trick film
65 movies and shows
The Mystical Flame
Sun, 19 Apr 1903
A juggler enters upon the scene, picks up a skull, throws it into the air, catches it in his hands, where it is transformed into a handkerchief. The handkerchief, after being twirled about a wand, is changed to a napkin, and afterward to a tablecloth. Out of the table cloth comes a servant.
A Mouse's Tale
Thu, 11 Oct 2012
A magical adventure begins Once upon a time, within a vast and wild forest there was a fantastic Kingdom called Rodencia, a place where wonderful creatures and powerful wizards lived. It's the story of adventures and love of a small mouse called Edam, a clumsy magician's apprentice and the beautiful and confident mouse Brie, who will have to face many dangerous obstacles in order to obtain the power of the princess's tooth and defeat the troop of rats commanded by the evil Rotex who invades Rodencia (the peaceful kingdom of mice), in order to dominate them and take their treasure. In the middle of the forest; the magic of the light and the darkness, the love and resentment will face together. Edam and Rotex will fight and only one will leave victorious.
The Doll's Revenge
Sat, 02 Mar 1907
A boy breaks his sister's doll and it mends, grows, tears him up and eats him.
Flying the Foam and Some Fancy Diving
Sun, 30 Dec 1906
Innovative early 'trick' film showing the popular 'flying the foam' stunt performed on - or rather off - Brighton's West Pier.
The Merry Frolics of Satan
Fri, 07 Sep 1906
Two travellers are tormented by Satan from inn to inn and eventually experience a buggy ride through the heavens courtesy of the Devil before he takes one of them down to Hell and roasts him on a spit.
Birth of Shri Krishna
Sun, 19 May 1918
This film begins with the invocation of 'almighty god' at a river where several people are gathered. The child god Krishna rises out of the water astride the demon snake Kaliya. Then we see Yashoda as she rocks the sleeping Krishna's crib and imagines the god as Gopala. The next scene shows Kamsa fantasizing about Krishna threateningly duplicated many times around him. Kamsa then imagines himself dead as his severed head rises up and descends again. People of all castes pay obeisance to the deity with the title-card: 'may this humble offering be accepted by the Lord'.
The Magician
Tue, 10 Jan 2017
A modern reimagining of the trick film, combining the love of spectacle, the artist's process and the dark state of today's politics.
Faust and Mephistopheles
Fri, 05 Jun 1903
A re-telling of the classic tale of Faust in all of two minutes by French filmmaker Alice Guy.
The Living Playing Cards
Fri, 06 Jan 1905
Le Voleur invisible
Fri, 23 Apr 1909
A man in a suit and cap stops in front of the display of a bookseller, finds and flips… "Invisible Man" by H. G. Wells! Fascinated by the subject, he buys the book and goes home with the intention to test the invisibility formula described by the author…
Paper Cock-a-Doodles
Sat, 31 Oct 1908
Female magicians turn people into origami roosters and vice versa.
Sherlock Holmes Baffled
Mon, 21 May 1900
Sherlock Holmes enters his drawing room to find it being burgled, but on confronting the villain is surprised when the latter disappears.
Modern Sculptors
Fri, 31 Jan 1908
The first scene presents before the astonished eyes of the spectators a solid piece of marble, which the minute it is placed on a table seems to take life, and one can follow a snake-like line branding on the polished face of the stone the name of the house of Pathé Frères. As soon as this stone has been engraved, as by magic, a handsome young lady appears with a huge lump of clay covered with a cloth. As soon as the cloth is removed from the soft mass it starts whirling and turning as if stricken mad, and one is asking one's self what all the contentions are going to lead to, when the vague shape of an animal not yet discernible seems to appear, and before one has time to make one's mind as to the category of brutes to which it belongs one sees the form of a remarkably well made orang-utan modelled out of the clay, who calmly smokes his pipe. Then the statue is removed by the same winning young lady and another covered block of the same substance is carried forward.
The Infernal Cakewalk
Sat, 21 Feb 1903
Pluto, having seen the earth, comes back home amazed at the success of that well-known dance, the "cake-walk." He has brought back with him two noted well-known dancers, who start their favorite dance amidst the flames.
Artistic Creation
Tue, 01 Oct 1901
An artist draws the head of a pretty girl, takes the drawing off the paper and places it on a small table, turning the image into the head of a real woman. He then continuous drawing the lady, one body part after the other.
Unusual Cooking
Fri, 05 Jun 1908
A chef comes into the kitchen and throws a lot of rags on the floor: he then casts a spell over them, and immediately they take the form of human beings, and dance a wild saraband around the place. After performing many unique tricks they disappear into space, and are replaced by a group of knives and forks, pans, kettles and spoons. (Moving Picture World)
Mesmerist and Country Couple
Sat, 20 May 1899
“Mr. and Mrs. Hayseed have heard of this wonderful Professor, and come to his office. They waken him from a trance, give him a fee and he hypnotizes them. The stunts they do while under his influence would make the Sphinx laugh for joy. Hayseed stands on his head, balances himself on a chair and takes off his clothes. Mrs. Hayseed also begins to disrobe, but she goes behind a screen. Her bare arm appears over the top, and she drops her clothes on the floor. It is a hair raising moment to guess what she's going to do next. The mystical appearances and lightning changes are managed with wonderful cleverness.” (Edison film catalog)
Bluebeard
Thu, 25 Jul 1901
A young woman becomes the eighth wife of the wealthy Bluebeard, whose first seven wives have died under mysterious circumstances.