This is probably more in Michael May's bailiwick...but I'm reading a biography, and I discover the 17th coolest thing ever:
Harry Houdini versus a robot!!
That's actually a lobby card from a 1920 movie serial starring Houdini, "The Master Mystery." OK, so they weren't very good with titles yet back then...that picture comes from the book The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman.
Here's an American and a French poster:
Some say that this is the first ever motion picture appearance of a robot, although there seems to be some disagreement. But (SPOILER ALERT for a 90 year old silent film serial) it turns out that it's not really a robot--the bad guy is just dressing up like a robot.
Which, of course, begs the question: If there had never been an on-screen depiction of a robot, how the did villain come up with idea to dress up like a robot? If only Scooby Doo were here to help us...
Harry Houdini versus a robot!! That's actually a lobby card from a 1920 movie serial starring Houdini, "The Master Mystery." OK, so they weren't very good with titles yet back then...that picture comes from the book The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman.
Here's an American and a French poster:
Some say that this is the first ever motion picture appearance of a robot, although there seems to be some disagreement. But (SPOILER ALERT for a 90 year old silent film serial) it turns out that it's not really a robot--the bad guy is just dressing up like a robot.Which, of course, begs the question: If there had never been an on-screen depiction of a robot, how the did villain come up with idea to dress up like a robot? If only Scooby Doo were here to help us...
And he would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for that meddling magician!
ReplyDeleteI honestly want to see this.
Actually, it's available on Amazon, in the Houdini: The Movie Star, a collection of 5 Houdini serials/movies, plus films of actual Houdini escapes.
ReplyDelete