''The X-Rays'' (also known as ''The X-Ray Fiend'') is an 1897 British silent comic trick film directed by George Albert Smith, featuring a courting couple exposed to

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

s. The 44-second trick film, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, "contains one of the first British examples of special effects created by means of

jump cut A jump cut is a cut (transition), cut in film editing that breaks a single continuous sequential shot of a subject into two parts, with a piece of footage removed to create the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positioning on the subjec ...

s" Smith employs the jump-cut twice; first to transform his courting couple via "X rays," dramatized by means of the actors donning black

bodysuit A bodysuit is a one-piece form-fitting garment, form-fitting or skin-tight garment that covers the torso and the crotch. The design of a basic bodysuit is similar to a one-piece swimsuit and a leotard, though the materials may vary. Thong or T ...

s decorated with

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

s and with the woman holding only the metal support work of her umbrella, and then to return them and the umbrella to normal. The couple in question were played by Smith's wife Laura Bayley and Tom Green, a

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

comedian.

References

External links

* * 1897 films 1897 horror films 1890s science fiction comedy films 1890s British films British black-and-white films British silent short films Articles containing video clips X-rays Films directed by George Albert Smith British comedy horror films British science fiction comedy films 1890s romance films 1897 comedy films Fiction about skeletons 1897 short films Silent British comedy films Silent British horror films Trick films {{comedy-horror-film-stub