Information
- BFI identifier8129
- Date1897 (Release)
- Production countryUnited Kingdom
- Production company
- SynopsisCOMEDY. A courting couple are filmed by X-rays. A man and a woman are spooning on a bench. A man with a large camera marked X RAYS stands beside them, points his camera at the couple and takes off the lens cap (18). The couple are turned into skeletons (black bodystocking for the man with bones painted in white, the woman wearing a black dress with the bones painted in white), with the woman's umbrella becoming just a bare frame, while they continue to court. The camera man puts the lens cap back on (30). The couple return to full dress, as the camera man retreats. The woman protests at the man's attentions and leaves, leaving the man seated and pulling faces (46ft). Note: The Prestwich catalogue for 1898 describes the film as follows: "The Professor turns his apparatus upon the lovers and makes a startling revelation. Very surprising and amusing. 54 feet". The G.A. Smith cash books record the film as being made in October 1897. X-rays, or Roentgen rays, were discovered in 1895. Refs: John Barnes, The Rise of the Cinema in Great Britain, pp. 91, 93, 95, 209, 235. (Shotlist)
- Genre
- Subject
- Credits
- Cast
Title
The X Rays (Original)
X-ray Film (Acquisition)
The X-ray Fiend (Alternative)
EIDR identifier
10.5240/41B9-341A-11F7-F8B2-6ADD-DCategory
FictionThis work is available from BFI Archive Sales
This work is available to view in the Mediatheque at BFI Southbank.
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- Film / Video
LTO5 - Video - MP4 - Viewing
LTO5 - Video - MP4 - Viewing
35mm BW Positive - Polyester - Silent - Viewing
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VHS cassette - Video - Viewing
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- +The X Rays
Work - 8129 - 1897 (Release)
United Kingdom - Film - Fiction
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