The Great Houdini (film)

Last updated
The Great Houdini
TheGreatHoudinis.jpg
Also known asThe Great Houdinis
GenreBiography
Drama
Written by Peter Benchley
Melville Shavelson
Directed by Melville Shavelson
Starring Paul Michael Glaser
Sally Struthers
Theme music composer Peter Matz
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Production locations20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California
Cinematography Arch R. Dalzell
Editor John Woodcock
Running time96 minutes
Production company ABC Circle Films
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseOctober 8, 1976 (1976-10-08)

The Great Houdinisa.k.a.The Great Houdini is a 1976 American made-for-television biographical film which is a fictionalized account of the life of the Hungarian-American escape artist and entertainer Harry Houdini. The film was written and directed by Melville Shavelson and features Paul Michael Glaser ( Starsky & Hutch ) and Sally Struthers ( All in the Family ) and originally aired on ABC on October 8, 1976. [1]

Contents

Overview

The movie features the early career of Houdini, the relationship between his wife and mother, and his and his wife's attempts to reach "the other side,” with him attempting to contact his deceased mother and her attempting to contact Houdini himself after his death. Although the film portrays a strained relationship between Houdini's wife and mother, in reality they got along relatively well.

Some notable performances were turned in by Vivian Vance as Bess Houdini's nurse (and the narrator), Ruth Gordon as Houdini's mother, Peter Cushing as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Bill Bixby as Rev. Arthur Ford.

When the film was rebroadcast on April 6, 1977, the title was changed to The Great Houdini. [2]

Cast

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References

  1. "Making of The Great Houdinis" . Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  2. "'Great Houdinis' title mystery solved!" . Retrieved July 19, 2012.