Ed Marlo Secret Lecture

Ceri

This is what they said on the tin. If you are expecting the 2022 modern flashy, hi-def video magic tutorial – then don’t bother. This is a video made from the back of the room on old VHS tapes – and the quality is reflected. Having said that – I feel like I missed The Olde Golden Age of Magicians – Vernon, Marlo, Jennings – I found about these guys after they died. This tape is gold dust. When I watched it I was in the room back when it was filmed. The Colour Changes were brilliant, I know how they’re done (read all the books), but it was superb to see Marlo doing them. THIS is what you get from this tape – a snapshot of history.

George

Ed

A fantastic blast from the past.
Pay attention he tips a few.

Chris

Great. Just great. If you want to get an idea of how smooth and knowledgable he was, or are already a fan and want to see him in action, this is a no-brainer.

Jake

Marlo covers a good bit of information in a short period of time. The things he does teach are extremely interesting and he tells some good stories.
For $10 it really is more than worth it!

JAIME TREJO C/O

What can I say about this? It’s Ed Marlo! One of the most influential magicians in the past century sharing ideas and performing. Don’t think about it, just add it to your cart and enjoy.

Dr. Joaquin M.

Josh and Andi have unearthed (via their original source of this video) a real and absolute treasure for cardicians!

If you watch the video about how this came to be, they tell you like it is - this video is not at all up to modern standards and was a one-camera shot, from a set distance. The lighting is good and the sound is great, especially when coupled with the pop-up text for references and when people asked questions that may not have been heard through the microphones.

The camera was likely of a very early generation of VHS camcorders, which means that the quality of the video is okay, but it is certainly clear enough to see what is going on. There are also a few spots where the film was chewed up a tad or damaged in some way - if you are familiar with VHS tapes and have ever watched them, you have experienced this before (we used to say that the tape "got chewed up" or "eaten" by the camcorder/VCR). This is all to be expected from earlier recording equipment In that aspect alone, one might rate this as a "pretty good" or maybe even "sub-standard quality", especially if one compares it to modern digital quality technology, but that would be foolish.

The real value in this, as Josh and Andi point out, is being able to see an absolute master - probably the greatest cardician across all generations, perform and demonstrate various techniques in his prime. Unfortunately a few times the table was a bit out of frame as he was demonstrating some move or another, but most of the time you could get the idea by combining what he was saying with looking up the references given, if you have them on hand. If not, it gives you a good excuse to find them and add them to your library!

There were some fun stories and anecdotes that Eddie told as he went along, many of them were related to the effect/move/sleight that he was talking about/demonstrating at the moment.

Perhaps one of the funniest things in the whole half-hour long video, to me, was when someone asked him to talk about the Bluff Ace Assembly, which is quite well-known these days among lovers of the Assembly plot. Eddie had to ask what that was before he remembered! With as much as he published, one might wonder if he sometimes forgot what some things were over the years - this shows you that it was a possibility!

That said, as pointed out by Josh and Andi, there are no close-up shots of any of the techniques, and most of what you see in this video is more like a Q&A lecture than a detailed teaching lecture. Attendees would ask to see a certain technique or ask him to talk about a move and that is what you get. This is where the pop-up text references come in and those are where you would find more detailed descriptions. IF you are relatively well-read in regards to Marlo, as I said earlier, you might even be able to follow along a bit by combining your previous knowledge with what he is saying/describing.

Overall the quality of this video is not the greatest, but the contents of this much-too short video shine through all of that and carry the true value of this footage. Any serious student of card magic or fan of Marlo and his work will truly appreciate being able to see him in his prime, demonstrating various items from throughout the literature. For those of us who never got to see him in person, this is an absolute treat.

For that last reason alone, I very, very highly recommend this video!

Terry

This is a rare piece of Magic History. A lost and recently discovered Ed Marlo Lecture. It is a steal at only $10.

Some thoughts:

It is short Lecture (31 minutes) and the video is VHS quality.

Even though it is short, there is a lot of information crammed into this lecture. Although the video isn't up to today's standards it is in color and very watchable.

Not everything Marlo performs is explained and even when an explanation is given it is usually brief. Vanishing Magic has been very helpful by providing the source for more detailed explanations.

This video is a fascinating look at a Card Magic Legend at his best, generously sharing a lifetime of knowledge with his fellow Magicians.

If you are into Card Magic you will definitely want to add this video to your library.

Chris

If you are a serious card worker then you will really enjoy this material. Marlo is at his best in this lecture and displays some wonderful subtleties to a few sleights. To find some "new material" of Ed Marlo is truly amazing!!