It is what it is, namely a smashing piece of entertainment loosely based on a fabulous entertainer of days gone by.
The set up is very tidy as we see Houdini in his early days before he was an auditorium filler, we get a nice introduction to his interest in tricks and of course his romance with his sweetheart Bess (a lovely Janet Leigh). We then follow his career arc and get involved with his ego and the ever lasting pursuit of pleasing the audience that we now know leads to a dreadful conclusion. The set pieces are OK and the story from the page is handled very well, Tony Curtis shows both his best and worse sides in this, on one hand he is a wholesome handsome devil may care entertainer, yet on the other hand during scenes where he is one on one with another (notably Leigh), he hams like the front counter in the Butchers Shop.
This was the first time I had watched this since about 1990, and the thing that really hits home to me even now is that come the finale, I'm still hoping the great entertainer lives, I believe he will survive that final trick, and regardless of how accurate the film is, what I do know is that the film and its characters have engaged me from the off, job done. 8/10
The set up is very tidy as we see Houdini in his early days before he was an auditorium filler, we get a nice introduction to his interest in tricks and of course his romance with his sweetheart Bess (a lovely Janet Leigh). We then follow his career arc and get involved with his ego and the ever lasting pursuit of pleasing the audience that we now know leads to a dreadful conclusion. The set pieces are OK and the story from the page is handled very well, Tony Curtis shows both his best and worse sides in this, on one hand he is a wholesome handsome devil may care entertainer, yet on the other hand during scenes where he is one on one with another (notably Leigh), he hams like the front counter in the Butchers Shop.
This was the first time I had watched this since about 1990, and the thing that really hits home to me even now is that come the finale, I'm still hoping the great entertainer lives, I believe he will survive that final trick, and regardless of how accurate the film is, what I do know is that the film and its characters have engaged me from the off, job done. 8/10