The Great Houdini

I have seen this TV movie twice, and have been searching for a copy of the video to purchase. I've seen other Houdini movies and biographies, but this is one I really want. Paul Michael Glaser and Sally Struthers were very real in their portrayal of Harry (Erich Weiss) Houdini and his wife, Bess.

The film is more about seances, mediums, and communicating with the dead, than it is about great escapes. Under the influence of his overbearing Mother, Ruth Gordon, "The GreatHoudini", Paul Michael Glaser, has her shadow over him in both life and death. Once she passes on, Houdini is obsessed with trying to communicate with his Mother through seances and mediums. It is only after he is convinced that all efforts to speak with the dead are either through unhinged charlatans or out and out frauds, that he becomes a non believer, and sinks into the deepest of depressions. His long suffering wife, Sally Struthers, stands by him even as the religious right relentlessly attacks Houdini as a sort of anti-Christ. - MERK

Another outrageously ignored, underrated and neglected biopic excellently staged on film with great performances everywhere, especially by Paul Michael Glaser, Sally Struthers and Ruth Gordon as the three main characters in the complicated relationships between son, mother and wife, the two latter having problems with each other, the wife coming between the mother and son and the mother always intruding in his marriage even after her death. The best scene is the first London scene, when Houdini accidentally meets Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter Cushing, not very like the real Doyle) and the director of Scotland Yard (the old incorrigible Wilfred Hyde-White) with consequences. The development of the relationship between Houdini and Doyle is true to history, they actually became almost enemies after having started as true friends understanding each other, while Houdini never could accept Doyle's weakness for elves. The spiritualistic part of the story though gives Doyle the right, who survived Houdini with five years, and this is actually the most interesting part of his story. All the tricks with his constantly risking his life twice a day ("and thrice on Saturdays") is all too well known, so not more than necessarily much celluloid is spent on all that, while the drama is his personal relationships. The domestic family scenes and the one in Budapest are priceless for very convincing insights, especially the Jewish wedding scene at home. The jewel in the crown however is the fantastic performance by Vivian Vance as the nurse and indispensable factotum who actually both introduces the drama and finishes it, in a very clearly surveyable interesting and skillful composition to explain the extraordinary life of one of the greatest magicians ever.

Accurate mini-biography of the great escapist and illusionist Harry Houdine, this real name is Erich Weisz, Jewish from Hungarian descendant, the name Houdini coming from the French magician Robert Houdini, due Erich held in high regard a sort of spiritual master, his closest mother is an earnest orthodox Jewish.

The movie starting in the night of new years's eve of new 20th century 1900 when Harry Houdini (Paul Michael Graser) brings at home his girlfriend Bess (Sally Struthers) when he introduces a catholic Bess to his mother Cecilia Weiss (Ruth Gordon) she falls apart over such misbelief, Houdini always have a special fond over his mother, thus such sudden marriage hurts so much Cecilia, mainly because Bess demands a catholic church wedding, hence Bess and Cecilia usually were in inharmonious coexistence.

Houdini didn't get enough success on America, then his mother sponsored thru his lifetime savings to the couple travel to London, where he meets Arthur Conan Doyle that leverage his career at Europe, as promised he brings his mother to Budapest to meet his closest circle ancestors, there once more Bess was not welcome due she is catholic, back at America the quarrelsome couple split for little while, to worsen his sick mother came to die, then Houdine withdraw of the shows and cloister himself in everlasting grieving process, aid by a suppose lover Daisy White (Adrienne Barbeau) followed into hospital aftermaths.

After exhaustive pleas of Bess finally Houdini back on tour, and come out the fatal day when he had received a punch at stomach without expect and the rest is history, well as TV movie it wasn't made it properly, has many mistakes on the picture, a careless production when exposes London in beginning of century with asphalt streets as instance, the lower budge scratch the movie in many aspects, quite sure it was the reason this feature was under appreciated and still wasn't restored and released on DVD, that a question that needs an answer.

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First watch: 1978 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 6.5.

This is one of those made for TV movies which sadly few people now will probably ever see, and that is quite a shame. No if it was released in theaters, it likely wouldn't have won any Oscars. But it was a very good movie with fine performances by Glaser, Struthers, et al and a well done telling of the Houdini story. God knows it's infinitely better than many, many movies I have seen in theaters (and that won Oscars). If you can somehow find or rent or get a copy of this, do it. If you like Houdini, you won't be disappointed.