As a dedicated showman, Georges Méliès often both directed and acted in his films. In addition to the devil, Méliès’ frequently portrayed versions of his other stage persona as a magician. One of Méliès’ most notable ventures into special effects involved the substitution or stop trick, which is basically a cinematic version of the magician’s sleight of hand. He is believed to have first used this effect in The Vanishing Lady when a woman transforms into a skeleton before the audience’s awestruck eyes. Shooting from a single camera position from the perspective of an audience member, Méliès the actor likewise often addressed the camera as if he were before a live audience with theatrical gestures and playful facial expressions. These classic stage illusion films were often similar to the magic theater shows that Méliès was already performing. As an illusionist, like many other magicians before and during this time, Méliès incorporated magic lantern art into his shows. A precursor to moving image projection, the magic lantern was an early slide projector that used illuminated glass slides to illustrate stories. This focus on phantasmagoria influenced Méliès to portray what was not there or what was not possible, rather than to document everyday life. Though Méliès would eventually move toward longer, more narrative film approaches, his unwavering dedication to illustrious illusions rooted in theatricality and spectacle far surpassed the stories these films told.

TRT 63 min