Olive Films subtly improves the movie’s picture quality despite some limitations in the current high-definition transfer. Both versions are licensed from Paramount Pictures, likely offering the same source. Legend put the 1953 production out a few years ago as part of a double feature. This new edition from Olive Films isn’t the first time Houdini has hit Blu-ray.
Houdini 1953 movie#
There is an innocence to Houdini as a movie that likely doesn’t survive in today’s Hollywood. Seeing the push and pull between these two great stars is worth the price of admission alone. The whirlwind romance between Harry and Bess is utterly convincing with married stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh playing them. Edith Head, winner of eight Academy Awards for costume design, delivered a magnificent and ever-changing wardrobe for the production. Made during the height of Hollywood’s famed studio system, it was created by a litany of talented craftsmen steeped in filmmaking. The production goes all out in staging Houdini’s most well-known feats, including breaking out of a locked box in a frozen river.
Unencumbered by the current Hollywood obsession to add turmoil and inner conflict to its protagonists, Houdini is a feel-good romantic comedy about the most famous magician of all time. The production goes all out in staging Houdini’s most well-known feats Bess Houdini is brought into Harry’s act as a partner, though she becomes uncomfortable with it when he attempts increasingly dangerous stunts. What makes it such a winner is the loving depiction between Harry and Bess. The movie is light and breezy by biopic standards. Harry Houdini would eventually enjoy notoriety as a fierce skeptic of mediums, exposing their bag of tricks. It does address the illusionist’s brush with spiritualism after the death of his beloved mother. The plot itself is a romanticized portrayal of Harry Houdini’s famed career, touching upon his rise to fame in Europe and subsequent return to America. Transcending mere acting, casting the married stars in these roles was a masterstroke. It’s clear Janet Leigh’s deep feelings for Curtis leak into the movie, giving their on-screen relationship an extra layer of magic absent from most romantic movies. The movie was made early in their marriage and Janet Leigh gives one of the most believable performances in screen history as Harry Houdini’s loving wife, Bess. It lacks the inner psychological complexity of heavier fare but entertains with heart-felt enthusiasm for Harry and Bess Houdini.īefore eventually divorcing in 1962, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh would have two children together, including future horror icon Jamie Lee Curtis. Houdini is smooth Hollywood entertainment rooted in the storytelling conventions of its day, chronicling the performer’s rise from carnival act to international fame. Directed by George Marshall ( Destry Rides Again) in Technicolor goodness, the 1953 film is a light-hearted telling of Houdini’s life without feeling a need for complete historical accuracy. Husband and wife Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, one of classic Hollywood’s most iconic marriages, teamed up to play Harry and Bess Houdini in this charming biopic of the legendary illusionist and escape artist. Married Hollywood legends produce gold with sizzling on-screen chemistry
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