UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

blanche-2 Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh turn in wonderful performances as Harry and Bess Houdini in "Houdini," a 1953 film. And why shouldn't romance be the centerpiece? Curtis and Leigh were newlyweds and one of the most gorgeous couples in Hollywood.It's an odd thing - photos of Houdini don't show him as being that much of a hunk, but he seems to always be played by them, probably thanks to Curtis. A musical with Hugh Jackman starring is in the works.Undoubtedly the greatest magician of all time, the film touches on some of Houdini's big escapes and magic, his relationship with Bess, of course, and his relationship with his beloved mother. And much of what is shown in the film is true: Houdini did double as the Wild Man in a side show, he did buy a dress belonging to Queen Victoria for his mother and presented her wearing it, he did escape from a London cell, etc. He also worked to debunk spiritualists and, though it isn't shown here, he came into conflict with Arthur Conan Doyle over this.For some reason, the producers decided to change the way Houdini died, though the story of how he died is well known. Go figure.The film is in color, with beautiful costumes, and the stars look marvelous.One thing I've never been able to find out is if he did or did not communicate with Bess from the beyond. Bess said he did and then recanted. In a film I saw, a really old one, the woman playing Bess (or maybe it was Bess, I don't know) stated that she did get the secret code from Harry. Then she was visited by a bishop or higher up from the Catholic church (Bess was Catholic) and she was talked into saying that she never heard from him. So I wonder.Good film, very entertaining, beautiful stars at the peak.

mark.waltz Belief and proof, that is the theme of this likable biography of one of America's entertainers, combination magician and escape artist. There's no doubt in my mind that this is a totally sanitized biography. However, as perfectly cast with Tony Curtis in the lead, the outcome is a view of one part of Houdini's life that is acceptable for the time it was made. Janet Leigh adds more to her role than being feisty window dressing, exuding humor in the early sequences, when she meets Curtis in cave man disguise and providing support for him in scenes where his credibility is questioned.With Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland playing in the background, the film concentrates on how Houdini developed his act and his search for an obscure German magician whom he hopes can provide insight to the super- natural dangers of his profession. This makes the second half of the film more serious than the first. It aided Curtis in a rise in his career, helping him move beyond being the Jewish, male version of Maria Montez. The ending of the movie, certainly not for chlostrophobics, is one of the key weaknesses in the film, and is truly unrealistic even if it is based upon fact.

wes-connors Loosely based on the life of renowned daredevil escape artist Harry Houdini; the operative word is, of course, "loosely". An Internet search for the biography of Mr. Houdini reveals material for a much, much better movie. Still, this is a very entertaining, briskly-paced, and colorful film. A George Pal production, ably directed by George Marshall, this "Houdini" focuses on slight-of-hand, magical "tricks" more than "special effects"; this results in a much more realistic-looking film than you might expect. The story emphasizes the romantic relationship between handsome Tony Curtis (as Houdini) and shapely Janet Leigh (as Bess). They are a very good-looking couple.****** Houdini (7/2/53) George Pal : George Marshall ~ Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Torin Thatcher, Angela Clarke

viniscius As I see, many posting members speak of an ending which portraits his death after an emergency rescue from the torture tank, and one speaks of another in which he lays on the floor, breathing deeply and telling his wife he'd do it again! I also remember in the firstly-mentioned version he unmasks a spiritualist who'd just told him she was his mother and how she used to caress him as a child --- by shouting his mother would never caress him for she believed that should make him a weak child, and also in this same version he performs an escape for the royalty in Hungary, there are also many dialogs in one missing in another. It seems his mother spoke only yidish in one, and for the other one I feel sorry for having watched a Spanish-translated, so I can not tell.Are we talking about two different movies?