Read Online Houdini: A Life Worth Reading by Higher Read - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Higher Read
Tags: General Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Leaders & Notable People, Rich & Famous, Arts & Literature, Actors & Actresses, Entertainers
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Catalina Island. The film’s gimmicky presentation caused contempt from reviewers, although Houdini was as usual quite pleased with it.
At the end of 1919, Houdini departed the United States for Europe, intending to work on his film career. The Master Mystery had been a hit in England, and Houdini earned huge salaries performing there, although some audiences complained that they wanted Houdini to spend more time performing tricks and less time speaking about his film career and other endeavors. Houdini decided to produce his own movies, in which he would of course star. He shot scenes for a movie about counterfeiting that he intended to make.
In the summer of 1920 Houdini returned to the U.S. He devoted himself entirely to his movies, not performing onstage at all for the next year and a half. During this time, Houdini produced and starred in a movie called The Man from Beyond . The plot centers on a character who is revived after having been frozen in ice for one hundred years. The man, whose initials are HH like Harry Houdini’s, recognizes that a woman about to be married to another man is a descendant of his former fiancée and performs many death-defying stunts to win her over and escape enemies of their union. The movie contains Spiritualistic elements, and it is unclear in the movie if Houdini is receptive to the religion, or if he is just using its wild popularity to score viewers. Houdini certainly worked very hard to publicize the film; he formed four touring companies to promote the film and toured himself to promote it.
Meanwhile, the financial troubles of Houdini’s company, the FDC, deepened. In desperation, Houdini started a second company to support the FDC, the Weehawken Street Corporation, which dealt in real estate. However, that company did not prosper, and when the FDC was sued, became a serious financial liability.
Houdini’s last film, Haldane of the Secret Service , featuring another main character with the initials HH, came out in 1923 to poor reviews. The movie as usual starred Houdini, this time as a secret service agent for the United States who performs incredible stunts.
By the early 1920s, Houdini’s film career was over, although Houdini was still involved in many lawsuits stemming from various contracts and corporations associated with his ventures in film. In some cases, Houdini was the plaintiff and in some, the defendant.
X. Houdini, the Collector
Read It and Know It
After reading this chapter, you will know more about
Houdini’s collection: Any item that related to magic interested Houdini.
Collecting and continued insecurities: Houdini included drama and literature in his collection to help fulfill his desire to be considered well educated.
Alfred Becks: Houdini hired a full-time librarian to handle his large collection.
The collection today: The magic library is in the hands of the Library of Congress.
Beginning in his youth, Houdini passionately collected books, artifacts, and historical memorabilia related to magic. An old man named Evanion approached Houdini during one of Houdini’s first tours of London. Evanion, although a man of modest means, was a collector of rare artifacts from the history of magic. Houdini became an admirer of Evanion’s collection and bought several items from him. He treated Evanion fondly and wrote sadly about his passing. Houdini hauled his massive magic library around with him, eventually establishing a huge collection in his home in New York. The library included a great deal of literature on the topic of Spiritualism.
With his determination to become a film star and his eternal desire to prove himself a learned and cultured man, Houdini also became obsessed with accumulating a library of drama and theater literature and memorabilia. He reached out to Robert Gould Shaw, a famous drama collector affiliated with Harvard University, and George Pierce Baker, the creator of the Yale School of
At the end of 1919, Houdini departed the United States for Europe, intending to work on his film career. The Master Mystery had been a hit in England, and Houdini earned huge salaries performing there, although some audiences complained that they wanted Houdini to spend more time performing tricks and less time speaking about his film career and other endeavors. Houdini decided to produce his own movies, in which he would of course star. He shot scenes for a movie about counterfeiting that he intended to make.
In the summer of 1920 Houdini returned to the U.S. He devoted himself entirely to his movies, not performing onstage at all for the next year and a half. During this time, Houdini produced and starred in a movie called The Man from Beyond . The plot centers on a character who is revived after having been frozen in ice for one hundred years. The man, whose initials are HH like Harry Houdini’s, recognizes that a woman about to be married to another man is a descendant of his former fiancée and performs many death-defying stunts to win her over and escape enemies of their union. The movie contains Spiritualistic elements, and it is unclear in the movie if Houdini is receptive to the religion, or if he is just using its wild popularity to score viewers. Houdini certainly worked very hard to publicize the film; he formed four touring companies to promote the film and toured himself to promote it.
Meanwhile, the financial troubles of Houdini’s company, the FDC, deepened. In desperation, Houdini started a second company to support the FDC, the Weehawken Street Corporation, which dealt in real estate. However, that company did not prosper, and when the FDC was sued, became a serious financial liability.
Houdini’s last film, Haldane of the Secret Service , featuring another main character with the initials HH, came out in 1923 to poor reviews. The movie as usual starred Houdini, this time as a secret service agent for the United States who performs incredible stunts.
By the early 1920s, Houdini’s film career was over, although Houdini was still involved in many lawsuits stemming from various contracts and corporations associated with his ventures in film. In some cases, Houdini was the plaintiff and in some, the defendant.
X. Houdini, the Collector
Read It and Know It
After reading this chapter, you will know more about
Houdini’s collection: Any item that related to magic interested Houdini.
Collecting and continued insecurities: Houdini included drama and literature in his collection to help fulfill his desire to be considered well educated.
Alfred Becks: Houdini hired a full-time librarian to handle his large collection.
The collection today: The magic library is in the hands of the Library of Congress.
Beginning in his youth, Houdini passionately collected books, artifacts, and historical memorabilia related to magic. An old man named Evanion approached Houdini during one of Houdini’s first tours of London. Evanion, although a man of modest means, was a collector of rare artifacts from the history of magic. Houdini became an admirer of Evanion’s collection and bought several items from him. He treated Evanion fondly and wrote sadly about his passing. Houdini hauled his massive magic library around with him, eventually establishing a huge collection in his home in New York. The library included a great deal of literature on the topic of Spiritualism.
With his determination to become a film star and his eternal desire to prove himself a learned and cultured man, Houdini also became obsessed with accumulating a library of drama and theater literature and memorabilia. He reached out to Robert Gould Shaw, a famous drama collector affiliated with Harvard University, and George Pierce Baker, the creator of the Yale School of
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