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A Visit to the Spiritualist
(1899) United States of America
B&W : 100 feet
Directed by J. Stuart Blackton [?] and Albert E. Smith?
Cast: (unknown)
American Vitagraph Company production; distributed by [?] Edison Manufacturing Company? / Cinematography by Albert E. Smith and J. Stuart Blackton. / Released March 1900. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / The production was shot on the Vitagraph rooftop in December 1899.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [From Edison promotional materials] This is acknowledged by distributors to be the funniest of all moving magical films. A countryman enters the office of a spiritualist. He is then mesmerized and sees funny things. He drops his handkerchief on the floor, and as he reaches for it, it gradually grows larger and larger, dancing up and down, and going through funny antics until before the eyes of the spectator it turns into a ghost of enormous proportions. It then vanishes, and as the countryman is in the act of sitting in the chair, the ghost suddenly appears and the countryman receives a great fright. He then jumps up and throws off his hat and coat, and they immediately fly back on his body. He repeatedly throws them off and they as often return. This scene finally closes by numerous ghosts and hobgoblins appearing and disappearing before the eyes of the frightened countryman, who finally leaves the room in great haste.
Survival status: Print exists in the UCLA Film and Television Archive film archive.
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 15 August 2023.
References: Leyda-Before pp. 40, 80, 98; Slide-BigV pp. 10, 170 : Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
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