The Man from Beyond (1922)

Director:

Burton L. King

Writers:

Harry Houdini (story)
Coolidge Streeter (adaptation)

Release Date:

2 April 1922 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery

Plot:

A man who has been frozen in the Arctic ice for 100 years returns to civilization to find his lost love. |

Plot Keywords:

Reincarnation

Cast

Harry Houdini	...	Howard Hillary / The Man From Beyond
Arthur Maude	...	Dr. Gilbert Trent
Albert Tavernier	...	Dr. Crawford Strange
Erwin Connelly	...	Dr. Gregory Sinclair
Frank Montgomery	...	François Duval
Luis Alberni	...	Captain of the Barkentine
Yale Benner	...	Milt Norcross
Jane Connelly	...	Felice Strange / Felice Norcross
Nita Naldi	...	Marie Le Grande

Directed by
Burton L. King

Writing credits
Harry Houdini		(story)
Coolidge Streeter		(adaptation)

Produced by
Harry Houdini	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Louis Dunmyre
Harry Fischbeck		(as Harry A. Fischbeck)
L.D. Littlefield
Alexander G. Penrod
Irving B. Ruby
Frank Zucker

Stunts
Bob Rose	....	stunt double: Harry Houdini (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Houdini Picture Corporation

Distributors

• Houdini Picture Corporation (1922) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Videobrary (????) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Houdini Picture Corporation

Movie Connections:

Edited into Days of Thrills and Laughter (1961)

Good melodrama is far from magical and not what you'd expect from a Houdini film

Harry Houdini is found frozen in a black of ice and thawed out after 100 years. He finds what he thinks is the reincarnation of his lover and has to help her over come some bad guys.

Well made melodramatic thriller chugs along at a good clip until you suddenly realize that other than some great stunts Houdini isn't going to do anything "magical". Its not bad, actually far from it, its just that this is Houdini and you want something wondrous. Worse the one magical bit, the cell escape is cut up in such away as to make it dull and unbelievable. I'm guessing it wasn't filmed that way, but breaking it into the start of the event and then having it finish as a flash back kills it. From what I've read this is the problem with most of Houdini's films and was the reason it never really went anywhere. Worth a look for magic nuts who'll want to see Houdini in action, and for anyone else who wants to see an okay little melodrama.