Title from container. The master mystery: Harry Houdini, Marguerite Marsh, Jack Burns, Ruth Stonehouse, Charles Graham. Terror Island: Harry Houdini, Lila Lee, Jack Brammall, Eugene Pallette. The man from beyond: Harry Houdini, Nita Naldi, Jane Connelly. The grim game: Harry Houdini, Ann Forrest. Haldane of the Secret Service: Harry Houdini, Gladys Leslie, William Humphrey. Portions of The master mystery no longer survive. This edition runs almost four hours, and bridges the missing passages with explanatory text. The master mystery originally released as a motion picture in 1919 ; Terror Island originally released as a motion picture in 1920 ; The man from beyond originally released as a motion picture in 1922 ; The grim game originally released as a motion picture in 1919 ; Haldane of the Secret Service originally released as a motion picture in 1923. Special features: DVD 1: An examination of scenes deleted by the New York Censor Board; image gallery; new film notes ; DVD 2: Correspondence with the NY Censor Board; image gallery; new film notes ; DVD 3: Filmed records of Houdini escapes (1907-ca. 1923); the illusion "Metamorphosis," performed by Houdini's brother Hardeen; 1914 audio recording of Houdini introducing his "Water Torture Cell;" "Slippery Jim:" 1910 comedy short inspired by Houdini; image gallery; new film notes.
Contents:
(1923 ; color tinted ; 84 min.). Haldane of the Secret Service / Houdini Picture Corporation ; licensed by Cinema Arts ; produced for video by Bret Wood ; written & directed by Harry Houdini (1919 ; color tinted ; 238 min.) -- DVD 2: Terror Island / Realart Pictures presents ; by Arthur B. Reeve and John W. Grey ; adapted for the screen by Walter Woods ; directed by James Cruze (1920 ; b&w ; 55 min.) -- The man from beyond / Houdini Picture Corporation ; [produced for video by Bret Wood ; written & produced by Harry Houdini ; directed by Burton L. King] (1922 ; color tinted ; 68 min.) -- The master mystery (Contains the conclusion of episodes 13-15, continued from DVD 1) -- DVD 3: The grim game / Licensed by the George Eastman House Motion Picture Department ; written by Arthur B. Reeve and John Grey ; directed by Irving Willat (fragment ; 1919 ; color tinted ; 5 min.) -- Haldane of the Secret Service / Houdini Picture Corporation ; licensed by Cinema Arts ; produced for video by Bret Wood ; written & directed by Harry Houdini (1923 ; color tinted ; 84 min.).
Summary:
The master mystery: Quentin Locke infiltrates a corrupt patents company, only to run into the gleaming terror of its robot protector, the Automaton. In order to save the beautiful Eva Brent and find a cure for the dreaded Madagascar Madness, Locke suffers an inhuman array of tortures and physical restraints. He is chained, tied with barbared wire, padlocked in a crate and thrown in the water, tied beneath a descending elevator, strapped to an electric chair, and bound in an elaborate Oriental torture chamber. Terror Island: A swashbuckling inventor steers his high-tech submarine to a forbidden tropical isle to rescue the father of the woman he loves. The man from beyond: Howard Hillary is a man frozen in the Arctic. He returns to civilization 100 years later to reclaim the love of his live, reincarnated in the body of a young woman. Haldane of the Secret Service: Heath Haldane is an undercover operative assigned to infiltrate a band of counterfeiters within the dark alleys of New York's Chinatown. The grim game: Cameras captured an unplanned incident: two planes colliding in mid-air. The footage was so spectacular that the script was revised to integrate it into the plot.
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