Posted on by
2

Last week, I shared a tidbit about the Aeroplane Crash in The Grim Game that was not widely known. That is, I shared that the camera plane may have “indirectly led” to the collision, due to a delay in mounting the camera that caused the planes to do the stunt in the rough air of the afternoon as opposed to the calm air of the early morning. I also shared a bonus tidbit, that the stuntman was supposed to make his way to the rear cockpit or drop into the rear seat.  In addition, I shared a couple advertisements from my personal collection showing how the accident happened.

Today, I thought I would share the flip side of the newspaper ad (Toledo Times October 19, 1919) displayed last week, that has a nice jail scene still and describes how “Houdini is supposed to let himself down into the cockpit beside the murderer by means of a rope, and throttle him”:

One of the most amazing air accidents in the history or aviation forms the sensational climax of a new Paramount-Artcraft picture, “The Grim Game,” starring Houdini, the most famous handcuff king, which is coming to the Temple all of this week.

According to the story, Houdini in an airplane is pursuing a murderer, who is trying to escape in another machine. At a height of 3,000 feet Houdini is supposed to glide above the other machine, let himself down into the cockpit  beside the murderer by means of a rope, and throttle him.

All went well, with the stunt, the two machines circling one above the other  and a third , containing Director Willat and the photographer, about a hundred yards away, until Houdini was just about to loose his hold on the rope. Then suddenly a gust of wind lifted  the lower ‘plane into the upper one, and their  propellers locked. They dropped like rockets, revolving nose on nose, with Houdini still dangling on the rope and the the two aviators making frantic efforts to control their machines. Death seemed certain. But a few hundred feet from the ground, with both propellers gone, one of the airmen by a miracle, succeeded in falling into a glide, and, though the other crashed nose-on into a field, the only injuries sustained were slight bruises.