好莱坞的胡迪尼

High above Los Angeles, Harry Houdini was fighting for his life. Three biplanes were tumbling in the sky, shooting spectacular aerial sequences for the illusionist’s first feature film, 1919’s The Grim Game. As director Irvin Willat watched, filming the action from the third plane, the other two aircraft unexpectedly collided. “The plan was for me to drop from my plane into the cockpit of the other,” said Houdini later. “Suddenly, a strong wind turned the lower plane upwards, the two machines crashed together — nearly amputating my limbs — the propellers locked in a deadly embrace, and we were spun around and around.” All the while, as the combined planes tumbled to earth, Willat kept filming. …