''The Man from Beyond'' is a 1922 American silent

mystery film A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, ...

starring

Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

as a man found frozen in arctic ice who is brought back to life.

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, scientist Dr. Gregory Sinclair (Connelly) and his fellow explorers find a man, Howard Hillary (Houdini), frozen in solid arctic ice and chop him out and then thaw him. When he returns to life, Dr. Sinclair does not tell Howard that he is 100 years behind the times, planning to study his reactions after they return to civilization. Howard tells that he loved Felice, the daughter of the captain of a ship, and there was a mutiny. In his last memory of the event, Howard was trying to save the young woman's father when he received a blow to the head. Dr. Sinclair persuades Howard not to search the snow and ice of the arctic, but to return to civilization. When Dr. Sinclair returns home, he learns that his ward's father, Dr. Crawford Strange, had set out to join him in the arctic but was lost. It is the wedding day of his ward. When Howard sees the bride, he calls out to her, calling her "Felice" and begging her to recall their love. The ward's name is Felice Strange (Connelly) and she is the

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

of Howard's lost sweetheart. The wedding is postponed indefinitely, and Felice begs Howard to help find her missing father. The discarded suitor, Dr. Gilbert Trent (Maude), has kidnapped her father Dr. Strange and is holding him in the cellar of his house, having planned to marry Felice and having her go with him to hunt for her father in the arctic. Howard and Dr. Sinclair stumble upon a clue, a hat with a cloth in it with Dr. Strange's initials, which leads them to rescuing him. Felice is being pursued by a hireling of Dr. Trent, and Howard follows them to the edge of the Niagara rapids. Howard swims the rapids, catches up with the canoe, and saves the young woman. Howard and Dr. Trent battle on the cliff and Trent goes over. Felice recognizes in Howard her true mate for their belated romance.

Cast

as Howard Hillary / The Man from Beyond *

Arthur Maude Arthur John Maude (23 July 1880 – 9 January 1950) was an English actor, screenwriter, and film director. Biography Maude was born Arthur John Maud on 23 July 1880 in Pontefract, West Riding, Yorkshire, to William Robert Maud (1849–1919) an ...

as Dr. Gilbert Trent * Albert Tavernier as Dr. Crawford Strange *

Erwin Connelly Erwin Connelly (January 14, 1878 – February 12, 1931) was an American actor, known for his contributions to silent films during the 1920s. Before transitioning to a film career, Connelly was a prominent stage performer, particularly in vaudevil ...

as Dr. Gregory Sinclair * Frank Montgomery as Francois Duval *

Luis Alberni Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish-born American character actor of stage and films. Early years Alberni was born in Barcelona, Spain, on October 4, 1886. He acted in stock theater for four years in Marseille ...

as Captain of the Barkentine * Yale Benner as Milt Norcross *

Jane Connelly Jane Connelly (born Ida Dora Belle Tenney; May 2, 1883 – October 25, 1925) was an American stage and silent film actress. She was best known for her vaudeville work alongside her husband, Erwin Connelly, and for her role in '' The Man from Beyon ...

as Felice Strange / Felice Norcross *

Nita Naldi Nita Naldi (born Mary Nonna Dooley; In this reference Naldi's birth name Nonna is mistakenly cited “Donna”. Naldi's birthname in this reference is also incorrectly cited as “Donna”. November 13, 1894 – February 17, 1961) was an Ameri ...

as Marie Le Grande

Production

According to the film's press book, Burton King's directing was supposedly usurped by Houdini's "supervision," but there is little evidence that this was true. As was his habit, Houdini performed all of his own stunts.

Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

''The Man from Beyond'' is in some ways Houdini's attempt to reconcile with his erstwhile friend,

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

. Houdini befriended the English author while performing in Britain in 1920, but the two publicly disagreed about the legitimacy of

spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

(Doyle was a fervent advocate of the supernatural while Houdini was its most famous critic). The pair had a falling out when they attended a seance in which the "spirit" of Houdini's mother (who had only spoken and understood German while alive) communicated to her son in English. By 1922, the men were no longer talking because Doyle refused to accept Houdini's criticisms of the event. ''The Man from Beyond'' ends with the words "You must believe" and the spirit of the vintage-1820 Felice entering the body of the 1922 model, a replication of the cover of Doyle's 1918 spiritual treatise, ''The New Revelation.'' Doyle praised the film and wrote:

From the opening scene showing the actual chopping of a frozen man from the center of a mass of ice and restoring him to life, to the closing scenes of the sensational rescue of the girl from the very brink of Falls, it holds one breathless. I consider ''The Man from Beyond'' one of the really great contributions to the screen.

The film's publicity campaign subsequently used Doyle's quote in advertisements.

References

External links

*
''The Man from Beyond''
Google Video Copy {{DEFAULTSORT:Man from Beyond, The 1922 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1922 mystery films Silent American mystery films Harry Houdini Films directed by Burton L. King 1920s American films English-language mystery films 1920s English-language films Articles containing video clips