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Harry Houdini.
Photograph: Silent Era image collection.
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The Master Mystery
Also known as Houdini le maître du mystère in France : {The Master of Mystery}
(1918-1919) United States of America
B&W : Serial / 15 chapters / 31 reels
Directed by Burton King (Burton L. King) and Harry Grossman
Cast: Houdini (Harry Houdini) [Quentin Locke], Marguerite Marsh [Eva Brent], Ruth Stonehouse [Zita Dane], Edna Britton [‘De Luxe’ Dora], William Pike [Paul Balcom], Charles Graham [Herbert Balcom], Floyd Buckley [Q the automaton], Jack Burns [Peter Brent], Bob Rose [Houdini stunt double]
Octagon Films, Incorporated, production; distributed on State Rights basis by B.A. Rolfe Productions. / Produced by B.A. Rolfe. Scenario by Arthur B. Reeve and Charles A. Logue + [Harry Houdini]. Cinematography by William A. Reinhart. Presented by B.A. Rolfe. / 15 chapters (two reels each): [1] “Living Death,” released [?] 18 November 1918? (three reels); [2] “The Iron Terror,” released [?] 25 November 1918?; [3] “The Water Peril,” released [?] 2 December 1918?; [4] “The Test,” released [?] 9 December 1918?; [5] “The Chemist’s Shop,” released [?] 16 December 1918?; [6] “The Mad Genius,” released [?] 23 December 2918?; [7] “Barbed Wire,” released [?] 30 December 1918?; [8] “The Challenge,” released [?] 6 January 1919?; [9] “The Madagascan Madness,” released [?] 13 January 1919?; [10] “The Binding Rine,” released [?] 20 January 1919?; [11] “The Net,” released [?] 27 January 1919?; [12] “The Death Noose,” released [?] 3 February 1919?; [13] “The Flash of Death,” released [?] 10 February 1919?; [14] “The Tangled Web,” released [?] 17 February 1919?; [15] “Bound at Last; or, Unmasking of the Automaton,” released [?] 24 February 1919?. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The earliest documented premiere of the serial is 4 December 1918 in Lowell, Massachusetts. In December 1918, chapters from the serial saturated Massachusetts theaters, with actress Marguerite Marsh making personal appearances on three consecutive days at five Boston area theaters in mid-December. By 2 January 1919, one theater was promoting the 10th chapter. Circulation expanded in January 1919.
Drama: Crime.
Survival status: Print exists in the film holdings of the Cohen Media Group (Raymond Rohauer collection) [incomplete positive].
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Acid - Barbed wire - Escapes - Patents - Poison - Robots - Secret Service - Serials - Strait jackets - Vamps
Listing updated: 17 September 2022.
References: Bardèche-History p. 113; Lahue-Bound p. 25; Lahue-Continued pp. v, 71-72, 196-197, 286; Lahue-Gentlemen p. 134; Stedman-Serials pp. 53-54 : Website-IMDb; Website-SerSq : with additional information provided by Bob Fontenrose.
Home video: DVD.
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