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The Master Mystery (1920)
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Overview
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Release Date:
March 1920 (USA)
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Plot:
Justice Department agent Quentin Locke must investigate a powerful cartel protected by a robot (here reffered to as "The Automation")and using a gas weapon "The Madagascar Madness" | add synopsis
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User Comments:
Not much story, but a priceless curio
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Cast
(Credited cast)| Harry Houdini | ... | Quentin Locke (as Houdini) | |
| Marguerite Marsh | ... | Eva Brent | |
| Ruth Stonehouse | ... | Zita Dane | |
| Edna Britton | ... | De Luxe Dora | |
| William Pike | ... | Paul Balcom | |
| Charles Graham | ... | Herbert Balcom | |
| Floyd Buckley | ... | Q the Automaton | |
| Jack Burns | ... | Peter Brent |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
The Houdini Serial (USA) (alternative title)
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Runtime:
(15 episodes)
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Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
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Trivia:
A novelization of the serial was written by John W. Grey and then-popular mystery writer Arthur B. Reeve, who also co-wrote the script. Published in 1919, it contained many stills from the film.
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Edited into Days of Thrills and Laughter (1961)
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Master Mystery (1920)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| Writer seeking info | johnccox |
| Writer seeking info | johnccox |
| Pressbook? | johnccox |
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It's been around a century since Houdini's superstardom, and the fact that EVERYONE still knows his name is nothing short of phenomenal, especially when you consider how much of his legacy is word-of-mouth ONLY. Therefore, Kino Video's restoration of this 15-chapter serial (along with four other features and performance footage on this FABULOUS 3-disc set) is of ENORMOUS importance. Too bad the serial is more than a little bit tedious, and even with a few chapters gone forever due to nitrate rot (Kino's done their level best to compensate with some summarizing title cards), the four remaining hours are a challenge to endure. BUT...nearly EVERY surviving chapter cliffhangs with Harry bound and/or dangled in some heinous manner, and each ensuing chapter opens with a no-camera-tricks escape, and that's why any further complaints about this title become meaningless. And that robot...the 'trivia' on this page states that it may be the first in the annals of cinema, but BOY OH BOY is it goofy! But I do believe that with the re-emergence of this title and its companions, the Houdini legacy is guaranteed PERMANENCE.