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Haldane of the Secret Service ~ Harry Houdini (1923)

5/31/2014

12 Comments

 
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Harry Houdini.  It seems that everyone knows that name;  it evokes images of mystery and magic,  of locks, and chains, and daring.  It has always been a magical name for me.  I've been a Houdini fan since childhood,  and honestly,  in the beginning, at least,  I can't remember why.  I must have seen one of those incredible posters,  or maybe one of the many shorts about his fantastic escapes.  In any case,  he's always been a hero of mine, and I'm not alone.  

Houdini, for the one or two people on Earth who might be unaware,  was a master escape artist.  He was chained and put in iron boxes,  handcuffed and thrown off bridges into rivers, and sealed inside water-filled glass canisters ~upside down~,  and always managed to escape.  He was challenged by police stations to escape the most modern cuffs,  and, perhaps most famous of all, was put into straight jackets,  each time only to escape,  with that trademark Houdini grin...that was seemingly half-grimace.

He was just about the most popular entertainer on Earth at the peak of his career,  and it was inevitable that at some point that a figure of his gravitas would break into the new medium of film.  Houdini made five pictures between 1919 and 1923,  and Haldane of the Secret Service was the last of these.  Produced and directed by the man himself,  Houdini played the stern Heath Haldane, a "sworn servant of the Dept. of justice". The setting is
Chinatown ("A place not visited by sightseeing parties"), and Haldane is on the trail of the mysterious Chinese supervillain Dr. Yu, and the brutal gang of counterfeiters who murdered his father, "silent Saunders" Haldane. *

PictureHeath Haldane
"Silent Saunders",  as described by the main gangster (the slimy Joe Ivors), was the "slickest bull that ever took our trail", and was murdered to get him out of the way. A critical mistake for the Chinatown gang!  From there our Magician/Agent/hero gets numerous chances to use his fantastic escape skills in various exciting scenarios (and even a little Ju-jutsu!),  until the final, shocking conclusion...in which we are offered a chilling surprise.  Like all of Houdini's movies,  I enjoyed Haldane quite a bit.  It's the most plot-heavy of the five,  with a strong dime novel feel throughout.

Honestly, I wish it had also been released in that format!

Apparently the Houdini films didn't take the world by storm on their release.  Perhaps the world wasn't ready to see him on screen,  or perhaps, in an era with so many amazing films,  his were unremarkable relative to the rest of his career.  Personally,  I think if you take them on their own merits,  guided by the uniqueness of their existence as Houdini memorabilia, they have a fun magic all their own.  I recommend Haldane of the Secret Service for fans of silent films, dime novels, and the legendary magician.


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You can buy this film in the amazing Houdini film set by Kino quite cheaply HERE. Besides the five dramas (it has The Grim Game's existing 5-minute fragment), it contains many escape performances, as well!  A MUST for any Harry Houdini/Silent film fan!

*"Silent Saunders", incidentally, is a reference to a character in a popular western novel by H. H. Knibbs, called Overland Red. Feel free to download this public domain novel here for your Kindle! It was also made into a 1920 film with Harry Carey (now lost), and also the 1924 silent, The Sunset Trail.  The name also appears in the May 1923 issue of Western Story magazine, in the story,  “Silent” Saunders Pays for Two.  It's a very cool and varied world we live in!
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This is one of my picks for the Snoopathon, a Blogathon of Spies!  A nod to our Blogathon host, Movies Silently!  Click the banner to the right to see some of the other blogs and their picks!

I also reviewed Robert Donat's 1943 Pulp film The Adventures of Tartu for the Blogathon HERE.
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12 Comments
Fritzi Kramer link
6/1/2014 03:12:58 pm

Thanks for the fascinating review! I know that they are not always the technically "best" movies but showing a silent with name recognition is a great way to win over new converts. I shall have to try luring people to the side of silence with promises of Houdini in the celluloid flesh. Great pick, thanks for sharing.

Reply
Clayton
6/3/2014 05:15:11 am

You are most welcome! Too much fun, this Blogathon.

I think that Houdini's movies are actually very enjoyable. Most times, silents being such a small universe, workaday silents like these suffer in comparison to METROPOLIS, or Hitchcock (or whichever bit of well-regarded genius one might choose). The same goes for B-Westerns (I'm thinking specifically of RAWHIDE, with Lou Gehrig). They may not be STAGECOACH, but they're excellent fun on their own terms. :)

I'm all for, by the way, converting folks over to the silents! A great calling. I think Houdini would be flattered that his skills as an escape artist were a part of the magic of bringing people to Silent movies!

Reply
John Cox link
6/3/2014 03:07:52 am

Haldane is sometimes called Houdini's worst film, but I've always liked it. I too wish it had been released as a dime novel. Thanks so much for this review.

Reply
Clayton
6/3/2014 05:27:08 am

Yeah, I don't like it when a film is compared to others; "it's a lesser Bogart film", etc. A movie has its own rules, and either one gets those rules, or they don't. I come at Haldane from a Dime Novel perspective, with a bit of Cliffhanger serial aesthetic, and as a Houdini follower, all of his movies are great bits of fun. :)

Houdini may not have been a Charlie Chaplin, but then again, I don't care for Chaplin's movies....

...and if you handcuffed Chaplin and chucked him in a river, he'd die. :)

Thanks for your comment!

Reply
John Hinson great nephew of Bess and Harry Houdini
6/3/2014 10:57:16 am

It is still nice to see Houdini in a different way then being a magician and his other roles.

Reply
Clayton
6/3/2014 12:23:26 pm

Hey there! Nice to have you here. Yes, it's a wonderful times for fans of the man; so many good resources and collections of various media!

Thanks for stopping in, and for your comment!

Reply
Silver Screenings link
6/3/2014 12:58:04 pm

I didn't know Houdini made five films. I'm really keen to see these! So glad to discover these films, thanks to your review.

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Clayton
6/3/2014 01:39:28 pm

I know, right? I stumbled on THE MAN FROM BEYOND, his Science Fiction film years ago, and I almost fainted from joy.

That set is 2000% worth every penny; I recommend that everyone that is even slightly interested to get it before it goes out of print!

Thanks for your comment!

Reply
Joe Thompson link
6/4/2014 01:56:34 pm

I have to dig out the Kino box and watch this one again. I wanted to be an escape artist when I was a kid, but I lacked Houdini's monomania. Thanks for sharing your feelings about this one.

Reply
Clayton
6/4/2014 03:56:08 pm

Thanks to you too, Joe; comments such as yours are why I do this blogging thing!

I tried the escape thing a few times, but I found that I'm not the type for it. That little panic feeling is not my cuppa tea! I'll leave it to Harry! :)

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Cameron link
6/10/2014 04:56:33 am

Great post! I haven't seen any of Houdini's films and clearly need to fill that gap in my movie knowledge! Thanks!

Reply
Clayton
6/10/2014 10:03:35 am

Thanks, and you're welcome! I used to have dreams about going into video stores and finding impossible films, like Charlie Chan & Mr. Moto vs Fu Manchu, etc., and this set of Houdini movies is as close to those dreams as I may ever get! I mean, spy, action, & science fiction stories with HOUDINI? Awesome.

Thanks for your comment!

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