TCM airings of The Grim Game on October 18th is rapidly approaching.
The first airing at 8:00 PM (ET) will be the Brane Zivkovic score and the second airing at 11:45 PM (ET) will be the new score by Steve Sterner.
Steve’s score is an original piano score that he recorded in August.
TCM has posted 3 videos of restored Grim Game clips with the new piano music:
Click the link below to watch the videos.
Enjoy!
A big thanks to Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz for sharing this news.
Related:
Well, I previously did posts on what happened to Robert Kennedy and Frank Thompson, after “The Grim Game” respectively. So, it is probably only fair that I share some info on Christopher Pickup, who flew the drop plane. The below information is from an Aviation Autograph Collector selling items on eBay:
PICKUP, Christopher Vern. PILOT IN A 1919 HOUDINI MOVIE AND U. S. AIR MAIL SERVICE PILOT. (1896- ). SGT, 4th Cavalry (1913-14); USAS flight instruction (1916); Langley Field VA (1917); 2nd LT and flight instructor (1918-19); Durant Aircraft Co.; pilot for Cecil B. DeMille films (1919-20); flew in the Harry Houdini movie The Grim Game, colliding with David E. Thompson while Robert E. Kennedy hung suspended on a rope below Pickup’s aircraft. The props of both planes were shattered in a collision and both pilots were able to land their damaged planes, Kennedy, miraculously, suffering only bruises and abrasions being dragged along the ground during the landing (1919); U. S. Air Mail Service pilot (1920-21); appointed 8-25-1920 and assigned at Cheyenne WY (1920-21); he was apparently separated for not returning from leave (1921); Mercury Aviation, Los Angeles; Mexican Aerial Transport Corp. (1921-22); his request for reinstatement in the U. S. Air Mail Service was declined at the suggestion of the USAMS chief pilot (1924); FBO at Hoover Field Washington DC (1925-26); flew air mail for Clifford Ball, CAM 11 and Thompson Aeronautical Corp. on CAM 27 (1928); Transport Pilot rating no. 735 (1928); USMCR; air mail pilot for Boeing Air Transport (1927-40); his plane caught fire on an emergency landing at Elm Creek NE while flying CAM 18, Chicago-San Francisco (1929); member of the “Caterpillar Club” after abandoning an aircraft over Pittsburgh PA (1930); United Air Lines captain (1940- ).
Bonus:
COPY of the pilot’s original Post Office Department “AIR MAIL PILOTS APPLICATION”, Form 2707 dated 5/16/1928 for his Contract Air Mail pilot service with CLIFFORD BALL
I recently came across an excellent article, Doyle, Houdini and The Strand Magazine By Stephen Forrester, where I found something that intrigued me:
Long before Houdini met Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he wrote a letter to Sherlock Holmes:
“Characterless men,” had taken names similar to his and were stealing, “The fruits of my brain work, and years of research for new tricks. They are trying to get rid of me, by either crippling me for life or even going to the extreme of taking my life in cold blood.”
Some men had broken into Houdini’s trunks in Germany and were trying to bribe his loyal assistant. Houdini had no intention of mailing this letter, but it appeared as an illustration in Der Kettensprenger Houdini und der Welt-Detektif (Dec./1908) an anonymous paperback thriller published in Berlin. According to the story, Holmes crossed the channel, took a train to the German capital and soon had the criminals behind bars.
A quick search and I discover that mega Houdini collector Arthur Moses has a copy of this very rare 1908 paperback (Dec 22, 1908. n101) with an image of the cover and description in his Houdini Periodical Bibliography which he has graciously given me permission to share.
Credit: Arthur Moses
The Pulp magazine title (Der Kettensprenger Houdini und der Welt-Detektiv) translates as “The Lock-breaker Houdini and the World Detective.” And Auf den Spuren Houdinis” translates as “On The Trail of Houdini”. In this short story, Houdini and his friend Sherlock Holmes get involved in a mystery and end up saving each others lives.
So Houdini and Sherlock Holmes were friends in 1908 according to the story, but when did Houdini really first meet Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes?
Answer:
Soon after arriving in England in early 1920, Houdini dispatched a copy of his book The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin to a cold list of some 200 of the country’s leading figures which included Doyle.
On March 15, 1920 Doyle wrote and thanked him for the book.
Houdini and Sir Arthur Doyle exchanged a number of letters during this period:
“Am only too delighted to correspond with you”, he wrote on April 3rd, the trigger for Doyle’s invitation to lunch which Houdini received on April 11th. Houdini instantly replied by telegram on April 12th, “[I] will avail myself of the opportunity of calling on you Wednesday morning, … Mrs. Houdini is with me, but will not be able to come at the present time, and wished to thank you for your kind thought.”
On Wednesday Apr 14, 1920 Houdini visits Sir Arthur and Lady Conan Doyle at their home at Windlesham, Crowborough and the rest is history.
Bonus:
Early in May 1920, the Conan Doyles traveled to see Houdini on stage at the London Palladium, where he escaped from a series of straitjackets, performed the Upside Down, and told the audience of his “many terrifying close calls” on the set of The Grim Game, before finishing on a mildly anticlimactic note with a conjuring trick he called the “Cut and Restored Turban”.
BTW: Conan Doyle attended a New York Screening of The Grim Game, and declared himself impressed.
Source:
Update:
The original pulp dime-novel series that later became Harry Dickson (The American Sherlock Holmes) began in Germany in January 1907 under the title of Detective Sherlock Holmes und seine weltberühmten abenteuer (Sherlock Holmes’ Most Famous Cases), published by Verlagshaus für Volksliteratur und Kunst, and comprised 230 issues in total, published until June 1911. The name Sherlock Holmes was actually used for the first 10 issues. After some concern about the rights of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the series was retitled Aus dem Geheimakten des Weltdetektivs (The Secret Files of the King of Detectives) with No. 11, even though the main character was still called Sherlock Holmes inside. Holmes’ Doctor Watson sidekick, however, was a younger man named Harry Taxon. Issue No. 101 (Dec 22, 1908) had the original series title, Der Kettensprenger Houdini und der Welt-Detektiv (The Lock Breaker Houdini and the World Detective), which was later released in other languages (e.g., Danish, Dutch, French, Romanian, Spanish)
The photo above with a Parrot on Bessie’s shoulder may have been taken in Hollywood when Houdini was making “The Grim Game”. And that may be “Pat Houdini”, their pet parrot that escaped his cage and disappeared into the Hollywood Hills.
Well, just the other day, another parrot, “Hocus Pocus”, that also has a lot in common with Harry Houdini, did a similar disappearing act. Click the link below for details as reported by the WNEP news station:
Thanks to Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz for sharing this touching story with me and allowing me to share it with you.
Click to enlarge.
Above is an ad, that I came across from The Morning Tulsa Daily World, dated Oct 14, 1919 that mentions on page 642 November issue of Popular Mechanics you will find a description (illustrated) of the hair-raising aeroplane accident recorded in “The Grim Game”. So of course, I had to find a copy of this November 1919 issue.
And below is page 642 of the November 1919 issue.
Click to enlarge.
The “camera man” was none other than the director, Irvin Willat. And you got to love the “acrobat” references, which of course was Robert E. Kennedy (stuntman for Harry Houdini). However, the photo of the guy standing by the upside down aeroplane is misidentified as the “acrobat”. It is actually David E. Thompson, who flew the pickup plane.
Snippet of Still 298-82 from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
HOW HOUDINI DID IT. Ann Forrest, who has played the heroine in Houdini’s picture, “The Grim Game,” at the Pentridge since Thursday, is described by Houdini himself as “one of the prettiest girls on the screen.” She was born the Isle of Fan, just off the coast of Denmark, and received her education there. She is of a true Danish type, with masses of blonde hair, large blue eyes, and the complexion of a milkmaid. Houdini referring to the love scenes he played with Ann Forrest, pathetically complained that he could not “love” Ann Forrest with Mrs. Houdini as a spectator. After a consultation, Houdini solved the problem giving his wife a cheque to spend in the bazaars, whilst the love scenes were being filmed.
[ Burnley News Saturday 20 November 1920]
Kellar sitting in chair on set of The Grim Game Credit: Arthur Moses Collection
Houdini to Write Kellar’s Biography is the title of an article that appeared on August 16, 1919 in the Motion Pictures News Magazine.
Below is the text from that article:
The oldest of the great magicians of the past who is still living is Prof. Harry Kellar, Dean of the Society of American Magicians, now residing in retirement at Los Angeles. Houdini is a particular friend of the famous conjurer and the latter had decided that the noted escape artist and star of “The Grim Game” shall write his biography.
Houdini is a well-known writer as well as illusionist, and has published numerous books on magic and kindred subjects. He will begin at once adding to his large collection of data on the life of Kellar and will compile this material, adding the facts that he knows and will give to the story the continuity that will weld it into a delightful record of a most remarkable life.
According to Silverman notes, HH completed several hundred pages of the book, which remains unpublished in a private collection, together with some one hundred letters from HH to Kellar.
Just like the Grim Game, this material needs to become public.
Sounds like Reuel Meditz had a fun night Sunday, July 19th, performing at the Paramount Stateside Theater in Austin for the Houdini film, “The Grim Game” during its first Texas premiere.
According to Reuel Meditz on social media, it was an honor to see his name on the marquee sign in front of the Paramount State Theater and be part of this historical project.
It was a very enthusiastic audience and Reuel had a blast playing for everyone.
After his live piano performance, Reuel answered questions.
According to social media, it was an “amazing score” and “great night”.
Related:
Brane Zivkovic conducted a live performance of his new original score for Harry Houdini’s silent film, The Grim Game, at the TCM Classic Film Festival (Egyptian Theater in Hollywood) on Sunday March 29, 2015.
Now on Sunday, July 19, 2015, Composer/Pianist Reuel Meditz will accompany the film with his own original score at the historic “Stateside at the Paramount Theater” in Austin, Texas.
I wonder why they decided to change the music for this screening.
It will be interesting to hear thoughts and impressions on Reuel Meditz’s score compared to the Brane Zivkovic’s score.
John Cox at Wild About Houdini who wrote an incredible review of the screening in Hollywood had this to say about Brane’s Zivlovic’s score:
The new score by Brane Živkovic might be the most controversial aspect of the restoration. Make no mistake, his music is beautiful, and it works incredibly well in places. But this is Živkovic’s first score for a movie, a specialized skill, and he makes a few unconventional choices for a silent film, such as occasionally using no music at all. The decision to not score the jail cell shackle escape was a point of discussion after the screening. I personally liked the choice to let the escape play in total silence. I thought it created tension, almost like a silent drum roll. But others felt thrown. Also, by the end of the film, his four compositions were starting to feel repetitive. But I was happy and relieved that he created a whole new piece for the final plane chase and crash. Still, I’m hoping TCM allows a little more work on the score — perhaps having Živkovic compose a few new pieces and bringing in a music editor — before the movie hits the TCM channel.
BTW: TCM will air The Grim Game on Sunday October 18 at 8:00 PM (ET) and again at 11:45 PM (ET). It will be interesting to see if they do a little more work on the score.
I would also love to hear the entire original score from 1919, as opposed to just the plane chase and crash which you can check out at this link on YouTube.
For a modern soundtrack and video of the plane crash, check out this link on YouTube.
UPDATE: Below is the Musical Synopsis from the 1919 Press Book for “The Grim Game”
In honor of the Grim Game that screened today at the S.A.M national convention in Philadelphia, I thought I would share a link to an S.A.M Podcast on The Grim Game that I think you will find very interesting and informative:
Enjoy!
Related: