This was a memorable film from the early fifties

Something out of the ordinary here in this film biography – the film ‘Houdini’ with 106 minute running time takes us through the extraordinary life of America’s world famous escape artist.

It was a vivid Technicolor account of the life of Houdini (played here by Tony Curtis), from his early days as a carnival magician to his ultimate glorious success where he is hailed by the world as the greatest daredevil and escape artist in history.

Many of the actual tricks and stunts that Houdini used are shown – getting loose from handcuffs and strait jackets, getting out of a locked trunk while at the bottom of an icy river – and highlights of the film include his escape from Scotland Yard’s “Impregnable” jail, his arrest in Germany as a fraud, and his acquittal after a courtroom demonstration of his techniques.

While the film contains much of Houdini’s magic (17 elaborate “illusions”, in fact), it does not overlook the love story between Harry and Bess Houdini (played by Curtis’ real-life wife, Janet Leigh).

Houdini was originally meant to be shot in black and white, but a decision was made during pre-production to film it in colour to take full advantage of the costumes and sets.

The film contains several factual errors, especially the dramatisation of Houdini’s death. Here, he almost drowns in the water torture tank trick and dies on the stage in the arms of his wife.

In real life, he was punched in the stomach by a college student who had heard that Houdini could withstand any blow without harm. This ruptured his appendix, and he later collapsed on stage, was taken to the hospital and died there.

Tony Curtis at this time was approaching the peak of a long career – shortly after this came ‘Trapeze’ where he held his own against the huge bullying ego of Burt Lancaster – mind you he did have Gina Lollobrigida alongside him and that must have been a plus.

Then came his best performance in ‘Sweet Smell of Success’ again with Burt Lancaster. Here Tony Curtis plays Sidney Falco, a sleazy, desperate press agent willing to do anything for a scrap of influence. It is a major against-type role for Tony Curtis

Back now to ‘Houdini’ – this came out in the middle of the 3D craze – which I loved – but there is no mention of this being considered to be filmed that way and I would have thought that it could have fitted perfectly – as could ‘Trapeze’