This is positively a photographic reproduction of a genuine frame cut-out from the film, The Man From Beyond. 
[Exhibitor’s Trade Review Volume 11 Number 17]
These are stunt dummies going over the falls, possibly shot as part of an alternative ending in case of disaster.
In the actual ending of the movie, the shots of the canoe going over the falls are dummy-free.
The Man From Beyond is a great heart-throb, mystery, love story in which Houdini is shown going to the edge of Niagara Falls to rescue the girl.
Related Posts with some amazing photos from the John C. Hinson Collection and Kevin Connolly Collection:
- John Cox LINK: Houdini’s rough ride at Niagara Falls
- Kevin Connolly LINK: Behind the Scenes with Houdini
The Man From Beyond left me cold. I finally saw it on Netflix about a month ago and was underwhelmed. Houdini kept looking uncomfortable when close to his leading lady. You can see the poor woman shifting her eyes left and right to get through those scenes. Harry was also looking a bit paunchy, and older by this time and you can see that in this film. His acting was mostly comprised of the intense stare look. It worked well in his publicity photos, but it’s not acting.
A movie with a man being frozen in ice for 100 years would leave anybody “cold”. However, when he is thawed out, it doesn’t get much better until the end when he saves his lost love (who the film implies has been reincarnated) from going over the falls. The film had its faults, but critics agreed that this one scene alone was worth the price of admission.
As far as his acting abilities, he certainly wasn’t going to win any academy award, but he did take great publicity photos.
Agreed Joe, the fight on the cliff bluffs and the Niagara Falls scene are the highlights of this film. Then it’s all downhill from there…actually more like a bell curve.
In a review of TMFB, the New York Times noted: “It shows practically no acting at all. Its players merely register certain stereotyped expressions.”
Romance before the camera was for Houdini a Grim Game indeed.