In the early history of cinema, trick films were short

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s designed to feature innovative special effects.

History

The trick film genre was developed by

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès ( , ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French magic (illusion), magician, toymaker, actor, and filmmaker. He led many technical and narrative developments in the early days of film, cinema, primarily in th ...

in some of his first cinematic experiments, and his works remain the most classic examples of the genre. Other early experimenters included the French showmen Émile and Vincent Isola, the British magicians David Devant and John Nevil Maskelyne, and the American cinematographers Billy Bitzer, James Stuart Blackton and Edwin S. Porter. In the first years of film, especially between 1898 and 1908, the trick film was one of the world's most popular

film genres A film genre is a Genre, stylistic or thematic category for Film, motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative , narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film. Drawing heavily from the theories ...

. Before 1906, it was likely the second most prevalent genre in film, surpassed only by nonfiction actuality films. Techniques explored in these trick films included

slow motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slow-mo or slo-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use ...

and

fast motion Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and th ...

created by varying the camera cranking speed; the editing device called the

substitution splice The substitution splice or stop trick is a cinematic special effect in which filmmakers achieve an appearance, disappearance, or transformation by altering one or more selected aspects of the mise-en-scène between two shots while maintaining t ...

; and various in-camera effects, such as

multiple exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be ide ...

. "Trick novelties," as the British often called trick films, received a wide vogue in the United Kingdom, with Robert W. Paul and

Cecil Hepworth Cecil Milton Hepworth (19 March 1874 – 9 February 1953) was a British film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the Cinema of the United Kingdom, British film industry and continued making films ...

among their practitioners. John Howard Martin, of the Cricks and Martin filmmaking duo, produced popular trick films as late as 1913, when he began doing solo work. However, British interest in trick films was generally on the wane by 1912, with even an elaborate production like Méliès's '' The Conquest of the Pole'' received relatively coolly. Elements of the trick film style survived in the sight gags of silent comedy films, such as

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

's '' Sherlock Jr.'' The spectacular nature of trick films also lived on in other genres, including

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

s, and

swashbuckler film A swashbuckler film is characterised by swordfighting and adventurous heroic characters, known as swashbucklers. While morality is typically clear-cut, heroes and villains alike often, but not always, follow a code of honor. Some swashbuckle ...

Style

Trick films should not be confused with short silent films that feature conventional stage magic acts ("films of tricks," in the words of the film historian Matthew Solomon). Instead, trick films create illusions using film techniques. Trick films generally convey a sprightly humor, created not so much by jokes or comedic situations as by the energetic whimsy inherent in making impossible events seem to occur. As the philosopher Noël Carroll has pointed out, the comedy in Méliès's trick film style is "a matter of joy borne of marvelous transformations and physically impossible events," "a comedy of metaphysical release that celebrates the possibility of substituting the laws of physics with the laws of the imagination."

Examples

* '' The Execution of Mary Stuart'' (1895, Clark) * '' The Vanishing Lady'' (1896, Méliès) * '' The Astronomer's Dream'' (1898, Méliès) * '' The Famous Box Trick'' (1898, Méliès) * ''

The Four Troublesome Heads ''The Four Troublesome Heads'' (, literally "A Man of Heads"), also known as ''Four Heads Are Better Than One'', is an 1898 French silent trick film directed by Georges Méliès. Plot A magician enters the frame and stands between two tables. ...

'' (1898, Méliès) * ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' (1899, Méliès) * '' The Enchanted Drawing'' (1900, Blackton) * '' The Christmas Dream'' (1900, Méliès) * '' How It Feels to Be Run Over'' (1900, Hepworth) * '' The One-Man Band'' (1900, Méliès) * '' The Man with the Rubber Head'' (1901, Méliès) * ''

A Trip to the Moon ''A Trip to the Moon'' ( , ) is a 1902 French science-fiction adventure trick film written, directed, and produced by Georges Méliès. Inspired by the Jules Verne novel ''From the Earth to the Moon'' (1865) and its sequel '' Around the Moon ...

'' (1902, Méliès) * '' Jack and the Beanstalk'' (1902, Porter) * '' The Kingdom of the Fairies'' (1903, Méliès) * '' Ten Ladies in One Umbrella'' (1903, Méliès) * '' The Impossible Voyage'' (1904, Méliès) * '' Aladdin and His Wonder Lamp'' (1906, Capellani) * '' Dream of a Rarebit Fiend'' (1906, Porter) * '' The Haunted Hotel'' (1907, Blackton) * '' Princess Nicotine; or, The Smoke Fairy'' (1909, Blackton)

References

Citations

* * {{Film genres Film genres 1890s in film 1900s in film 1910s in film Articles containing video clips