

It doesn't get into the barn storming career or the great tricks Houdini did enough. It totally leaves out Harry's brother, the great Hardine. The story covers some highlights of Harry's life, and a little of the special relationship with his mom.

The real Houdini's life was much more interesting than the points of his life presented here. Janet Leigh, his wife in real life then, was outstanding as Bess Houdini and the sparks between them show on this film.

Tony Curtis was the proper person to play Harry Houdini when this movie was made. Janet Leigh does a great job as Houdini's faithful wife. With good period atmosphere, but with more attention to romance than to interesting detail, the film is quite enjoyable and colorful. His energetic performance, as the talented and motivated magician, is very good. With his pretty-boy looks, Tony Curtis handles the title role with passionate skill. Houdini shows a passionate talent for escapology and the film did much to create the 'Water Torture Cell' illusion. The film also exposes Houdini's campaign against mind readers, fraudulent mediums and others who claim supernatural powers. The film depicts Houdini's memorable escape from any pair of handcuffs produced by the audience the outdoor exhibition, when he allows himself to be hanged upside down from his ankles, suspended from the roof of a high building, in a strait jacket and, the dramatic act, when he accepts to be shackled with irons and placed in a box that is locked, roped, and submerged in frozen waters. By the early 1900s, the extraordinary Houdini earned an international reputation for his theatrical tricks and daring feats of extrication from shackles, ropes, handcuffs, and Scotland Yard's jails.
