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Death Defying Acts (2007)

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clip Houdini visits Edinburgh

Original classification rating: PG. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Mary McGarvie (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and her daughter Benji (Saoirse Ronan) watch a silent black-and-white newsreel about Harry Houdini (Guy Pearce). They learn that he has offered USD $10,000 to anyone who can contact his dead mother in the afterlife, thereby proving that spirits return. They also learn from the newsreel that he makes a habit of uncovering fake psychics and that he is coming to their home town of Edinburgh.

Curator’s notes

by Sandy George

Cutting between Mary and Benji, and a newsreel made in the style of the 1920s, is a very effective way of succinctly revealing crucial information about the real-life figure of Houdini, who audiences have probably heard of but know little about. It also neatly sets up the story because we already know that Mary earns money pretending to be a psychic.

The film is a UK-Australian co-production but there is little evidence of Australia aside from a mention of Sydney in the newsreel as one of Houdini’s upcoming destinations.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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