Houdini Breaks into Playwriting – Challenged or Houdini Upside Down

Posted on February 26, 2023 by hhce

Last year I acquired the 1924 newspaper article, Houdini Breaks into Playwriting, describing a new stage play adapted from The Grim Game.

Houdini actually broke into playwriting (if you can call it that) between 1911 and 1914 where he registered three of his famous illusions as “playlets” or short plays, with the U.S. Copyright Office. These deposited scripts are now held within the Reader’s Collection, Library of Congress Copyright Office Drama Deposits.

The three playlets were also published in the Linking Ring [Jun to Aug 1967] and Patrick Culliton’s books, Houdini’s Strange Tales – A Collection of fiction by the legendary Harry Houdini [1992], “Houdini Unlocked”[1997], and “Houdini – The Key” [2010]

Edgar Heyl says: “these plays are unbelieveable bad. Yet Houdini barged right ahead in writing them, completely oblivious of plot, motivation, characterization, credibility, reality and the many other factors that make the work of a professional playwright so difficult.”[Linking Ring August 1967]

This post kicks off a 3 part series of posts where I summarize and share tidbits about the three copyrighted plays that he wrote:

Challenged or Houdini Upside Down (Copyrighted August 1, 1911)
Walking Through a Brick Wall (Copyrighted July 15, 1914)
Buried Alive (Copyrighted September 9, 1914)

Today we look at Challenged or Houdini Upside Down

Houdini wrote the play in England. The title sheet of the manuscript states Written and composed by Harry Houdini c/o Day’s agency, Effingham House, Arundel Street, Strand, London, W.C. . The registration describes the work as a “magical dramatic playlet” in sixteen double-spaced typewritten octave pages.

On Saturday, April 29, 1911 Houdini gave a special matinee performance at the Hippodrome, Southampton. Above is the one of kind broadside (sold for $18K at Potter & Potter) advertising this performance.

SUMMARY

The first act depicts a group of men talking about Houdini’s amazing abilities, integrity, and willingness to take on challenges. By the second act, Houdini (played by himself) accepts their challenge and, according to the script, “HOUDINI MAKES HIS ESCAPE” and the crowd gives “Three cheers for Houdini, Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah.”

[Houdini and the Magic of Copyright by Marilyn Creswell (March 24, 2021)]

Per Culliton:

The story goes that the playlets single performance had only one spectator. This could well be true, since there was virtually no advertising and the price of admission was a steep one guinea – but this was not the commercial venture, nor was it any sort of serious attempt, at playwriting. Houdini had developed his greatest theatrical piece: The Chinese Water Torture Cell, and to protect it, he copyrighted it as a play. “I wish to give notice,” he wrote “that I have SPECIAL LICENSE FROM THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN as a Stage Play and will certainly stop anyone infringing on my rights.”

Per Edgar Heyl:

The most interesting about this play is not just the fact it was built around Houdini’s famous Chinese Water Torture Cell escape, but that it was not until some two years [one and half] later he first performed the illusion! In this period he must have continued to work on refinements of the equipment until it was as fool-proof as anything else he did on the stage. Its first performance (and not in in the form of a play) was in mid-September,1913 [Fri., Sept. 21, 1912] in Nuremberg [Circus Busch, Berlin, Germany] It was an immediate success and became a feature of his show for the rest of his life. [Linking Ring June 1967]

BONUS:

Below is the actual challenge from the play:

Dear Sir,

We the undersigned members of the Eccentric Club, hereby challenge you to escape from the aquarium we have in the lounge-room at our clubhouse, into which we intend to place, you, under the following conditions:

First of all, we have constructed a lid or cover, to fit over this aquarium, which separates in the middle, as per drawing herewith:

This cover will be fitted with four locks, such as are used on traveling trunks, with long brass hasps. We intend locking your feet in this cover, after which we place around this cover a metal square so that, even if the locks were opened, you could not possibly release your feet.

On this metal square we will have rings placed and, after we have you securely locked into this cover, we will place two locks in these rings, fastened to a cable and, with the aid of derrick or winch, we will hoist you up into the air, turn you in an upside-down position, and place you over the aquarium.

We will then lower you down into the aquarium, head first. Excluding the possibility of your breathing when under water, we will proceed to lock the lid down to the aquarium at each corner, making use of our locks and as many of these as we see fit.

We will allow you make use of any covering or drapery you wish, and allow you in this way to conceal your methods of escape.

In the event of any accident occurring which will prevent your making your escape, we are not to be held responsible for this accident in any shape or form.

If you manage to release yourself and make your escape, we stand willing to pay the sum of L1,000 which we have deposited as a side-bet. You may attempt this feat either publicly or privately, as you see fit. We demand the right to select our own committee, and you can select a like number of gentlemen to represent you.

Trusting to hear from you, we remain

Special Thanks to the late George Goebel for sharing the play with illustrations during our very special visit.

Davenport Brothers Rope Trick leads to Houdini’s first Handcuff Escape

Posted on February 19, 2023 by hhce

While doing some research, came across an interesting article (Why Be a Prisoner by Houdini), where he mentions adding the famous rope trick of the Davenport Brothers to his repertoire:

I added the famous rope-trick of the Davenport Brothers, and I used to offer a prize-it was my week’s salary (fifty shillings), but I did not announce the offer in that fashion-to anyone who could tie me in a such a way that I couldn’t extricate myself. Was it a safe offer to make? Well, I only know that I always managed to keep my salary for myself.

[The Sketch 06 April 1904]

Which led to a challenge to use handcuffs instead of rope to prevent him from extricating himself:

One night a detective was in the audience. He got up and said, “I can tie you up so that you won’t extricate yourself,” and he waved a pair of handcuffs, and, as I gazed at them from the stage they looked as big as the Houses of Parliament to me, so I politely declined his offer. When I came to look at those handcuffs, however, I saw they had a lock which I could master. Remembering what I did with the burglar-proof lock, I eventually consented to have them put on my wrists. I opened the locks in sixteen minutes, and, incidentally, opened the gates of fortune.

[The Sketch 06 April 1904]

Silverman has the following take on being secured with handcuffs for the first time versus ropes:

In Manchester, New Hampshire, during the second week of November 1895, he announced that before being locked in the subtrunk he would allow his hands to be secured not with rope or braid but with handcuffs borrowed from the audience. This come-on may have marked his first public performance of a handcuff escape.

Silverman also mentions:

Houdini credited Baldwin with having given him the idea for an act made up mostly of handcuff escapes. But he credited the escape itself to Ira and William Davenport (1839-1911, 1841-77), a superlative pair of medium-magicians who ambiguously merged Spiritualism and conjuring. According to Dash, Houdini was “a great worshipper of the Davenport Brothers in his youth.”

By the time Houdini started out, in the mid-1890s, he encountered a public familiar with mediumistic handcuff tests, if not by experience at least through the press. As an 1897 article in Scientific American described them for its readers:

The handcuff test is a great favorite of the “medium.” In this test the performer uses any pair of handcuffs furnished by the audience, and by them put on him. Yet, in a very few moments after he takes his place in the cabinet, his coat is thrown out, but on examination the handcuffs are found to be on his wrists just as they were placed by the audience. As a final test, the performer comes out of the cabinet holding the handcuffs in his hand, removed from the wrist but locked.

Houdini, the master of illusion, throws himself chained into the Seine

Posted on February 12, 2023 by hhce

Today, I share the following 2 articles that I merged and loosely translated from French to English:

La Presse newspaper article, “Un Homme enchained se jette dans la Seine” by Jack Iter 8 April 1909 [bold text is from 1909 article]
Retronews article, “Houdini, le maitre de I’llusion, se jette enchaine dans la Seine” by Pierre Ancery 29/11/2017 [non-bold text is from 2017 article and italized text is from the 1909 article]

A chained man throws himself into the Seine

FROM THE TOP OF THE MORGUE

A Dangerous Bet

With both arms tightly knotted, to be more sure of sinking, a man rushed this afternoon, around three o’clock, from the top of the roof of the Morgue into the Seine, and reappeared safe and sound after three minutes. of agonizing immersion swimming in large smoldering waves towards the shore, to the great amazement of the peacekeepers and old divers rushing to help him.

This man, whose reputation is universal, is Houdini Elusive American, as he likes to call himself.

The rapid scene that this devil of a man took on this afternoon on the almost deserted quay of the Morgue, and of which by a happy indiscretion we have revealed the intrigued witness deserves to be told at length.

It holds both mystery and wonder.

That the surprising and mysterious Houdini showed himself in Paris, on the stage of Barrasford’s Alhambra, in unprecedented and extravagant exercises, public rumor had taught us the day after his arrival.

It is with certain artists or world conjurers like crowned heads, their movements are known even before they have perhaps been brought to light and their incognito is never more than pure form.

Houdini is one of them and however elusive he may be, he cannot get rid of the sometimes embarrassing chains of fame “with a hundred voices”.

But the American has not yet thought of keeping silence around him and since last April 1st he has paraded before the intrigued spectators the surprise phenomena of which he has the secret and which make Mr. Neighbour, director of ”Alhambra: “He is as inexhaustible as it is surprising, his imagination is matched only by his flexibility”

Imprisoned by the spectators themselves in a straitjacket – Hercules might have been powerless in such a formidable device – tied up according to all the rules of the art, ‘elusive American, like the cats that are locked up and who escape by stretching, shrinking, rolling, get rid of their shackles in no time.

The head and upper body once free, he quickly released his arms; and the rest goes by itself, but all of that is easier said than done.

The metal prison

Then, as this man could not impress the bourgeois too much – the dish is his – he then plunges into a metal tank filled with water to the full rim and a solid lid which spectators those of good will and do not no matter which ones, fasten with six strong padlocks and thus deprived of air in its metallic prison, with a magical and unexplained quickness, manages to escape and reappears on stage, without the padlocks having been forced, and without the liquid having spilled.Stupefaction is a kind of enjoyment, a little frightening in the circumstances no doubt, but enjoyment all the same and the public applauds no longer trying to understand.The feat we have witnessed this afternoon is due, however, to the incredulity of some spectators who, having witnessed the two prodigious exercises that we have just described, – too imprecisely alas, these are things that the pen hurts, – refused, last night, to believe a third series of even more complicated tricks of which Mr. Houdini claims to be the author whom he makes pass before our eyes by cinematographic views.

Impressive feats

If we are to believe, in fact, the rapid scenes which follow one another on the canvas in front of the room of the Alhambra, mute with shock, the incomparable acrobat, bound feet and fists, would have rushed several times into rivers and unraveled. Its bonds at the bottom of the water would be raised to the surface free of all obstacles and swimming with ease.The first of these exploits was accomplished in Philadelphia [May 14, 1908] where the cinematographic plate shows us the daring American solidly bound and thrown from the top of the Market Street bridge. The second, in Berlin, in February[September 5] 1908, where his hands are solidly tied behind with his back, in front of an enormous crowd, maintained with great difficulty by a rigorous service of order, the same Houdini, whose powerful musculature stands out in the foreground of the screen, throws himself from the top of the Frederic Bridge.In both cases the mystery man retires victorious from these painful and incredible trials.Moreover, he offers everyone to renew his feat and that is why, taking him at his word, three spectators, last night, made a bet with him, discussing the authenticity of the cinematographic views which had just passed under their will.In 1909, Harry Houdini, the famous illusionist, was in Paris. He stunned the press with a spectacular act performed from the Ile de la Cité.

By 1909, Harry Houdini’s reputation was worldwide. His real name is Ehrich Weisz, the American conjurer, famous for his escape acts, performs from April at the Alhambra in Paris. No doubt to give a little extra publicity to his show, he invites a handful of representatives of the French press to attend a mysterious act that is to take place in broad daylight.

On the day, Jack Iter, journalist at La Presse, is at the meeting place: in front of the Paris Morgue. The building, which Haussmann had built in 1868, is located on the Ile de la Cité, just behind Notre-Dame, and overlooks the Seine. The journalist says:

On the banks of the Seine

We agreed on the right time and place. The greatest mystery was kept around the event, and that is why this afternoon, at half past two exactly, three mysterious cars came to stop in front of the Morgue, the surroundings of which were almost deserted.Alone, in the square Notre-Dame, two brave policemen, taking advantage of the first days of spring, yawn melancholy in the sun. The doors of a dismal establishment, closed by decree, no longer attract the unhealthy curiosity of the public.

Quickly, from one of the cars, a man with frizzy hair, just average height, broad shoulders showing a wide build, jumps on the sidewalk. With a quick glance to the right and left, he convinced himself that no prying eyes lurking. He makes a sign and his companions – they look like accomplices – appear in their turn […]. A few steps away, an operator has pointed his huge device and implements a crank that, unrolling the films, will fix forever this fast scene.

We appear in our turn and some colleagues, oh well, like us, warned, join the group.Houdini because it is him, has a movement of surprise. Mr. Marsel Ballut, secretary of the Alhambra reassures him and declines our respective qualities[…]And then, with hasty gestures, the American undresses, throws his clothes into the car and appears in a white jersey on the sidewalk.But, we must go quickly, even faster, if possible, and the American asks his men who are taking the ropes and the two chains from the second car which will be used to bind him.Already a few passers-by, intrigued at least, have stopped and smiled…

Undressing, Houdini then asks the few witnesses – including the journalist – to tie him up.

Houdini hands us the chains and asks us to tie him up securely and according to our pleasure. We are three who apply ourselves to it as best we can, tightening the ropes that enter deep into the flesh of the forearm and make the muscles of the impassive American spring into bulges. The two iron bracelets that enclose the wrists are closed automatically. With a sudden jolt, we make sure that the tying is extremely serious. […]

And supple Houdini climbs the rungs of a folding ladder that has been placed along the wall of the Morgue.Standing on the roof of the Morgue. His shortened silhouette making a stain on the trail of light that floods this old-fashioned corner of Paris, the American looks around him.The crowd which has become denser, risked a few jeers and laughed out loud.Is this the last phase of the carnival!But the two peacekeepers pulled out of their torpor. They now run up and wave the man in the shirt down.Houdini kicks the ladder into the Seine. “He is a mad!” we start shouting from all sides.“Go on then eh! Etienne Dolet!” says, much to everyone’s hilarity, an apprentice who doesn’t want to miss a bite of the show. An agent has detached himself and runs to seek reinforcements to arrest this madman who is playing the statues on the roofs.

The journalist then understands the magician’s audacious project: he will throw himself chained into the Seine from the roof of the Morgue and try to free himself. Houdini sped up a ladder that had been erected against the building and climbed onto the roof. “He’s crazy!” scream onlookers, while a policeman runs to get reinforcements.

Too late!… Swinging his chained hands and measuring the depth with his eye, the daring American plunges his arms forward and disappears under the wave that a slight turmoil shakes a few moments. Onlookers screamed. Passers-by rush to the bank. In a few minutes the parapets are black with people […]. Anxious, we seek in our turn to pierce the gloomy bottom of the immutable water. A minute must have passed…. longer than an hour and still nothing!

When suddenly…

A cry of surprise! and a few meters in the middle of the Seine, a frizzy head emerges! The American won. His arm free of all fetters, which he waves over the water to better reassure us, methodically beats the flow. The crowd applauded and smiled. The agents, because there are a dozen of them now, contemplate in their turn this spectacle as unexpected as it is incomprehensible.

But one of the boats approached. Houdini climbs up there and, shaking his body dripping like a rooster flapping its wing, he accepts the bathrobe that his second has brought him, and, trembling, but cold, reaches the bank. “Three minutes, two seconds,” said one of the timekeepers, shaking his hands. “Yes! That’s it, simply replies Houdini, who quietly goes up the square to reach his car. […]

Houdini closes the door of his car and leaves at full speed, without the serving brigadier, who has not yet returned, having thought of asking him for his papers for the usual ticket.

The series of shows that Houdini will give in Paris, during which he will see him escaping from a straitjacket or a huge can filled with water, will be a triumph (it seems that one of his “tricks” was to insert a master key into the esophagus, a technique learned from a sword swallower encountered at fairs).

Upon his death in 1926, his friend Arthur Conan Doyle, who believed hard as iron in Houdini’s supernatural powers, attended his funeral. The creator of Sherlock Holmes, warning the coffin, would have had these words: “I bet he is no longer there…”

Harry Houdini (signature) appears on 1961 Days of Thrills and Laughter (DTL) Production Still(s)

Posted on February 5, 2023 by hhce

On February 3rd, received an auction alert for the following Harry Houdini Signed Picture (estimate $9000 to $11000):

This is still DTL-33 (which you can clearly see on the image) from the 1961 Days of Thrills and Laughter Movie. So (despite the COA below) it is impossible for it to have been signed by Houdini who died October 31, 1926.