IMDb > Houdini (1953)
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Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   1,064 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Director:
Writers:
Harold Kellock (book)
Philip Yordan (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Houdini on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 July 1953 (USA) more
Genre:
User Comments:
Curtis Gives Another Good Performance more (22 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Tony Curtis ... Harry Houdini

Janet Leigh ... Bess Houdini
Torin Thatcher ... Otto (Von Schwager's assistant)
Angela Clarke ... Harry's mother

Stefan Schnabel ... German Prosecuting Attorney
Ian Wolfe ... Malue
Sig Ruman ... Schultz
Michael Pate ... Dooley (of the London Examiner)
Connie Gilchrist ... Mrs. Shultz
Malcolm Lee Beggs ... British jail warden
Frank Orth ... Mr. Hunter (safe expert)
Barry Bernard ... Insp. Marlick
Douglas Spencer ... Simms (of the New York Observer)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
106 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The movie contains several factual errors, the most telling of which is the dramatization of his death. In the film he runs into a prop sword handle and ruptures his appendix, then almost drowns in the 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 boy who had heard that Houdini could withstand any blow without harm. This did, indeed, rupture his appendix. He later collapsed on stage, was taken to the hospital and died there. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: Newspaper editor looks over layout for "whatever happened to Houdini?" article, then assigns a reporter to go out and investigate the story. This is absolutely backwards - a story of such a speculative nature would always be written first, with layout following after the fact. more
Quotes:
Harry Houdini: I hadn't prepared anything for tonight, but perhaps I have something that will amuse you. So if you'll get a couple of broomsticks, I'll get my wife - and we'll see what we can do. more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
An der schönen, blauen Donau (On the Beautiful Blue Danube), Op. 314 more

FAQ

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16 out of 20 people found the following comment useful.
Curtis Gives Another Good Performance, 7 October 2006
8/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Tony Curtis is almost always good in whomever he plays, and he was fascinating in here as the famous magician "Harry Houdini." Curtis had a number of good roles in his prime. Speaking of "prime," Janet Leigh didn't look too bad in her prime, either: a very pretty lady.

I don't know how accurate this biography was, but I do know that this movie should have been longer. I usually say the opposite about films, but in this case, I would like to have seen more details about his life and death. His failure to communicate with dead - Houdini's misguided belief - wasn't discussed much.

I guess there were a couple of more modern-day films on Houdini, but they must not have been anything much since I never heard about them. Too bad, because a good re-make of this movie might be something to see.

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