The Escape Artist (1982) watch online HD

Final film role of Desi Arnaz, who portrayed Mayor Leon Quiñones.

The only time apparently that actor Desi Arnaz was billed as Desiderio Arnaz. This was apparently done to distinguish him, Arnaz Snr., from his actor-son, Desi Arnaz Jr.. Arnaz Snr had relinquished the title with the Screen Actors Guild so Arnaz Jr. could drop the "junior" wording from his name.

Film debut of Harry Anderson, who portrayed Harry Masters.

Final film role of Joan Hackett to appear before her death one year following release of this film. Two other filmed roles were released after her death, one on television, and one a minor film role.

Actor Griffin O'Neal took a crash course in magic and its philosophy with technical advisor Ricky Jay for his role as teenage magician Danny Masters in this movie. This included learning such tricks as juggling, fine-fingered lock work and sleight-of-hand maneuvers.

Shot in 1980, not released until 1982.

The technical adviser on this film is noted card trick, magic, and circus act expert Ricky Jay, who subsequently became well known as an actor, making his film debut in the same year, 1982, that this film was released.

The cast included two members of the 1930s troupe "The Dead End Kids" they being Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell.

Reportedly, actor Desi Arnaz came out of semi-retirement to portray Mayor Leon Quiñones in this movie .

The film's opening prologue is a quotation. It reads: "'If you aren't sure what's going on, boy, just stand still and point in the wrong direction' - Harry Blackstone , Magician".

In the same 1982 year that this movie debuted, two of the film's actors, Teri Garr and Raul Julia, also starred in another 1982 production at the Zoetrope Studios, which was Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart (1981).

The picture features a boy magician character Danny Masters (Griffin O'Neal). The movie's magic consultant Ricky Jay had turned pro since the age of seven.

Veteran actors Jackie Coogan, Desi Arnaz, Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell all performed character supporting parts in the picture.

Final film role of Gabriel Dell, who portrayed Uncle Burke.

The title that Danny Masters (Griffin O'Neal)'s father Harry Masters had been famous for was the "greatest escape artist in the world, after Houdini".

The hardest part of performing the magic tricks in this movie for actor Griffin O'Neal was having to perform them alone with O'Neal describing the process as being lonely.

Debut feature film directed by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel.

The film was made and released about seventeen years after the movie's source novel of the same name by David Wagoner had been first published in 1965.

First major role in a feature film of actor Griffin O'Neal. The picture was not O'Neal's debut as has been often reported as O'Neal had appeared as a bicycle boy in director Peter Bogdanovich's Nickelodeon (1976) starring his father Ryan O'Neal.

Caleb Deschanel was hired to direct this movie after lensing The Black Stallion (1979) for Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope Studio's fore-runner "Omni Zoetrope". Some movie posters declared that the film was "A new motion picture from the producers of The Black Stallion (1979)...".

Some promotional materials for the movie formed a set of handcuffs out of the letter "C" in the movie's The Escape Artist (1982) title logo.

Publicity for this picture reported that the Zoetrope Studios purchased the Cuyahoga County Jail which was scheduled to be demolished and then reconstructed the building back on a sound stage in California. This was used for the sequence where the escape artist breaks out of a real life gaol.

The name of the night-club was "The Glee Club". The name of the magic company was "The American Magic Company".

Debut feature film directed by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel. The picture is the first of just two feature films [to date, October 2013] directed by Deschanel, with the other being around six years later with 1988's Crusoe (1988).

Producer and director Gary Marshall appears as the drummer at the nightclub, billed as G.K. Marshall.

Raul Julia played Gomez Addams in the 1991 theatrical movie "The Addams Family". Co-star Jackie Coogan played Uncle Fester in the 1960's TV series version of "The Addams Family".

The magician character of Harry Masters (Harry Anderson) had the same first name as the legendary performer Harry Houdini.

Actor Harry Anderson played a character, Harry Masters, with the same first name as his own.

The only time apparently that actor Desi Arnaz was billed as Desiderio Arnaz. This was apparently done to distinguish him, Arnaz Snr., from his actor-son, Desi Arnaz Jr..