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

Posted on April 14, 2024 by hhce

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

Posted on April 7, 2024 by hhce

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).

Houdini 1953 – Japanese Program (1954)

Posted on March 31, 2024 by hhce

I started the year off, sharing the 1953 pressbook from the Tony Curtis Houdini movie. Thought I would continue sharing other related Houdini related movie items throughout the year, like: Posters, Lobby cards, stills, magazine covers/advertisements and programs from around the world.

Today I share a 1954 Japanese program (read pages from left to right) from my collection:

Front and Back Cover

Pages 2 and 1

Pages 4 and 3

Pages 6 and 5

Pages 8 and 7

Pages 10 and 9

Happy 150th Year Anniversary of the birth of Harry Houdini!

Posted on March 24, 2024 by hhce

To celebrate 150 years, thought I would share an article (The Star, April 4, 1974) from my personal collection that celebrated a century:

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y H O U D I N I !

Coming Soon (Houdini Adaptations, The Grim Game and Terror Island Stories)

Posted on March 17, 2024 by hhce

Houdini and Godfrey, The Man of Mystery

Posted on March 10, 2024 by hhce

Harry Houdini and Theo Hardeen with first sub-trunk (they may have got from Godfrey) Photo Credit: Pat Culliton The Key p46

Mike Meyer shared with me the following video about Houdini’s Metamorphosis trunk and a magician named Joe Godfrey that I think you will find interesting:

Additional Notes:

The history of the handcuff act can be traced back as far as Joe Godfrey, who was supposed to be the first to introduce it with much success. [HH Scrapbook 38]

According to Houdini’s Fabulous Magic, it was in the 1890s that magicians began to specialize in handcuff escapes and one of the earliest references to “The Handcuff Act” is found in a book entitled New Ideas in Magic, by W. H. J. Shaw, which was published in 1902. It states:

This act was first introduced by Joe Godfrey, followed by Louis Paul, and in the last ten years, several performers have introduced the act to good success…

Houdini, Delprade, and the origin of Metamorphosis (WildAboutHoudini.com)

Houdini 1953 – American Lobby Cards

Posted on March 3, 2024 by hhce

Today I share (the original workbook photo in my collection) of the American 11×14 Set of Lobby Cards:

Publicity shot of Curtis and Leigh
Houdini being placed in a canvas bag, standing inside the Sub Trunk
Front cover of the Pressbook
Houdini being lowered into the Chinese Water Torture Chamber
The packing crate being lowered into the cut hole of the iced over river
Houdini in his cell, trying to pick the door lock with his feet
A close up of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh
Houdini’s legs being shackled, just before being placed in the packing crate
Back stage after Houdini’s stooge just got him challenged to escape from Scotland Yards jail

BTW, I have original pressbook and originals of all of these Lobby cards with one signed by Janet Leigh.

Houdini’s Schooldays reviewed in Ye Olde Magic Mag Vol 10 Issue 2

Posted on February 25, 2024 by hhce

Ye Old Magic Mag (YOMM) is the first fully-digital magic history magazine, covering magic of the past and collection of magic memorabilia.

Marco Pusteria reviews ‘Houdini’s Schooldays‘ in Vol 10 Issue 2.

Here are a couple snippets from Pusteria about my contribution to Houdini’s Schooldays by Herbert Allngham that I published in 2023.

The book contains the transcription of the complete story, as published, together with all the images that accompanied it, and it is prefaced by Joe’s scholarly study of the text and of the acquisition of this rare collection.

For the reader of this magazine the research carried out by Joe Notaro is the most interesting part of the book, providing a context to the story and some information that is little known.

Pusteria is acknowledged by me in Houdini’s Schooldays for his thoughts on Houdini and R. B. Ogle. Houdini and Ogle is also featured in YOMM Vol 8 Issue 3; The cover image is a rare illustration by Ogle who provided artwork for some of Houdini’s adventure fiction in the 1920s. Ogle was a candidate for illustrating Houdini’s Schooldays.