''The X-Rays'' (also known as ''The X-Ray Fiend''
) is an 1897 British
short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known as ...
silent comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
, directed by
George Albert Smith
George Albert Smith Sr. (April 4, 1870 – April 4, 1951) was an American religious leader who served as the eighth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Early life
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah Territor ...
, featuring a courting couple exposed to
X-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
s. The
trick film
In the early history of cinema, trick films were short silent films designed to feature innovative special effects.
History
The trick film genre was developed by Georges Méliès in some of his first cinematic experiments, and his works remain th ...
, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, "contains one of the first British examples of
special effect
Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
s created by means of
jump cut
A jump cut is a cut (transition), cut in film editing in which a single continuous sequential shot of a subject is broken into two parts, with a piece of footage being removed in order to render the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera posit ...
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 or skin-tight garment that covers the torso and the crotch, and sometimes the legs, hands, and feet, and cannot be used as a swimsuit. The style of a basic bodysuit is similar to a one-piece swimsuit a ...
s decorated with
skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
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
Laura may refer to:
People
* Laura (given name)
* Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert
Places Australia
* Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula
* Laura, South Australia
* Laura Bay, a bay o ...
and Tom Green (a
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
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 comedy films
Silent horror films
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