The Magician is a 1900 American silent film produced by Thomas A. Edison's Edison Manufacturing Company

Edison Studios

Edison Studios was an American motion picture production company owned by the Edison Company of inventor Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films as the Edison Manufacturing Company and Thomas A. Edison, Inc. until the studio's closing in 1918...

. According to the Edison film catalog, the film originally was sold to theaters for $9.00. This film exemplifies the strong links between early film and magic. Just the 1900 Edison film catalog alone contained several trick films

Stop trick

A stop trick is a film special effect. It occurs when an object is filmed, then while the camera is off, the object is moved out of sight of the camera, then the camera is turned back on. When the film is watched it thus seems to the viewer that object disappears.Georges Méliès accidentally...

, including Ching Ling Foo Outdone, The Clown and the Alchemist, Congress of Nations, and Hooligan Assists the Magician.

Plot summary

The film takes place in an interior space, possibly a parlor. The magician enters from screen right, walks to the center of the frame, and bows. He takes off his glove and throws it into the air, where it disappears. He does this same trick with his hat and coat. He pulls out a white handkerchief and holds it in front of his legs. When he removes the handkerchief, his pants have changed to knickers. In his final trick, the magician gestures and a table piled with streamers appears. The magician picks up the pile, shakes it, and three geese fly out toward the camera.