is it a true story

From what I gather, this is SO not even a remotely a true story. And to answer your other question... It's fiction. Plot points. They've built a totally fictitious story @ a real historic person.
I can see some Houdini "fans" would get upset at this film, as the character of Houdini was in name only. They could have made a totally different fictional magician, Dumbo the Great, and I don't believe this film would have been as negatively received as it is now.

That all said...
I liked the movie. It looked great and the plot was engaging.


Trust me,
Swan
My, you're nosey, aren't you?

Not really true at all. It is true that Houdini did go around disproving séances and the people who scammed others out of their money. It is true that he wasn't there with his mom when she died. It is true that his mom worried about his socks. It is true that he did take risks and even performed through pain such as broken bones. He did die under, some would say, unusual events, but it was just that his appendix that was already messed up finally ruptured and back then surgery was already slightly clueless about those things. He did say to his wife that if he could he would contact her from beyond death and he did die around or on Halloween. All in all Houdini's actual story is better to tell than a way fictionalized version of events that didn't happen and slap his name on a character.

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