"Disappearing Tricks" revisits the golden age of theatrical magic and silent film to reveal how professional magicians shaped the early history of cinema. Where others have called upon magic as merely an evocative metaphor for the wonders of cinema, Matthew Solomon focuses on the work of the profess[...]

One of the biggest hits of the silent era, The Gold Rush (1925) was famously described by Charlie Chaplin - the star, writer and director of the film - as 'the picture I want to be remembered by'. Enjoying popular and critical success not once but twice, the film was given a new lease of life with s[...]