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Houdini (1998) starring Johnathon Schaech, Stacy Edwards, Mark Ruffalo

Houdini 1998

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Houdini (1998) starring Johnathon Schaech, Stacy Edwards, Mark Ruffalo

Recently, I watched the 1998 Houdini TV biography; I was interested to see how it stood up to other Houdini biographies I’ve seen, such as 1950’s Houdini biography with Tony Curtis, or the more recent Houdini with  Adrien Brody. In my opinion, both were entertaining fiction, but very poor biographies. So how did the 1998 version compare?

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Houdini – History Channel biography of Harry Houdini, starring Adrien Brody

Houdini, Adrien Brody

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Houdini – History Channel biography of Harry Houdini, starring Adrien Brody

Something that comes to mind about the History Channel’s Houdini biography, is actually a comic strip. Once, many years ago in the Bloom County comic strip, Opus the penguin was writing a movie review, which read in part:

“This bad film just oozed rottenness from every bad scene –simply bad beyond beyond all dimensions of possible badness. Well, maybe not that bad, but Lord, it wasn’t good.”

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Houdini, Portrait at Age 32

Harry Houdini biography

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Biography of Harry Houdini (1874-1926)

Houdini means “escape artist or other ingenious person,” according to the dictionary.  Harry Houdini epitomizes that, of course, as the man who created the field of escape artistry, as well as becoming the most famous magician of his day, and equally well known for his debunking of fake “psychics.” His story, in one sense, ended on the stage after dying of a ruptured appendix, but in another sense continued for many years afterward.  Houdini personally stated that his story began in Appleton, Wisconsin … but it likely actually began in Budapest, Austria-Hungary.

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Houdini, starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh

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Tony Curtis gives a winning performance as the great Houdini. The struggling circus performer who emerged as the world s most captivating magician and escape artist. From his beginnings as a wild man carnival act to the internationally famous feat of escaping from a locked trunk in an ice-jammed river. Houdini captures the amazing life and courage of this fascinating man. Also stars the beautiful Janet Leigh as Houdini s supportive wife. She lovingly stood by his side throughout his legendary career.

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The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre

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The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre

Editorial review of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre courtesy of Amazon.com

Often typecast as a menacing figure, Peter Lorre achieved Hollywood fame first as a featured player and later as a character actor, trademarking his screen performances with a delicately strung balance between good and evil. His portrayal of the child murderer in Fritz Langs masterpiece M (1931) catapulted him to international fame. Lang said of Lorre: He gave one of the best performances in film history and certainly the best in his life. Today, the Hungarian-born actor is also recognized for his riveting performances in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Casablanca (1942). Lorre arrived in America in 1934 expecting to shed his screen image as a villain. He even tried to lose his signature accent, but Hollywood repeatedly cast him as an outsider who hinted at things better left unknown.

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Boris Karloff doing his children's radio show at WNEW

Boris Karloff biography

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William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 — 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English  actor.

He was widely known for his roles in horror films, particularly for his portrayal of Frankenstein’s monster in Frankenstein (1931),  Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which resulted in his immense popularity. His best-known non-horror role is as the Grinch, as well as the narrator, in the animated television special of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!  (1966). He also had a memorable role in the original Scarface (1932). For his contribution to film and television, Boris Karloff was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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