Houdini
He was the definitively dazzling performer of his era, a man who beguiled and seduced the watching world in death-defying stunts that defied reason and might as well be called magic for want of a better word. Though today we’re cynical and wise to every trick, the legend of Harry Houdini lives on, and now is recreated with all the aplomb of current American big-budget television in an epic two-part drama (Houdini, Channel 4, Sunday, 9pm).The charismatic showman is played with a marvellous relish for the larger-than-life role by Oscar-winner Adrien Brody. On stage, Houdini never gives his audience anything less than the seemingly impossible – escaping from certain death and magicking an elephant to vanish into thin air. But the ultimate conjuring trick is, perhaps, nothing less than his public persona – for he is the embodiment of the American Dream, rising from the status of a humble immigrant who was born Erik Weisz in his native Hungary to become an unparalleled superstar. As with so many famous men, off stage there’s a woman who keeps the show on the road: for the secret of Houdini, along with the lore of escapology, was that without his wife Bess he’d barely have been capable of taking care of the most ordinary domestic task.
Don’t be under any illusion, for this isn’t a masterwork that’s going to keep the television awards busy next year. But it’s a colourful reminder of a time when seeing was believing, and Brody is a treat at every turn.
NOT TO BE MISSED
Gino’s Italian Escape, ITV, Fri, 8pm The Italian chef is back, celebrating the culinary delights of his native land. This week: steak – Florentine style.
Strictly Come Dancing, BBC1, Sun, 8pm
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman present a new line-up of celebrity dancers: will Judy Murray settle for anything less than winning?
The Secrets, BBC1, Sun, 10.40pm
Olivia Colman, Alison Steadman and Emilia Fox star in a series of short, pointed dramas to be shown throughout the week.