Plot Summary for
Houdini (1953) More at IMDbPro »

The amazing career of master magician Harry Houdini is presented from his beginnings with a carnival "wild man" act to his emergence as an internationally-acclaimed illusionist, From his mysterious escape from a locked safe under the frozen Detroit River to dramatic one from a locked cell in Scotland Yard, he never failed to please his audience. Although Houdini's tricks are achieved through a marvelous physical dexterity and innate sleight-of-hand, he courted death with the hazardous illusions he performed and his compulsive quest to contact the spirit world. Written by duke1029@aol.com

In this fictional account of the great magician's life, Houdini meets his wife Bess while performing sideshow . The demure Bess rebuffs his advances but is soon attending all of his shows and they are married after a whirlwind romance. His first attempt at performing on stage with Bess as his pretty assistant is less than successful and he decides to take a regular job in a lock factory. His escape from a straight jacket at the annual magicians dinner gets him a ticket to Europe where he becomes a great success, even meeting a challenge to escape from London's reputedly escape-proof jails. Back home he stages a series of death defying escapes but turns to mysticism after his beloved mother's death. He eventually returns to great acclaim but dies on stage after accidentally aggravating an inflamed appendix. Written by garykmcd

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