In this silent clip, Dell O’Dell works her magic in a night club in the Forties, with an orchestra behind her.
Assisted by her husband Charlie Carrer, she tears and restores a newspaper, produces a tray full of rabbits, and pretends to pass a guillotine blade through the head of a male assistant (while spreading a newspaper on the floor that reads, “Dell's Guillotine Fails—Victim Low, Hospital Reports”).
She also performs a Penetration Frame, the P&L Blooming Rosebush, and her raucous and noisy Linking Ring routine. Finally, the video captures her original umbrella trick, a rabbit vanish, and part of her Duck Pan production.
Even without sound, Dell's personality shines loud and clear, as her face beams and her dress sparkles.
—Michael Claxton
More On Dell O'Dell
This magical couple married in 1931 and spent three decades working together onstage and off. Here they are in home movies that is shot by each other, as they enjoy some laughs with friends.
Dell presenting her signature version of the Nest of Boxes. Even though a silent clip, you can see her strength of personality and also, her physical strength. Those boxes were heavy!
Dell is presents the Nekko Omar Perfect Mystery, vanishing a rabbit from an apparently empty box that has been suspended between two uprights.