Monthly Archives: April 2024

“The Search for the Holy Grail of Houdini Handcuffs” in The Linking Ring

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Recently received a pdf and confirmation that April 2024 issue of The Linking Ring contains an article by yours truly about “The Search For The Holy Grail of Houdini Handcuffs”. This is a compilation of my ground-breaking posts into a single article and edited for the magazine.

The Linking Ring is the official magazine of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM). You can join the IBM and receive the magazine via their official site.

I am not currently an IBM member and would love to add a hardcopy of the magazine to my collection.

Related:

Portrait Postcard of Lila Lee

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Lot 28 Description:

Portrait Postcard of Lila Lee, Inscribed by
Houdini. Circa 1919. Delicately tinted oval portrait printed
postcard of the movie star with her name printed below the
likeness. Divided back, postally unused. Near fine. INSCRIBED
and INITIALED by Houdini ink on the recto: “Lila Lee / ‘Beverly
West’ / Terror Island / HH.”

I love the above postcard of Lila Lee (who played Beverly West in Terror Island) that sold for $1600 last week at a Potter and Potter Houdini auction. While I didn’t win the postcard ascibed by Houdini, I am fortunate to have a similar postcard in my collection, just not annotated by HH:

The Grim Game Title Card(s) and Lobby Card Set(s)

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A Grim Game Title Card and Lobby Card Set that once belonged to the director, Irvin V. Willat, sells at auction

Yesterday’s Potter and Potter Auction had some great Houdini Movie Lots (27, 28, 32, 36, 39, 40, 75-82), with the highlight being Lot 75 which was advertised as a complete Grim Game Lobby Card Set (8) w/business card (Price Realized: $8,500) that a previously owner sold in 2007 (with a asking price of $2000.00 for each lobby card).

Below is Lot 75 description:

The Grim Game Complete Lobby Card Set. Paramount, 1919. Eight cards; title card and seven monochrome photographic images cards for the silent film starring Houdini. Story by Arthur Reeve and John Gray, directed by Irvin Willat. Together with an Irvin V. Willat business card SIGNED by Willat (possibly being the set owned by the director). All seven pictorial lobby cards depict Houdini, and three include scenes with handcuffs or policemen; two show Houdini on the Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” (the film featured an unscripted mid-air collision between two Jenny planes). 11 x 14” each. Dampstains and chipping to title card, tape repair on verso; slight creases and pinholes to pictorial cards. The first complete set we have offered or found in the marketplace.

Min. Bid: $4,000.00 Estimate: $8,000.00 – $12,000.00

Note: The Grim Press Book Lobby Card Set (above) had a different Title Card and 8 Cards versus 7 cards.

(0) TITLE CARD

(1) “THWARTED – BUT ONLY FOR A MOMENT.”

(2) “GET ABOVE HIM! I’LL DROP TO HIS PLANE.”

(3) AT A HEIGHT OF 4000 FEET, HOUDINI CLIMBS FROM ONE PLANE TO ANOTHER

(4) FALSELY ARRESTED AS A MANIAC, HOUDINI BATTLES FOR FREEDOM

(5) SAVED AFTER A FALL HEAD DOWNWARD FROM A SEVEN STORY BUILDING

(6) THEY COULDN’T EVEN DROWN HOUDINI!

(7) “LOCK HIM IN THE STRONGEST CELL”

(8) OVER THE EDGE – WITH DEATH BELOW AND IMPRISONMENT ABOVE!

Below is an example of the title card and additional lobby card (8) shown in the pressbook:

These are 11×14 inch lobby cards, however, there is another set of 9 different lobby stills that are even rarer that were 8×10 inches with captions like CAUGHT; RUN TO SAFETY! I’LL FOLLOW IN A MINUTE!; PLANNING THEIR GRIM GAME; DEATH AWAITS HIM IN THE BEAR-TRAP; HOUDINI AGAIN RISKS HIS LIFE TO ESCAPE; I AM NOT GUILTY, AND I’M GOING TO GET OUT AND PROVE IT!; RACING FROM AN AEROPLANE 4000 FEET IN THE AIR, HOUDINI DODGE THE BLADES OF HIS ENEMIES PROPELLER; WITH A MIGHTY CRASH, THE AEROPLANE STRUCK THE EARTH; and a different Title Card.

original workbook photo in my collection

A previously owner sold this extremely rare set as well in 2007 (with a asking price of $14,000 for the entire set), Potter and Potter had it up for auction in 2023 (Estimate $15,000–$20,000 Lot passed).

Houdini’s Adaptations is now available

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Houdini Adaptations, plus Playwriting and Film Treatments: The Grim Game and Terror Island Stories is now available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Product Description:

Arthur B. Reeve and Houdini worked on three silent film stories together, ‘The Master Mystery’ (1918), ‘The Grim Game’ (1919), and ‘Terror Island’ (1920). ‘The Master Mystery’ silent film was adapted to a book in 1919. While not adapted to a book, ‘The Grim Game’; was adapted to a story paper format in 1920, just like ‘Terror Island’ was in 1921.

‘The Grim Game’ and ‘Terror Island’ story adaptations are featured in Joe M. Notaro’s book for the first time and illustrated with original movie stills to help tell the story. For each of the 3 films that Reeve and Houdini worked on, Notaro also shares the cast, synopsis, words of Houdini, history, advertising campaign, and missing footage information.

A 1924 newspaper article, ‘Houdini Breaks into Playwrighting’ describing a new previously unknown stage play that reads like the plot summary from ‘The Grim Game’, is also featured in the book, along with tidbits about each of his known stage plays: Challenged or Houdini Upside Down (1911), Walking Through a Brick Wall (1914), and Buried Alive (1914).

And as a bonus, Notaro shares the ‘Out of the Shadows’ Film Treatment from his personal collection that has never been published until now. Along with that, he summarizes and shares tidbits about each of Houdini’s other film treatments: The Marvelous Adventures of Houdini (1917), The Far North or The Man From Beyond (1921), Haldane of the Secret Service or Mysterious Mr. Yu (1921), Yar, the Primeval Man (1921), Il Mistero de Osiris or The Mystery of the Jewel (1921), The Great Tontine (1992), The Monster (1992), The Vulture (1992), Floating Through Space (1992), and Blood Brothers (unpublished).