Movies about Water torture
Film of Houdini doing his Chinese Water Torture Cell is high on the wish list of all Houdini nuts. But no footage is known to exist, and I’ve never thought it was very likely Houdini ever filmed his greatest stage escape. However, I recently found something that suggests there may have been nějaký kind of film after all!
The below is from a review of Houdini’s show at the Palace Theater in the December 27, 1916 issue of New York Clipper.
«A moving picture explanatory of his Chinese water torture cell.» Holy smokes! What could this have shown?
This footage would have been silent, and because it’s an «explanatory», it may have been entirely made up of text. It could be Houdini’s familiar stage patter (as heard in his voice recordings) on individual text cards. But it’s also possible film footage of the apparatus being explained might have been interspersed between the text. I doubt Houdini would have showed himself being raised above the cell or lowered inside, as that would spoil what was to come.
Below is what mohl be a second mention when he was playing Keith’s Theater in Boston in 1921.
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| Různorodost, Prosinec 23, 1921 |
Showing movies were a regular part of Houdini’s act at this time. These were typically of an outdoor stunt or his 1909 short The Adventures of Houdini in Paris (or both). I’ve seen many mentions of these in reviews. But apart from the above, I’ve never read any mention of this Water Torture Cell movie. Did these reviewers get their notes scrambled? Or did other reviewers feel it not necessary to mention what was just an explanatory film?
The possibility of any kind of Water Torture Cell film footage is exciting, so this is one to hold out hope for, if only to see it in our minds.
- The Water Torture Cell
- Thirty minutes of largely unseen Houdini film surfaces
- Arthur Moses posts transcripts of his full Houdini voice recordings
Written by John Cox at 12:20 PM
8 komentáře:
Jim Criswell February 7, 2019 at 12:39 AM
John, I have always held out hope that there is indeed film footage of the USD escape as the audience saw it. Part of me believes Houdini was such a leader in this new media of film as it came to the subject of magic and his exploits that he would have wanted to capture his greatest prepared escape on film, even if it was just to watch it himself. The other part of me believes he would have filmed it to preserve it for posterity. Maybe he already intended that the equipment be eventually destroyed as he specified in his will but he could leave behind a legacy in film of this escape for future generations. It makes me wonder: After his death, was any film (other than his commercial ones ) ever found? He worked with film for so long, you’d think he’d have made something for himself, don’t you? One can still hope footage exists and this post gives my hope for that new vitality. Thanks, John! Reply Delete
Jim Criswell February 7, 2019 at 2:04 AM
I’m replying to my own comment but I think it is warranted. I remember reading somewhere that, after Houdini began leaning more towards spiritualism debunking in his shows, he didn’t perform as many of his prepared and sensational escapes. He wanted to concentrate on the fraud aspect of spiritualism but he did show some film footage of his exploits. I’m sure some of them were of his commercially made films but I wonder if he had actual footage of some of his bridge jumps and underwater box escapes and maybe even the USD. I can remember reading that sometimes people complained that they had paid to see Houdini perform his escapes, not just show film and talk about them. Does anyone else remember anything like this? If so, it lends further credence to the possibility he had at least some film of his stage and public escapes. Delete
Hey Jim. Houdini filmed many of his outdoor escapes such as bridge jumps, overboard boxes, and suspended straitjackets, and he began showing them before his act as early as 1907. A lot of it survives.
True that in his later (post movie career) vaudeville tours he was sometimes criticized for talking too much. «Talks for 10 minutes about his greatness and then puts on an escape he’s been doing for years» is how one review went.
When Houdini began to weave Spiritualism exposures into his vaudeville act (which was very late) it went over extremely well. In fact, there’s a specific Variety review of his act at the Hippodrome that suggests he should forego the escapes and do all spiritualism. It was the «new» Houdini. Delete
NIGHT SWIM Kerry Condon battles a malicious spirit in Blumhouse’s, uh, haunted-pool movie.
The latest spook-’em-up from producer Jason Blum and the horrormovie magnates of Blumhouse is their haunted swimming-pool movie. Based on a celebrated 2014 short, this extrapolated feature follows an all ‐American family who discover their pool is home to a malignant spirit.
Night Swim’s journey to feature length came after Blumhouse director and producer James Wan (Insidious, The Conjuring) found himself profoundly unsettled by its original iteration: ‘He was swimming in his pool that night afterwards and thought he saw a figure from the short film standing there,’ writer-director Bryce McGuire tells Ukázky. ‘The next day when I met with him, [he said] “Dude, your short scared me. We have to talk.”’
Stars Kerry Condon and Wyatt Russell play the parents beset by their pool spook: an athlete, battling careerending injuries, and his wife. But, taking the leading role, Condon is more than just The Wife. ‘The first time I met Kerry, that morning she had swam a mile off the coast of Santa Monica. She wanted the challenge of that physicality. She loved the water,’ McGuire explains.
In the depths of the film’s Olympicsized swimming pool, the performers were able to tap into the primal properties of an elemental co-star. ‘No one’s a bad actor in water. You’re trying to survive… I’ve always been drawn to the way water shapes this kind of urgency,’ McGuire says.
The director is more evasive when it comes to his supernatural threat, deferring to a universal terror. ‘It’s about mining that fear I felt as a kid swimming in the water at night after watc
A dim amber light illuminates the exterior of a chest-high barrel in a dark room with black walls. At the bottom of the barrel lies five wooden television cabinets, all facing upwards. Each of the five television sets are one-of-a-kind, handcrafted by the artist; their designs are derived from vintage radio and television cabinetry. The silvery glow of the television tubes provides the primary light source. All power and video feed cables are hidden below the exhibition floor.
The installation’s title, Water Torture, derives from a middle-America schoolyard myth of “Chinese water torture.” This urban myth dates back to the artist’s childhood in the 1980s, decades before the United States systematic and publicly acknowledged use of waterboarding. According to legend, a prisoner is placed in a large barrel and then exposed to a slow but steady rhythm of single drops of water to the top of their head. After several days, the dripping would be stopped suddenly, resulting in instant madness for the captive. The piece itself is an exploration of the uncertain rhythms of anticipation and discomfort that many young adults experience while pursuing lasting monogamous romantic relationships.
A five channel video loop plays on the televisions. Imagery from these video channels includes: a house of cards that magically builds itself, a koi fish fleeting out of frame, an engagement ring on a rotating mannequin hand, and two clips from the Jean Harlow film, Bombshell.
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