While Harry Houdini didn’t rise to fame as a screen actor, silent film makers of the day sought to capitalize on his fame. The Master Mystery was Houdini’s first such attempt, and it was embraced by the viewing public, leading to other screen roles following. The hero (or superhero) is Quentin Locke, scientist, agent of the U.S. Justice Department, and not surprisingly, an escape artist extraordinaire. The Master Mystery follows agent Locke through many pitfalls, in true serial fashion, as he is tasked with uncovering a band of thugs and a peculiar metal robot (reportedly the first robot in film) with a brain, called an automaton, which has been robbing potential inventors of their patent rights. All in good fun by today’s standards, we find our hero escaping a straightjacket, a diver’s suit, and an electric chair to name but a few, and of course winning the hand of the daughter of one of the industrialists along the way.

Latest episodes of the podcast The Master Mystery by Arthur B. Reeve

• 01 – Chapter 1
• 02 – Chapter 2
• 03 – Chapter 3
• 04 – Chapter 4
• 05 – Chapter 5
• 06 – Chapter 6
• 07 – Chapter 7
• 08 – Chapter 8
• 09 – Chapter 9
• 10 – Chapter 10
• 11 – Chapter 11
• 12 – Chapter 12
• 13 – Chapter 13
• 14 – Chapter 14
• 15 – Chapter 15
• 16 – Chapter 16
• 17 – Chapter 17
• 18 – Chapter 18
• 19 – Chapter 19
• 20 – Chapter 20
• 21 – Chapter 21
• 22 – Chapter 22
• 23 – Chapter 23
• 24 – Chapter 24
• 25 – Chapter 25