A vivid account of the life of Harry Houdini, the famous escapologist. It's the film Tony Curtis rates as his `personal' picture. `The one I would gladly do for nothing' he said while it was being made. Curtis was a natural for the part: he's always been interested in magic and illusions and bears a passing resemblance to Houdini himself. The highlights of this earnest biography are Houdini's escape from an `impregnable' Scotland Yard jail, his arrest in Germany as a fraud and his acquittal after a courtroom demonstration of his techniques. Another good trick was getting Janet Leigh, then Mrs Curtis, to play Mrs Houdini.

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