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How Magician William Woodfield made ‘Mission Impossible’ possible..

How Magician William Woodfield made ‘Mission Impossible’ possible..

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation thrums into theaters on Friday, with quinquagenarian Tom Cruise again taking up the mantle of Ethan Hunt, executing bad guys and actuary-defying stunts with equal gusto. Like the other great movie spies, your Bonds and your Bournes, Hunt didn’t get famous on the silver screen. Where the other two had literary origins, the IMF agent got big on television. Still, Mission Impossible owes a great deal to the printed page and, more specifically, an obscure, long since discontinued conjurers trade magazine:Woodfield’s Magicana.

William Woodfield would eventually work as a producer on the TV series that introduced the IMF to the world, but in 1946, he was an 18-year-old amateur illusionist armed with a newsletter, Woodfield’s Magicana: A Trade Paper for Magicians. The subject matter reads today like a video game site’s nav bar. There were tips, tricks (the illusion kind), reviews, news, and rankings of famous mages. Here’s a taste of Woodfield describing a trick he subsequently breaks down for would be practitioners of the magic arts.

https://www.inverse.com/article/4945-how-magician-william-woodfield-made-the-impossible-missions-force-dangerous

That one time England recruited a magician to trick Hitler..

That one time England recruited a magician to trick Hitler..

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The history of WWII is brimming with legends of incredible heroism, death-defying bravery and sometimes, stories that are just too ridiculous to be true.

The tale of Jasper Maskelyne, the British magician who joined the Royal Engineers once the King declared war on Germany, dances on the line of the third category.

Many people believe that Maskelyne’s “war contributions” are mostly tall tales that have grown more and more fantastical over time, while others contest that his feats of deception are completely factual and actually happened. We may never know for sure how much of history’s account of Maskelyne’s contributions are folklore because there are very few pictures detailing his accomplishments, which is exactly why so many people are skeptical.

Whether or not the illusionist was the real deal or just smoke and mirrors, the story of his contributions to the Allied war effort are too incredible to ignore.

Maskelyne had magic in his blood — he was a third-generation illusionist, so you could say that being awesome ran in his family. He also really, really hated Hitler. Because of this, rather than enlist as a common foot soldier or sailor when Britain began to gear up for WWII, he wanted to offer a flashier form of service: military magician. For whatever reason, the Allies thought that they could actually benefit from having a magic man amongst their ranks, and promoted Maskelyne to major.

But they didn’t stop there — Maskelyne was allowed to assemble a team of the best artists, tricksters,engineers and illusionists around to help him pull off his stunts. The team’s official title was the A-Force, nicknamed “The Magic Gang,” as if The A-Force wasn’t cool enough.  Read more:

http://www.wearethemighty.com/magician-hitler-2015-08

Magic and Magicians in the Movies..

Magic and Magicians in the Movies..

Despite the fact that many modern forms of magic appear to have evolved from simple tricks, like those featured in the Royal Vegas Rabbit in the hat game into ridiculous feats of stupidity or endurance, there is still a rich history of real magical performance and style. Of course magic is always a great concept to delve into and the perfect fodder for movie goers to enjoy as well. Magicians and magic have featured in a number of popular, and not so popular, movies throughout the years each tackling certain aspects of the industry whether it’s going behind the scenes or directly trying to outwit and trick the audience themselves. We take a look at just a few examples of this magical sub-genre. Read more…

http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2015/07/magic-and-magicians-in-the-movies.html