Watch The Grim Game For Free

You won't be disappointed!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Do you really need a recommendation to watch this restored film from 1919? Come on - the real Harry Houdini is in it! A couple of other reviewers here go into the film's discovery and restoration with the cooperation of the Turner Classic Movie channel so there's no need to go into that. What's rather extraordinary is the fact that there's actually a real story here, a murder mystery that evolves from a rather shady plan orchestrated by newspaper reporter Harvey Hanford (Houdini himself!) in order to save the financially struggling Daily Call. It involved faking the owner's death, with Hanford setting himself up to be incriminated for murder, and then after a time, the owner Dudley Cameron (Thomas Jefferson) would simply show up none the worse for wear. In the mean time, the newspaper capitalizes on the publicity, saving itself via a news hungry public buying it's coverage of the story.This picture is considered the first and best of five movies Harry Houdini participated in. I haven't seen the others so there's no way to judge for my part. What I can say with this one viewing is that Houdini himself presents a very versatile, athletic and highly physical dimension to the role portraying his character Hanford. The movie itself is a forum for capturing some of his most famous escape routines on film, including a prison break where he extracts himself from a series of chains, along with a daring upside down escape from a straight jacket hanging a few stories in the air. I was also impressed by a maneuver that stunt man Yakima Canutt eventually made as one of his trademarks. Following the prison escape, Houdini scrambles underneath a moving vehicle and hangs on to the undercarriage to make a clean getaway. Quite impressive.As for the main story, a trio of individuals that are part of Dudley Cameron's circle agree to participate in Hanford's ruse, but then operate independently, each for their own benefit. With Hanford on the run from the now very real murder of Cameron, it will take all of his cunning to flush out the real killer and save his fiancée Mary (Ann Forrest), ward and heiress to the Cameron fortune. The picture ends with a thrilling airplane chase leading to a mid-air collision and plane crash, though the two planes involved in the original stunt actually landed safely.The quality of the restoration is laudable and the movie itself looks to be reasonably complete. At about the one hour mark there are significant imperfections that apparently could not be improved upon at both outer margins, and the effect appears almost psychedelic, like something you might have seen musical groups of the Sixties use during appearances on variety shows of that era. At least that's the way it struck this viewer. Otherwise, the quality of the picture is rather exceptional, no mean feat for a film approaching the century mark.

The Grim Game (1919)** 1/2 (out of 4)Reporter Harvey Hanford (Harry Houdini), wanting to save his newspaper as well as show how corrupt "circumstancial evidence" can be, stages a murder where the victim is actually alive but what little evidence there is shows that he's dead and that the reporter committed the crime. The plan is for the "dead" man to come back after the reporter is in jail and show how you can't always go by evidence. The problem is that once the reporter is in jail the man really is murdered so the reporter must break out of prison and search for the real killer.This same story would be redone decades later by Fritz Lang in BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT so it's interesting to see it done here first. For the most part this is an entertaining movie, although it certainly falls a bit short of actually being a good one. With that said, if you're a fan of the legendary magician then you'll certainly want to check this out since he does perform some nice tricks plus there's just not enough footage of him around so getting to see him in the few movies he made is nice.With that said, obviously the main reason to watch this are for the Houdini tricks, which includes him escaping several times throughout. The famous straight-jacket routine is performed here as well as other chains that the magician is strapped into. There are some nice action/stunts throughout including one where the magician (or his double) are hanging on a flag pole. The highlight of the film comes at the end when there are two planes flying and Houdini (or his double) are on a rope going from one plane to the other. I won't ruin what happens but the scene is terrific.The story itself is interesting but very little is done with it because people weren't really coming to this film for a story. People wanted to see Houdini in action so obviously that's what the producers gave them.

I recently saw this as a DVD extra included with the film HALDANE OF THE SECRET SERVICE. Both films star Harry Houdini but THE GRIM GAME is only a film fragment today--the rest of it no longer exists. While I have enjoyed the reviews of both reviewers who have already reviewed this film, I really must agree with CryFi's review--and it reflects that most of the original film is gone AND gives nice information about the film.As for me, I can't see giving the fragment anything more than a 3. Although the clip is pretty good, there really isn't a coherent story and it is really just an excuse by Houdini and the film makers to use some accidental footage involving an air tragedy. It is funny to realize that Houdini took credit for the mid-air stunts he didn't even perform.This film is essentially a curio for history teachers, magic lovers and film historians. It is NOT a film that is coherent or worth seeking out because it only is a piece of a longer film.

Harry Houdini reminds me of Jackie Chan. Both of them starred in action movies with implausible plotlines which were basically excuses to string together a series of stunts designed to showcase the star's particular talents: in Houdini's case, his incredible physical stamina and his ability to escape from all sorts of restraints. The plot of "The Grim Game" is basically a long string of stunts, but Houdini performs them with panache, and modern audiences will enjoy this film. The story is written primarily by Arthur B. Reeve, creator of the scientific detective Craig Kennedy (who was parodied by Douglas Fairbanks as "Coke Ennyday").Harry Houdini stars as Harvey Hanford (same initials) who is engaged to marry Mary Cameron (Ann Forest). When Mary's guardian is murdered, Houdini is framed for the crime and sent to prison. He escapes (of course!) and then goes after the villains, but they keep chaining him up or imprisoning them, and of course Houdini keeps right on escaping. At one point they leave him hanging upside-down in a straitjacket off the roof of a skyscraper. No problem, and Houdini is home free before the villains can take the elevator back to street level.At the film's climax, the boss villain abducts Mary (of course) and flies away with her in a rickety biplane, which was a state-of-the-art aircraft when this film was made in 1919. Houdini jumps into another aeroplane and takes off in pursuit. The two 'planes crash in midair (nice photography here), but Houdini and his girlfriend get back to the ground in one piece... or rather, in one piece apiece.The entire film is thrilling but largely implausible. Houdini's feats are genuine, but the stunts are clearly designed to play to Houdini's strengths rather than realistic situations. The airborne climax takes advantage of the fact that, in real life, Houdini was a skilled aviator. (He was the first person ever to fly an aircraft in Australia.)"The Grim Game" is enjoyable, and parts of it are fast-moving, but don't look for a logical storyline. (The villains have no qualms about committing murder, so why don't they just kill Houdini instead of always chaining him up?) In the best sense of the term, this movie is escapist entertainment.