Harry?
Are you there, Harry?
Harry?
Can you hear me?
One way or another, we all want to escape.
When ordinary life shackles us...
we need to get away-
get away from boredom...
from pain...
from fear.
But not me.
Fear is haw I know I'm alive.
Unlike other people...
escape life.
I escape death.
Hell of a way to make a living.
They say when you're gonna die...
your whole life ﬂashes before your eyes.
My name is Erich Weiss.
Bu! no one's called me that in a long time.
I can escape from almost anything-
handcuffs, straitjackets, you name it.
But the one thing I can't seem to escape from...
is me.
Harry? Are you there, Haw?
Harry?
Can you hear me?
I'm the Great Houdini!
Harry?
Seventeen years before {jumped off that bridge.“.
Was the year everything changed.
Do we have my cuffs? All right. Let's go.
Oh. We're the entertainment.
- You know you're late? - Yes, it's our mistake.
We went and got lost. We're very sorry.
Up until then, my Wife Bess and I performed...
in a two-bit magic act on the back roads of America.
You booked us into a brothel.
Let's you and me go upstairs, huh?
- Let's go. We're not doing this. - They hired us.
Well, I'm unhiring us. Come on. Let's go. Guys.
No, no, no. Hold on. Ladies and gentlemen!
The Great Houdini will escape from this trunk...
confined by these handcuffs.
Yeah. His handcuffs.
Fake.
That's right.
Well, if I had a pair of cuffs from these premises...
I would happily-
There you go, magic man.
Now you do.
May I ask how it is that you came to possess-
I'm a cop.
Never mind the trunk.
Let's see you get out of these.
You mean like this?
I'll be damned!
At that moment, I was no longer just a common magician.
Became something else-
an escape artist.
So I came up with a shtick that seemed to impress a crowd.
Bu! if I did if without any clothes...
well...
{hen folks really wen! nuts.
You been drinkin', honey?
One glass.
You got whiskey breath.
You always make such a big deal out of everything.
Oh.
Oh, Harry.
Yes, babe?
We've been at this for two years.
You ever think maybe ifs time to pack it in?
Honey, I want you to listen to me.
I'm not going back to piecework in a necktie sweatshop.
Or be a locksmith.
No.
Not gonna live like my old man...
like I was never here.
I love my father...
but...
he was nobody.
Not gonna be like him.
Just disappear.
Not unless a million people are watchin'.
As far back as I can remember...
I've always wanted to escape.
My brother Dash and I would get away whenever we could...
to check out the traveling shows that came to Appleton.
No! Not again! No! Stop!
Don't! No!
No!
These will make appetizing treats for my dogs.
Now, I forewarned that things could get messy.
Dash couldn't look, but me, I was hooked...
mesmerized by the illusion.
Now, I will require some assistance from the audience.
How 'bout you, young man?
- Me? - Yes, please. Come up.
Now, if you'll just pull this table with me.
- All right. Okay. - This is a very delicate pan.
Oh, I think she's dead. Why don't you give her a tickle?
Heavens! Pull yourself together.
One, two, three. Voila!
And applause for my young assistant.
And suddenly, just like that...
I was somebody.
A boy that knows no fear.
I was gain' somewhere...
and illusion was my ticket.
Whoo!
Mama! Mama!
Erich.
Look what I got, Mama.
Take it. It's real.
We got another one.
I earned it, with magic.
Mama, shake me. Shake me.
Harder, Mama, harder!
Shake me harder!
If not for my mother, I would have gone nowhere.
Money for nothing, Ma.
One day they'll be gold, Mom.
She always believed in me.
Trick or treat!
It's Halloween, Papa. You're supposed to give 'em something.
Erich!
Erich. Papa's gonna say the brokhe. Come down.
Take that off before Papa sees.
Listen. “A magician is not really a magician.
He is an actor pretending to be a magician."
- An actor! - Erich.
Fifty years ago, Robert Houdini was the greatest magician of all time.
Now ifs gonna be me. Houdini!
Do you have a minute? We need to talk to you.
Can we talk in private?
You are six years our rabbi now, and you still haven't learned to speak any English.
With all due respect, Rabbi Weiss, this isn't Budapest.
This is Wisconsin, and that is why we can no longer employ your services...
as our rabbi.
Some things can hit you in the gut...
worse than any punch.
I made sure Pd never be that weak.
I made some impossible escapes in my life”...
but my greatest escape was leaving Appleton, Wisconsin.
My travels were shod-lived...
but I learned my trade before reuniting with my family in Brooklyn.
My father died soon after.
Dash and I teamed up to support Ma...
with the meager earnings from our new, not-so-spectacular magic act.
Come one, come all.
Prepare to be mesmerized by the Houdini brothers.
Excuse me, sir. May I borrow your hat?
- Why? - So I can give you back your watch.
You will now give me your hat.
Thank you.
Dash, will you clear the contents of this hat?
Pick a card, any card.
Six of spades.
♪ There is a maiden, sweet Rosabelle ♪
♪ The fairest of all that I've known ♪
♪
The only thing more devastating than a punch to the gut...
is an arrow through the heart.
I never even saw it coming.
♪
So, this Hungarian duke made a play for my mom.
But my dad challenged the duke to a duel, right?
Bullet went right through the duke's brain.
Finished.
My father had to ﬂee for his life...
and, uh, that's how our whole family wound up in America.
- That's kind of romantic. - Yeah.
- Then he died. Poor man. - Oh.
Is Harry Houdini your real name?
It is now.
What about you, hmm?
Those two girls you sing with- are they really your sisters?
No. We just started performing together this summer.
Yeah?
Pick a hand.
No, not that one.
Here. Open your palm.
Oh.
- It's pretty. - Hmm.
Hmm. You're gonna have to do better than that...
if you want to be the greatest magician in the world.
- Yeah? - Mm-hmm.
How 'bout this?
Blow on it.
Oh! Ah.
Oh, look at him go.
Bess Rahner...
will you marry me?
You married a Jew?
One day you have been in Coney Island, and you married a Jew!
Get out of this house and never come back!
You're going straight to hell!
Li'
Honey. What happened?
- Where'd your curls go? - It's a wig, Harry.
Oh. I didn't know.
That looks nice.
Sing it for me.
The song.
- What, here? - Yeah, yeah. Go on.
I'm your audience. Sing ii for me.
♪ Rosie, sweet Rosabelle ♪
♪ I love her more than I can tell ♪
I O'er me she casts a spell I
♪ My charming, black-eyed sweet Rosabelle N'
That's swell.
I want to show you something.
Harry, what are you doing?
- Harry. - Get in.
Get in. Get in.
Now, crouch down. Look at that. You're perfect.
- I knew it. - Harry.
Dash is way too big. Now watch your head.
Harry!
- Ow! - Now lift up the latch.
- What are you doing? - It's right here in the middle.
- Ifs our wedding night. - You find it?
- What-Where? - It's right here. Push it.
There you go.
Harry!
Are you out of your damn mind?
Honey, don't talk like that.
You don't need to wear so much makeup when you're offstage, do you?
You're too cute for that. You don't need that.
What about your brother?
He'll understand. He'll understand. He knows.
He's too big. Anyway, you know what I was thinking?
We don't even need to change the billing.
The Houdinis.
May I now have my key back?
Thank you.
Mrs. Houdini!
So Bess and I hit the road...
with our new collection of eccentric friends.
Hmm. Look at that. Now everybody and his brother is doing handcuff escapes.
Including my brother.
- None of them are as good as you. - Yeah? Doesn't matter.
Public gets bored fast.
Wonder if I can make an elephant disappear.
An elephant?
To really hit it big lime...
I had to step off the stage into the real world.
Come on, Sheriff. What do you got to lose?
I don't lock folks up less'n they break the law.
Maybe you just don't have a lot of confidence in your jail.
Huh, Sheriff?
Run along, Mr. Hoo-haw.
This here's a college town.
I pull a stunt like that, all the fraternity boys will be after me to do the same with them.
I couldn't afford to advertise...
so I just used those mavens of mass spectacle, the press...
to spread the word.
Not if you tell 'em they have to post bail first.
There's a hundred dollars.
Cash on the barrelhead says you can't hold the incomparable Houdini.
- Quote. - Harry, that's all we have.
It's a hundred bucks. It's all yours.
Plus...
you get to take a free punch.
I know you're itchin'.
Come on.
Come on, Sheriff. Make it count.
Like the man says...
that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Will wonders never cease?
Did you get it?
Let me check your pockets.
Sure you want to do this, now, Sheriff?
It's your funeral.
Harry?
For luck.
Thanks, sweetie.
Hey.
Open your mouth.
Ahh!
One more thing.
You don't get out, I keep you here overnight for disturbing the peace.
Fair enough.
Let's go, folks. Come on.
It was the kiss that was seen across the country.
Oscar Wilde, Cy Young, John Philip Sousa-
they had nothin' on me.
Soon the papers weren't even calling me an entertainer anymore.
They were callin' me somethin' else.
No matter how big I got...
I always knew that my next escape would have to be bigger.
I also knew that along the way...
someone else was keeping track of all the headlines for me.
Whew. Whew.
Li'
Oh! Whoa.
Li'
You know- These look impressive.
State of the art. New York City police are using them.
I hear Chief Rohan's got a pair he plans to clamp on you in Chicago.
You're Houdini, right? Look at this.
It's a rounded key.
- I've never seen that before. - I made it myself.
- You made it yourself? - In my workshop.
And look- Hides in a shirt cuff too. See?
Unbelievable.
What else you got?
Looks like regular picture wire. Totally ﬂexible.
But it has teeth. It's a hacksaw.
You just destroyed your chair.
- What's your name, buster? - Jim-
Jim Collins from Macon, Georgia. That's where I caught your act.
- Right. Georgia. - You changed my life.
Jim?
You think you can make an elephant disappear?
Sir?
Can you get me out of a block of ice?
I can make you catch a bullet.
Harry. We got a matinee.
Give me time, and I'll figure out the elephant.
I'll give you time. Full time.
- Deal? - Deal.
Honey, this is Jim.
Pleasure.
Amazing.
Dearest Ma, next week I have a big surprise for you.
I wish I could be there when you see it”.
But at the moment, Fm a little tied up.
Well, I don't know how they do things in Detroit...
Mr. H...
but here in Chicago...
we lock a man up...
we mean him to stay locked up.
Yeah? Seems like I've heard that speech before, Chief.
- You boys havin' fun? - Yeah!
Come on. I'll need some help carrying him.
Yeah, great. Good shot, fellas.
Good.
Now, just to be sure...
we got this.
Smile for the birdie, fellas.
Well, sir, I believe I'll leave you to your prayers.
Okay, come on. Come on.
Come on. Yeah.
Go. Move it!
Clear out.
Houdini!
What do you think?
No, no. Not with you as the shooter. Not in a million years.
All right. Where is it? Let's see it.
- You want to see it? - Uh-huh.
From the moment I saw it-
Barn!
That's you. Filled with water.
I knew this would change my life forever.
Dearest Ma, We come a long way from Appleton, Wisconsin.
Welcome to Brooklyn.
This is the home you've always deserved.
Welcome.
I love Chicago.
S.R.O. for the next six months.
But we gotta be back at Hammerstein's in New York, or he'll sue me for breakfast.
Come in.
- More, boss. - Great.
- Nice work tonight, Jim. Thanks. - Thanks.
Ah, it's from Ma.
“Happy birthday, mein held." God love her. She never forgets.
What do we got here?
Will wonders never cease?
- What is it? - Honey, we gotta get passports.
Martin Beck's booked us a tour in Europe.
- Europe? - Yeah.
We're gonna be playing for all those kings and bluebloods on a tour this fall.
- What'? - What's the matter, honey?
We've never been to Europe.
Well, you've never been to Chicago either, and you love it, huh?
I was born in Europe. It worked out just fine.
This is it. This is the big time, Jim.
You're gonna be the greatest magician in the world.
Don't call me a magician. I'm an escape artist.
- Oh, right. - Huh?
Escape artist. Speaking of escape-
Don't tell me it's ready.
Come on.
Huh?
- Let me try it. - Now?
Boss, you just performed three shows. You're beat.
Tomorrow, I'll gel the boys. We'll set it up.
Right now.
All right.
All right, boys. Lower it.
All right. Take it easy.
Come on. Lock it in there.
- Somethings wrong. - Whoa. Pull him up!
Hurry up! Get him out!
- I Jim 1 Lift him up! - Hurry up!
It's stuck!
Hey! Pull him up!
Get him out of there! Come on!
- Break the glass. Break the glass! - Look out!
Boss! Boss!
Harry?
- Come on! Are you all right? - Harry!
Fantastic.
Ladies and gentlemen...
how long can a man hold his breath?
Shall we experiment?
On the count of three...
try to hold your breath, ladies and gentlemen.
One...
two-
Three.
As you can see, seconds tick by...
very slowly.
While they do, I shall disrobe.
My ankles will be shackled in a secure set of stocks.
Prepare the stocks.
After being immobilized, I will be immersed...
head first in the Chinese water torture cell.
Captain O'Hare...
of the Chicago Fire Department is standing by with an ax...
in the event something goes wrong.
And let's face it, ladies and gentlemen...
there's always that possibility.
Raise it up, boys.
The only way to beat death...
is lo put your life on the line.
Bu! why was I so compelled to beat death?
What was I trying to escape?
Bring out the screen!
One minute!
Two minutes!
What's going on? Something's wrong.
What's wrong?
Get him out!
Three minutes!
We need to help.
3:15!
Please! Come on! Get him out!
Stop it!
Captain O'Hara! Come on!
Get him out!
Hurry! Hurry! Get him out!
Enter.
You have it?
“Houdini ideal for our purposes. Commencing European tour.
Suggest you contact Melville soonest.”
- Hmm. Houdini speaks German. - He's an immigrant, yes.
German-speaking Hungarian Jew.
Mr. Wilkie, Houdini's the most famous man in America, sure.
He now makes more money than the president.
But when all's said and done, he's just a magician.
Well, what more natural cover than a traveling entertainer?
A celebrity, if I may hazard the term.
Invited everywhere.
God only knows what the kaiser is planning.
We don't.
Would be advantageous to have someone next to that unpredictable brain of his.
- What else? - Houdini's very devoted to his mother.
Sends her money every week, even when he was broke.
These days, those checks are huge.
I like a man who looks after his mother.
Contact Melville. Set it up.
Way before anyone knew it...
America had teamed up with England to keep an eye“...
an the emerging threat from Germany-
en unexpected eye-
me.
And so, one of the strangest illusions I was ever asked to pull off...
was something called espionage.
Not a bad fit since a magician can never reveal his secrets.
I take it you weren't followed, Mr. Houdini.
I made sure that I wasn't...
as instructed.
“Your country needs you. Come alone.”
That's very dramatic.
You were recommended to us by John Wilkie.
Never heard of him.
That's as it should be. He's director of the United States Secret Service.
I'm Sir William Melville...
his British counterpart in MI5.
How do you do?
May I have that?
I'm definitely gonna need some of those.
Are you saying you want me to-
Keep your eyes and ears open. That's all.
Depend on it. If war comes, the United States will fight on the British side.
What you learn might help postpone that war...
maybe prevent it.
Of course, you could never reveal your services...
but you would have the satisfaction of knowing that you had sewed...
perhaps even saved your country.
That's a tall order for a vaudevillian.
By the by, we took the liberty of revising your passport.
What was wrong with my old passport?
We made a slight adjustment to your place of birth.
Appleton, Wisconsin?
Kaiser Bill has only one good arm, as you may already know.
But it can reach as far as Budapest.
We thought it prudent to make you, shall we say...
all-American.
From now on...
your place of birth is officially the United States.
You could run for president, sir.
Sir, I can't begin to tell you what this means to me.
We'll think of something.
In the meantime, think of me in loco parentis.
A sort of father in residence.
Where were you?
Uh... with Jim.
Jim didn't know where you were either.
Is it a girl?
Girl? No.
Honey-
Where did this come from? You know me better than that.
Is it because we don't have children?
Sweetheart it has nothing to do with children.
Whether we have them or we don't have them...
ifs fine.
- Who is she? - There is no she.
- Then where were you? - I can't tell you, but-
I'm sorry. I wish I could. I can't.
You gotta trust me.
I have trusted you, Harry.
Bess.
Honey.
Honey, trust me.
Trust me.
When does illusion become a lie?
With illusion, I could be somebody.
Escape from who I really was.
Bu! when did mooing away become so essential to me?
Is that why I was still running... from him?
I guess there are some things in life you never escape.
Not long after I left Appleton, I became a sorcerers apprentice.
What a load of laughs ma! was.
Yeah. Yeah.
Come on.
Whoa!
Good, kid. Very good.
Now I'm gonna teach you the Floatin' Virgin.
The thing about the Floatin' Virgin of Arkansas...
she was a beautiful girl.
She was a pale girl.
But she loved to...
s-s-s-sleep.
And when she slept...
she ﬂoated.
Come.
Come!
Float.
Float, my sweet little beauty.
Come to me.
Come to me now!
Look at that kid's face.
You doin' all right out here?
- Been readin' about the bullet catch. - Oh, yeah?
We should put it in the show. It'd put you back on top.
You are good, kid. Very good.
But not as good as you think.
Why won't you do it?
It's dangerous, as I have reason to know.
That's why people will eat it up.
And who would catch the bullet?
Me.
Say another damn word about that bullet catch and I swear...
I'll leave you behind in the nearest ditch!
My son.
He died doing the catch.
Did you load the gun?
And pulled the trigger too.
Blew the back of his head off and his brains with it.
No!
My own boy!
- You're a liar. - Come again?
That story's straight out of Houdini's book.
How he met a traveling magician, Torrini...
who'd killed his son doing the bullet catch.
- You're a liar. - Your hero Houdini was a liar too.
And by the way, it's “Hoo-Dan,” not “How-din."
Houdini never ran into any magician who killed his son.
And that book you treat like the Gospel...
there's only enough truth in it to make you believe the lies...
because that's how magic works.
Magicians are liars, and the best magicians are the best liars.
Was the dream I was chasing based on nothing more than lies?
I! was a hard lesson, but it would serve me well.
After five sold-out shows in Berlin...
the kaiser requested a private performance.
Very private.
I'm dyin' out here.
I need something bigger.
The bullet catch.
Are you sure, boss?
With Your Majesty's indulgence, I-
I propose a demonstration of famous German marksmanship.
Would you kindly loan me...
the use of your most accomplished riﬂeman in the royal box?
You're sure about this, right?
- What? - You're sure, right?
- Thought you said it was foolproof. - What?
I- I said you said-
Never mind. Go-Go get it.
Your Majesty may wish to observe through his opera glasses.
No. Okay.
Friedrich.
Herr Oberstleutnant. Are you a good shooter, Herr Oberstleutnant?
- Jawohl, mein Herr. - Great. Hand him the riﬂe.
I'm sorry it's so old. It's all we can afford.
Now, as you can see...
the bull's-eye stands about...
oh, shall we say, 35 feet from the shooter.
Herr Oberstleutnant, do you believe that you can hit the bull's-eye...
or shall I move you closer?
Child's play, huh? Very well.
Fire when you are ready, Lieutenant.
Wonderful shooting, Lieutenant.
Wonderful.
I would trust you with my life.
Bravo. Now, let us reload.
It's quite a production, these old guns.
As you can see, first we take a measure of powder...
we pour it down the barrel.
This is followed by a wad of paper.
And then the bullet.
Will you inspect the bullet, Lieutenant?
Thank you, Lieutenant.
The bullet is now pressed down with the ramrod, like so.
- Does that look all right, Lieutenant? - Jawohl
Now one last bit of child's play.
Jim, hand the lieutenant the musket.
Lieutenant, please take aim at the bull's-eye again.
I will now attempt...
to catch the bullet...
with my teeth.
I said I trust you with my life, Lieutenant.
Now you have to trust me.
Ready!
Fire the gun.
Fire!
Fire the gun!
Pull the trigger!
Wunderbar!
- Is that the bullet? - Jawohl.
Thank you.
Excellent shooting, Lieutenant. Excellent shooting.
Thank you, Your Majesty!
Once you know the secret...
- most tricks are simple- - I owe you.
Including this one.
The bullet is now tamped down with the ramrod, like so.
- Does that look all right, Lieutenant? - Jawohl
Al! it took was a magnet at the end of the ramrod.
Thank you.
Catching bullets in my teeth was one thing.“...
but espionage remained my European mistress-
an altogether different kind of escape.
Welcome to Budapest, Mr. Houdini.
My name is Reilly.
Does your hometown bring back many memories?
Remember, you've never been here.
Don't look around. You're merely conversing with an old friend.
How was Berlin? I understand the kaiser was impressed.
Yeah. Enough to invite me to watch his cavalry maneuvers.
I overheard a few things.
They're building seven new battleships.
They're not ready yet, but they're definitely planning for war.
They call it the Schlieffen Plan.
Schlieffen.
Our friend in London will be most interested.
Meantime, he sent you a book.
He knows you love to read.
Russian grammar?
You have a performance?
Sorta.
My mother arrives on the afternoon train from Paris.
A trip back to the old country?
How could I possibly explain what I had in mind?
Oh, look at this. Honey.
That's lovely.
It says it was made for Queen Victoria.
Died before she was able to wear it.
Not really my style.
No? I'll be right back, honey.
Sometimes a guy can't even tell his own wife“.
About the plans he has for a new dress.
Bu! Ma deserved the best.
Because the best was what she inspired me to become.
And I was finally given the chance to thank her for it.
What's grim' on'?
Queen for a day.
Harry told me people around here...
thought his mother married beneath her to a failed rabbi.
And she goes along with this?
Of course.
To her, Harry is magic.
Like I told ya, Ma...
money for nothin'.
Didn't I promise? Huh? Didn't I tell you one day it'd be gold?
II
Did you see them all kowtow, all those Hungarian so-and-sos?
Not worthy to kiss her feet.
Mmm. The happiest day of my life.
- Mmm! - That was a long way to ship Mom for a one-night stand.
- Yeah? Did you see her face? - I did.
Did ya? Worth every mile.
Oh, Christ.
Hi.
- Your telegram, sir. - Here you go. Thanks.
What is it?
- I'm sick of all these secrets, Harry. - Honey, honey.
“Lion concerned about bear. Stop. Will bear prove reliable? Stop.
- Can you determine? Stop.” - Give me that.
What is this? We've never had animals in our act before, Harry.
What is all this crap about a bear?
What are you mixed up in? Why can't you tell me?
I'm your wife, aren't I?
You are. Honey.
They want me to go onto Russia.
“Bear” means Russia.
You're extending the tour. Is this Beck's idea?
No, ifs not. Uh-
- it's for the government. - The government?
Shh. Honey, shh.
- What are you doing for the government? - It's complicated.
But we gotta go.
We have to go.
Hey. Hello, young man.
For you. Your Majesty, it's an honor to play the palace.
You're so kind.
I'd love to make one of your family's wishes come true.
Would each of you write a special wish...
on these slips of paper?
I see Your Majesty has a Faberge' egg.
It's very beautiful. Would you mind if I placed the wishes inside of it'?
- Not at all. - Thank you.
Thank you. And now Grand Duchess Anastasia.
Will you draw one out and hand it to me?
I just realize I can't read Russian.
Would Your Majesty mind translating for me?
I'm afraid you will never be able to grant the wish, Houdini.
Well, let me give it a shot, Your Majesty, huh?
- What does it say? - One of us wishes...
you would make the Kremlin bells ring again.
Impossible.
Houdini, the Kremlin bells have not rung for-
- A hundred years. - A hundred years.
The ropes are long rotted and the stairs are falling away.
Well, if magic were easy, Your Majesty, every fool would be doing it.
What did he-I'm sorry. I don't know the gentleman's name.
Rasputin.
- Rasputin says you are full of- - Full of-
Ah. I get the general idea.
Well, we'll see.
Grand DUCHESS Anastasia, come.
Pull the rope.
Pull it again.
Pull the rope.
Pull it.
So even Rasputin...
a man obsessed with religion and mysticism...
couldn't see through my little-
parlor trick.
Will wonders never cease, huh?
Hey, big guy, I bet you'd love to give me a punch, huh? Punch?
You know you're itchin', huh?
Never let 'em know what's really going on inside.
Thank you.
After that, I could do no wrong.
We stayed for dinner, and they talked their heads off.
The czar thinks he's going to war with Japan.
- If he does, he'll lose. - Russia lose against little Japan?
Yeah, because they all take orders from that Rasputin character.
They do whatever he says. He's crazy.
A madman can command. Why?
It seems he's got a little magic act of his own.
He's the only one who can keep the czar's son from bleeding.
Of course. The boy's a hemophiliac.
They'd do anything to keep Rasputin happy.
He's not their only problem. There's social unrest everywhere.
One of these days, the whole place is gonna explode.
Yeah, so we hear.
Very good, Harry. Most instructive.
So tell me.
How did you get the Kremlin bells to ring?
That was the only wish I was ready for.
Now, Grand Duchess Anastasia...
will you take one out and hand it to me?
So then I said to her, “I just realize I can't read Russian.”
Uh, would Your Majesty mind translating?
It was snowing so hard, I was worried Jim wouldn't be able to see the rope.
Pull the rope.
Pull it.
They were convinced I had spiritual powers.
And do you?
So, what are your plans?
Uh, will you return to the States?
Well, not until I figure out somethin' new.
Now everybody's copying my routine. And my name.
Blondini, Handini, Merlini.
I think you need a new challenge.
The Adelphi Theater is just a stone's throw from the German embassy.
- So? - So...
we're reliably informed there's a copy of the Schlieffen Plan...
in the safe in the ambassador's office.
What an extraordinary stroke of luck it would be for us...
if you managed to lay your hands on it.
Handcuffed onstage.
Safe, huh?
Hmm.
Which is how 1 happened to wind up in one.
But not that safe.
It was a different safe.
The one inside the German ambassador's office.
But let me start from the beginning.
Soon after the act started, {wasn't even inside the safe anymore.
Jim had told the audience I had about 10 minutes of air.
Audiences go nuts for a licking clock.
- Where is he? - He didn't tell me, Mrs. H...
but he promised he'd be back in time to finish the show.
Back from where?
Uh, I really don't know.
Oh, I can't do this anymore. This is killing me.
- Let him out! - Yes, he's right.
Tonight is our 10th anniversary, and I know he's going to forget.
I know it.
Right in here.
- Voila!! - On.
Mm-hmm.
Mmm. Mmm!
- Mmm. - Oh.
Ah.
They ought to let him out.
Lei him out!
Let Harry out!
Jim stalled for time like the pro he was.
But we both knew I had to be back for the grand finale.
Mr. Houdini!
A grand finale that even had a special surprise for Bess.
All / had to do-
- was get out m' a safe I'd never been in before.
Mmm.
And there wasn't any air in this one either.
My brain is the key that sets me free.
My brain is the key-sets me free.
Try to remember the arrangement.
Locks, gears in the Jarvis safe.
Open ll!
Joe! Bring the tools!
Bring the tools! Open up!
Get him out!
All right.
Finally, the old ambassador remembered where the bedroom was.
It's amazing!
Hey.
Got into the German safe. Literally.
Sorry. I'm late for a celebration.
- A letter! - Where is he?
Is that addressed to my wife?
Mrs. Houdini!
All that time.
Mrs. Houdini!
Fantastic!
Wonderful!
What does it say, honey? Read the note, nice and loud.
“Thank you for the 10 most wonderful years of my life.
Aw!
Your loving husband, Harry.”
- Aw! Ooh! - Congratulations!
Oh!
Happy anniversary, honey.
Happy anniversary.
And she thought I forgot.
Anyway, thanks for sticking around...
for the grand finale, folks.
Thank you.
Bravo!
Ah, that was swell, honey, huh?
That was a surprise. Thai was all for you.
No. No, it was not for me.
It's never just for me.
Ifs for them. It's for the act.
It is always for the act, and you and I both know it, Harry.
- No. - Ah!
What are you trying to prove, Harry? How brave you are?
How American you are?
Uh, just tell me what it is. Tell me. What?
- Don't mean to intrude...
but the car's here.
- You still going lo Lady Butler's?? - Ugh.
Honey, I'm sorry. I know.
It's-It's-It's in our honor.
It is in your honor.
Sweetheart, let's just make an appearance, okay?
I promise. Thirty minutes, tops.
It's Lady Butler.
Just absolutely fantastic.
- Cheers. - Cheers to you, darling.
That Rasputin character packed quite a wallop, I tell you.
He was a regular John L. Sullivan.
I could take the punch...
but he knocked me out with his vodka breath.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Ooh! ' Oh, I say!
- Mind if I make myself comfortable? - By all means.
What's that?
- That's the true truth, isn't it? - Ah, very likely.
Oh, you are very pretty.
Yes, sir.
Some things can hit you in the gut worse than any punch.
What? I'm sorry. What did you say?
Actually, uh, give me a moment.
Hi, Harry.
Oh, Harry.
I'm gonna kill myself.
That's what I'm always saying.
Is that funny?
- Is it funny? - Oh, for heaven's sake.
What are you so upset about?
You were kissing him.
- You were kissing him! - No, I wasn't.
- Yes, you were! - No, I was not!
Until you looked over, you didn't know where I was at that party...
and you didn't care.
- So stop being dramatic. - You're my wife.
You're the wife of the Great Houdini!
Really? I thought I was just a woman you put in a trunk...
and took out when you felt like it.
I Houdini 1 What do you do when you hit rock bottom?
You keep digging.
Divine creature.
Mmm.
Yeah.
See... if you can escape.
Would you like me to release you?
- Oh. - Mmm.
By this point, I really wasn't up for this.
Shh. Be right back.
That's when 1 discovered my next escape.
- What is it'? - I don't know.
A glorious one.
Will wonders never cease?
Houdini.
I don't know how these things work in America...
- but in London, ifs considered impolite. - Huh?
To keep a lady waiting.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
- You. - Ah.
Huh.
Mmm.
Where are you?
Start without me.
What?
- Where are you going? - Keep the chains.
What about the key?
- What are you doing here? - I had a feelin' you'd be leavin'.
Get me one of those.
What do you want an airmobile for?
You know how it is when you fall in love.
Flying was all I could mink of.
This time, Bessie only rival was an airplane...
and for years, it was our carriage to the world'.
- Harry. Harry! - You trust me?
But everything changes.
Even ﬂying lost its novelty.
I was falling back to earth...
and on earth, things were changing too.
But audiences had grown numb to the thrill.
I hadn't played to a sold-out house in quite some time.
Finished escaping. Not quite.
- You didn't grease the collar. - Sure I did.
Like hell. Your disloyalty cost me 1O seconds.
Disloyal? it's when you do it with the water instead of the milk.
Don't give me that.
Just 'cause there's nobody out there doesn't mean that the ones there are...
don't deserve the best of the Great Houdini.
You're fired.
Again?
It'll build, Saul. Don't worry.
I think you're wrong there, Harry. It's not like it was.
You've been gone quite a while. Vaudeville's in trouble.
Nowadays, folks are going to moving pictures.
Ah, movies!
If it was a tough escape...
the whole movie would be finished by the time I made it.
And the suspense wouldn't be the same.
Maybe you could fill a smaller theater.
A smaller theater?
Me?
Saul, what are you saying?
Huh?
- The writings on the wall, Harry! - No!
I write the damn writing!
Next, on Houdini.
There's your new competition.
Hey, Chaplin, can you do this?
You may not be afraid of death, but you're afraid of life.
I thought you were through with that stuff.
I thought you were through with trying to kill yourself.
- What'd she say? - If anyone could contact her, it'd be ye.
- Get out! - You're phonies!
Houdini must die!
You wanna shut me up, you'll have to shoot me.
$25,000 to any so-called medium who can convince me.