In the earlyhistory of cinema,trick films wereshortsilent films designed to feature innovativespecial effects.[1]
The trick film genre was developed byGeorges Méliès in some of his first cinematic experiments,[2] and his works remain the most classic examples of the genre.[3] Other early experimenters included the French showmenÉmile andVincent Isola, the British magiciansDavid Devant andJohn Nevil Maskelyne, and the American cinematographersBilly Bitzer,James Stuart Blackton andEdwin S. Porter.[4]
In the first years of film, especially between 1898 and 1908, the trick film was one of the world's most popularfilm genres.[1] Before 1906, it was likely the second most prevalent genre in film, surpassed only by nonfictionactuality films.[5] Techniques explored in these trick films includedslow motion andfast motion created by varying the camera cranking speed; the editing device called thesubstitution splice; and variousin-camera effects, such asmultiple exposure.[4]
"Trick novelties," as the British often called trick films, received a wide vogue in the United Kingdom, withRobert W. Paul andCecil Hepworth 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'sThe Conquest of the Pole received relatively coolly.[6]
Elements of the trick film style survived in thesight gags ofsilent comedy films, such asBuster Keaton'sSherlock Jr.[7] The spectacular nature of trick films also lived on in other genres, includingmusical films,science fiction films,horror films, andswashbuckler films.[4]
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.[8]
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.[2] As the philosopherNoël 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."[2]
