Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The Man from Beyond (1922)

Houdini Picture Corporation
Directed by Burton L. King
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Kino)

Lost explorers in Antarctica stumble upon a shipwreck. Frozen in the ice is Houdini. They thaw him out and discover he has been frozen for 100 years. These first scenes have a lyrical beauty to them. Houdini's frozen face is haunting. After this promising beginning, however, the action shifts to the city where things become much more contrived and confusing. Incredibly, the first girl he meets looks exactly like his long lost love from the prior century. He thinks it is the same girl and is sent to an insane asylum. He escapes, after all he is Houdini, and helps her find her kidnapped father. Somehow he ends up saving her from going over Niagara Falls in a boat. Reincarnation is credited as the reason for their reunion.

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