Terror Island By ARTHUR B. REEVE and JOHN GRAY
Scenario by WALTER WOODS
Directed by JAMES CRUZE
I just picked up the April 16, 1920 issue of "Moving Picture Stories", a publication that would, on a weekly basis, feature several tie-in stories to current films. The stories are very condensed. The Terror Island feature (starring Harry Houdini as "Harry Harper" in the film) only ran for 4 ½ pages and concentrated heavily on Houdini's escape tricks done for the movie. The piece did provide 2 film scenes.
Did you ever try watching a film by fast-forwarding to the good parts? That's what reading this piece was like.. In the end, the whole plot has been digested; it just happens very quickly! Terror Island is/was available in part on video which in turn was made from surviving Library of Congress footage. Missing from this footage is the 3rd and 4th of 7 reels. Unfortunately, less than 5 pages are not enough to find out much more about the missing portions.
The tale involves an inventor of a submarine (who just happens to be a master escape-artist), a damsel in distress, her captured father, hostile natives on an island, a family of villains and some shipwrecked treasure. It actually makes for a fairly entertaining movie.
Some misc. comments:
- Arthur B. Reeve had his hand in numerous films of this kind.
- James Cruze portrayed Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde as well as appearing in She for Thanhouser films before becoming a director.
- Harry Houdini, as we know, was a famous magician. I find it interesting that this comment appears at the end of the story:
"Note: The reader may look upon some of the feats performed by Houdini as Harper in this story with some skepticism. But it is a fact that in this photoplay he performs a number of the tricks with which he has for a long time puzzled and amused audiences in theaters all over the world. THE EDITOR."
written: 7/26/2003
