(After all, Sir Arthur also pops up in 1998’s Houdini and 1976’s The Great Houdini.) If you knew Houdini purely through television, you might conclude his closest male companion was Doyle. (Even if you are a Boardwalk obsessive, you may have forgotten-Hardeen appears in the episode “Paris Green.”) Hardeen is sometimes a minor character in works about Houdini, though often he gets left out entirely. Unless you’re a Boardwalk Empire fanatic, you probably don’t know that name. Then there’s Houdini’s little brother, Hardeen. (Pitchfork named it one of the 200 Best of the ’80s.) Not to mention the New York rap group Whodini put out an album in 1984 titled Escape. Harry has inspired songs including Walter Brennan’s “ Houdini” in 1962, Kate Bush’s “ Houdini” in 1982, Foster the People’s “ Houdini” in 2012, and Travis Scott’s “ Houdini” in 2018. The focus here, though, is mainly on Houdini as a tortured artist who wanted more, more, more - until the very end.He has been portrayed by an Oscar winner (Adrien Brody in 2014’s TV series Houdini) and a Reservoir Dog (Harvey Keitel in 1997’s FairyTale: A True Story-Doyle also appears in this one, played by Peter O’Toole).īut to feel Houdini’s full impact, attempt to track how often he gets invoked in pop culture in general. Houdini paints a realistic portrait of a long-lasting marriage, one that isn't perfect but endures nonetheless. Parents also will appreciate that Houdini (the real man and the on-screen one) is a man who loved and stuck by his wife, played by the charming Kristen Connolly, whom audiences may recognize as the Final Girl from The Cabin in the Woods.

Houdini's escapes start out as simple jailbreaks and keep getting more and more dangerous until he's plummeting off bridges and getting buried alive. It's also twisted and bizarre enough that kids will want to watch. It's the type of historical drama that parents will want kids to see (those who are old enough to not get upset and cry while watching Houdini struggle near death under the frozen surface of a river, that is). As a portrait of a self-made man who won fame and glory as a result of his own hard work, daring, and talent (not to mention a hefty dash of showmanship), Houdini is a winner.

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