Movie Description
Houdini is a 1953 American Technicolor film biography from Paramount Pictures, produced by George Pal and Berman Swarttz, directed by George Marshall, that stars then husband-and-wife Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. The film's screenplay, based upon the life of magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, is by Philip Yordan, based on the book Houdini by Harold Kellock. The film's music score was by Roy Webb and the cinematography by Ernest Laszlo. The art direction was by Albert Nozaki and Hal Pereira and the costume design by Edith Head.
The film's storyline is a fictionalized account of Houdini's life. It details his beginnings as a locksmith, up through his international success as a world-renowned escape artist and stage magician. Following the death of his mother, he exposes various fraudulent Mediums in the spiritualist movement, while always hoping to make contact with her. The film also follows his love for his wife Bess Houdini and his most dangerous stunts and stage illusions.