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The Strange Case of George Albert Smith: Mesmerism, Psychical Research and Cinema

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The Modern Supernatural and the Beginnings of Cinema

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Abstract

This chapter offers a biographical examination of the relationship of cinema and the supernatural by following the unique career trajectory of a pioneering British filmmaker. Smith started as a Brighton stage performer whose thought-transference act brought him the attention of the fledgling Society for Psychical Research (SPR). After spending more than a decade working for the SPR in a variety of capacities, he made some of most innovative films of the time, including a variety of trick films that seem to draw on his prior professions.

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  1. Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Murray Leeder

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  1. Murray Leeder
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Leeder, M. (2017). The Strange Case of George Albert Smith: Mesmerism, Psychical Research and Cinema. In: The Modern Supernatural and the Beginnings of Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58371-0_4

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