Houdini

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 how I know I'm alive.

Unlike other people,

I don't 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.

But no one's called me that in a long time.

I can escape from almost anything...

Handcuffs, straightjackets... You name it.

But the one thing I can't seem to escape from...

Is me.

Harry?

Are you there, Harry?

Harry?

Can you hear me?

I'm the great Houdini!

Harry?

17 years before I jumped off that bridge

was the year everything changed.

Where are the cuffs? Uh, right, let's go.

Oh, we're the entertainment.

- You know you're late. - Yes, it's our mistake.

We were... We got lost.

Very sorry.

[Indistinct conversations, laughter]

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, we...

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...

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 these.

[Heart beating, clock ticking quickly]

You mean like this?

I'll be damned.

At that moment, I was no longer just a common magician.

I became something else:

An escape artist.

So I came up with a shtick that seemed to impress a crowd.

But if I did it without any clothes, well,

then folks really went nuts.

You been drinking, honey?

One glass.

- You got whiskey breath. - You always

make such a big deal out of everything.

Oh, Harry.

Yes, babe?

We've been at this for two years.

You ever think maybe it's 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 loved my father.

But...

He was nobody.

I'm not gonna be like him... Just disappear.

Not unless a million people are watching.

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.

Stop! No!

Help!

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 about you, young man?

Me?

Yes, please, come up.

Now, if you'll just

- pull this table with me. - Mm-hmm, okay.

This is a very delicate part.

Whoa. I think she's dead.

Why don't you give her a tickle?

Thank heavens.

Pull yourself together. One, two, three.

Voilá.

And applause for my young assistant.

And suddenly,

just like that,

I was somebody.

A boy that knows no fear.

I was going somewhere.

And illusion was my ticket.

Mama! Mama!

Look what I got, mama.

Oh.

Take it. It's real. Look.

I got another one.

I earned it. It's 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, mama. - _

She always believed in me.

_

Trick or treat!

_

It's Halloween, papa.

You're supposed to give 'em something.

_

_

Erich,

papa's gonna say the brachot! Come down.

Take that off before papa sees it.

Listen. "A magician is not really a magician."

He is an actor, pretending to be a magician!"

An actor.

Eree!

50 years ago, Robert Houdin

was the greatest magician of all time.

Now it's gonna be me, Howdini!

_

_

Do you have a minute? We need to talk to you.

Is there a problem?

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 I'd never be that weak.

I've made some impossible escapes in my life,

but my greatest escape was leaving Appleton, Wisconsin.

My travels were short-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?

Oh, 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?

Oh.

Pick a card, any card.

Six of spades.

The only thing more devastating than a punch to the gut

is an arrow through the heart.