It's been a century since he was at the height of his fame, but Harry Houdini remains a universally recognized figure in pop culture, and one who we all figure we know pretty well. But Summit Entertainment is aiming to show us the Houdini we don't know, adapting the book The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero into a feature adventure film.
That's right-- no stuffy biopics for these guys. According to THR, they're aiming to adapt William Kalush and Larry Sloman's book into an adventure story starring a figure who's part Indiana Jones, and part Sherlock Holmes. Apparently there's some historical precedence for it, given that the book alleges that Houdini was a spy for Britain and devoted much of his career to debunking "spiritualists" who were just straight-up con men.
As much as I'd love the world to have another Indiana Jones, given that the guy should very much stick in retirement, I think I'd rather him be fictional. Using the real-life Houdini limits where the narrative can go, and no matter how much you try not to make a biopic, the narrative of real life usually takes over at some point. We'll see what the person eventually hired to adapt the book can do with it.
