Mary Jane's Mishap (1903)

Directed by

George Albert Smith

Genre

comedy film, silent film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

4 min

Rating

5.8 of 10 from 58 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A housemaid named Mary Jane tries to light the kitchen stove using paraffin. This causes an explosion and a subsequent ghostly visitation. The film uses trick photography and editing to tell its brief story.

slapstickplayfulcomicghostlylighthearteddatedexperimental

What happens

Mary Jane's Mishap; or, Don't Fool with the Paraffin is a 1903 British silent comic trick film, directed by George Albert Smith, depicting disaster after housemaid Mary Jane uses paraffin to light the kitchen stove. The film, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, "is an example of Smith's interest in cinematic effects - including, here, the use of superimposition to suggest ghosts," which, "is notable for its then sophisticated mix of wide establishing shots and medium close-ups," and, "also contains two wipes to denote a change of scene." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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