The Grim Game

Harry Houdini reminds me of Jackie Chan. Both of them starred in action movies with implausible plotlines which were basically excuses to string together a series of stunts designed to showcase the star's particular talents: in Houdini's case, his incredible physical stamina and his ability to escape from all sorts of restraints. The plot of "The Grim Game" is basically a long string of stunts, but Houdini performs them with panache, and modern audiences will enjoy this film. The story is written primarily by Arthur B. Reeve, creator of the scientific detective Craig Kennedy (who was parodied by Douglas Fairbanks as "Coke Ennyday").

Harry Houdini stars as Harvey Hanford (same initials) who is engaged to marry Mary Cameron (Ann Forest). When Mary's guardian is murdered, Houdini is framed for the crime and sent to prison. He escapes (of course!) and then goes after the villains, but they keep chaining him up or imprisoning them, and of course Houdini keeps right on escaping. At one point they leave him hanging upside-down in a straitjacket off the roof of a skyscraper. No problem, and Houdini is home free before the villains can take the elevator back to street level.

At the film's climax, the boss villain abducts Mary (of course) and flies away with her in a rickety biplane, which was a state-of-the-art aircraft when this film was made in 1919. Houdini jumps into another aeroplane and takes off in pursuit. The two 'planes crash in midair (nice photography here), but Houdini and his girlfriend get back to the ground in one piece... or rather, in one piece apiece.

The entire film is thrilling but largely implausible. Houdini's feats are genuine, but the stunts are clearly designed to play to Houdini's strengths rather than realistic situations. The airborne climax takes advantage of the fact that, in real life, Houdini was a skilled aviator. (He was the first person ever to fly an aircraft in Australia.)

"The Grim Game" is enjoyable, and parts of it are fast-moving, but don't look for a logical storyline. (The villains have no qualms about committing murder, so why don't they just kill Houdini instead of always chaining him up?) In the best sense of the term, this movie is escapist entertainment.

With financing from TCM, the only known print of Houdini's first film was restored to near-perfect condition (except for some deterioration damage toward the end) and found its television premiere on TCM on Sunday, October 18, 2015. A recap of the finding and restoring of the film can be found in ellebrennan's review here of October 20.

Although Brennan's recap (excerpted from Houdini.org) credits renowned composer Brane Živković with having created a new score for the restoration, what neither hers nor any other review here to date of the restored film mentions is that TCM showed the film twice that night, first with Živković's score, then again later with a more traditional silent film score by Steve Sterner.

Unfortunately, I missed what host Robert Osborne may or may not have said about the Sterner score, but in my estimation, although less innovative, it may in some way be preferable.

Živković's score is thematically more operatic in that characters have their own themes assigned to them. Since Houdini (and his character) is on the screen so much throughout the film, his theme eventually becomes monotonous. Variations of his theme would be highly appreciated.

Sterner's score, being more traditional as silent film scores go, does not vary with the characters, per se, but if with anything, the action.

Let the discussion begin.

I was skeptical of this film and prepared not to like it, However, I was pleasantly surprised by the TCM 'television premier' last Sunday of a nicely completed full-length restoration. I find most films from the 1916-1920 era to be horribly dated with that era's overdone style of acting. There are notable exceptions like Pickford, Chaplin, and Fairbanks, of course, but these older silents are sometimes hard to watch and even absurdly clumsy. The Grim Game has some of that chewed-scenery aspect, but overall it is well done. The story is a bit far fetched, but nonetheless entertaining. And many of our later favorites - Tully Marshall, Mae Busch, and Arthur Hoyt - appear. As for Houdini, he performs as expected in several escape scenes which naturally is what one expects. I had never seen him before and considering that his name is still legendary after 100 years, the film is worth a look if only for that. The Grim Game also has some really interesting 'snapshots' of the era including an incredible (in the sense of 'not believable') aeroplane (sic) chase. All of that having been said, kudos to preservationists and restorers for their tedious and painstaking work on films like these. It is greatly appreciated by me and legions of movie buffs.

I recently saw this as a DVD extra included with the film HALDANE OF THE SECRET SERVICE. Both films star Harry Houdini but THE GRIM GAME is only a film fragment today--the rest of it no longer exists. While I have enjoyed the reviews of both reviewers who have already reviewed this film, I really must agree with CryFi's review--and it reflects that most of the original film is gone AND gives nice information about the film.

As for me, I can't see giving the fragment anything more than a 3. Although the clip is pretty good, there really isn't a coherent story and it is really just an excuse by Houdini and the film makers to use some accidental footage involving an air tragedy. It is funny to realize that Houdini took credit for the mid-air stunts he didn't even perform.

This film is essentially a curio for history teachers, magic lovers and film historians. It is NOT a film that is coherent or worth seeking out because it only is a piece of a longer film.

From Houdini.org:

Magicians Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz, from the Houdini Museum in Scranton, PA, tell the story of the finding and restoration of the long lost Houdini silent movie from 1919, "The Grim Game". Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz from The Houdini Museum in Scranton, PA revealed, "The film has not been shown to the general public for 96 years. This was one of the most sought after items in Houdini History. It has been considered the Holy Grail of Houdini history!"

Houdini's movie "The Grim Game" made in 1919, has been unavailable until now and has been considered lost by film historians. Brookz commented, "The only complete copy of the film was hidden in the collection of juggler, magician, Houdini collector Larry Weeks. Dorothy and Dick had kept a friendly relationship with Larry Weeks and that is what helped to make this happen. Larry Weeks called himself "Houdini's biggest fan" and amassed a Houdini collection. He had the only known print of Houdini's lost film, "The Grim Game." He was known to show it at various occasions in his life time. It is the best of Houdini's five films. Dick Brookz commented "Over the years Larry invited us to see the film on two occasions. He found it odd and incomprehensible when I, Dick Brookz, told him that some magicians berated him for hoarding the movie that he preserved over the years at great personal cost."

We called Larry Weeks on his private number and told him about our desire to have the film restored. It took several calls and over two weeks to convince Larry to meet with a go-between. Larry finally agreed and gave us permission to pass along Larry's number. A meeting was set up and he arranged to acquire the film for Turner Classic Movies who he done a job for. He then put the pieces together to pick up the film, have a company restore it and Turner Classic paid to also add an original movie score. The wonderful thing is that the film content is complete, although it required a lot of work by the restoration company. Just prior to this time we had spoken with Larry several times and he informed us of his rapidly diminishing health so time was of the essence. The deal was made!" The last time we spoke to Larry after the deal he said to us "Thanks, enjoy the film. The next time you will see me I will be in a box!" Larry Weeks died October 13, 2014, before the public would get news of the acquisition on January 23, 2015. Many years ago Larry Weeks had bought a plot in the same cemetery as close as possible to Houdini and is buried there.

The restored film has a musical score composed by Brane Zivkovic an award winning film, television, and theatre composer. This was all done with financial help from Turner Classic Movies, who premiered it as the climax at the 2015 4 day TCM Classic Film Festival Sunday, March 29, 2015, in Hollywood to resounding praise and approval. It was the finale of the event.