British Film Institute

One of several trick films that James Williamson made in 1901, The Magic Extinguisher appears to be a single continuous shot, but in fact turns out to be comprised of a great many shorter sequences linked together by relatively seamless jump-cuts.

The extinguisher of the title is an old-fashioned horn type that for the purposes of Williamson's film makes an ideal and more visually striking alternative to the traditional top hat, though the conjuring tricks are otherwise all too familiar and the film as a whole is markedly less innovative than the same year's The Big Swallow or The Puzzled Bather and his Animated Clothes.

The magician is played by comedian Sam Dalton, who can also be seen in The Big Swallow and Are You There? (both also from 1901).

Michael Brooke

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