In real life, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (played in the film by Peter O’Toole) used some of the photographs to illustrate an article he wrote on fairies for The Strand. It was based on the story of the Cottingley Fairies, the fairies supposedly photographed by two young cousins in 1917. Nominated as the Best Supporting Actor for Bugsy in 1991, he would play Houdini in the 1997 film FairyTale: A True Story. Houdini was Curtis’ first real success as a leading man and he would go on to long a successful career, even getting an Academy Award nomination (Best Actor) for The Defiant Ones.Īnother Oscar nominee to play Houdini was perennial tough guy Harvey Kietel. They embraced the light hearted biography, particularly the love story between Harry and Bess, who was played by Tony Curtis’ real life wife (at the time) Janet Leigh. The public was not concerned by the film’s accuracy, though. That is not the only liberty taken with the magician’s life by the film, which blurred over many of the man’s rough edges and mixed up the chronology of events, such as his adoption of straightjacket escapes. It is definitely responsible for the wide misconception that Houdini died as a result of a mishap in his Chinese Water Torture Cell act. In fact, some think that it was his 1953 film that cemented Harry Houdini’s reputation as the world’s greatest magician. It is probably fair to say that Tony Curtis’ portrayal of Houdini, in the film of the same name, is the best known. Adrien Brody may be the most decorated actor to play Houdini, but he is not the only well known actor to play the role, not was he the one in Oscar contention. Although some have suspected this was played up for publicity, his mother actually wrote of it in The Village Voice over a dozen years ago when Brody was in contention for the Academy Award. In the build up to the two part film’s release, much has been made of the fact that Brody himself performed magic as a young man. Oh, please!!!! Finally, may I recommend, if you are sufficiently interested, that you watch the actual interview with the real Conan Doyle on YouTube.When Houdini premieres tonight on History, Adrien Brody will not only be the latest actor to portray Harry Houdini, he will be the first Oscar winner to step into the role. José Ferrer The only other decent dramatic treatment of Houdini's life was the TV movie "The Great Houdini" the highly fictionalized Tony-Janet film made me furious! Judging by the reaction to my "useless" review, readers agree with Sir Arthur that he had to do his magic by extra-normal means. Main cast: Ehrich Weiss / Young Harry Houdini. Holmes was, as a detective generally dependent on his reasoning faculties but Conan Doyle himself never lost his naive belief in the supernatural and spiritualism and insisted Harry had to do his effects by extra-normal means, This, Houdini vehemently denied. Doyle, of course, was the creator and author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. I think the ending is perfect and we can see how Houdini and Doyle became antagonists after their earlier friendship. I don't think it's all that factual but it is essentially true all the same. I too haven't seen the movie since '87 but I remember it as an excellent and surprising film. I haven't included any good stuff in this review because I don't want to ruin it for you when you watch it! I currently own a few copies of this movie that I collect, so please contact me at if you would like one. Eventually he changes his name and becomes the greatest magician in the world. He finds love and finds himself as he learns to look within for his true abilities. He joins a circus and the ring leader becomes a father figure to him while a silent Native American Medicine man is his mentor. This is a very touching scene because he is very close to his brother, and he knows he may not see him again. At the age of 16 or so, Eric Weiss leaves his home and his best friend/brother to pursue his dream of becoming the worlds greatest magician. It has you laughing without the use of crudeness and profanity. This is an excellent example of of good clean family humor. He is surprisingly cute as a young teenager. Young Harry Houdini is the best movie Wil Wheaton ever made.
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