The Bathers

A simple special effect gives an eerily comic twist to this film of Victorian gentleman taking some outdoor exercise

The Victorian bathing suits aren't the only strange thing about this film of two gentlemen taking a dip. In this reverse-motion trick movie, a piece of film is run forwards then backwards. The bathers peel off their clothes theatrically so that in reverse, after they bounce out of the water, their shirts and shoes spring back on to their bodies. The pipe-smoker has finessed his palindromic performance - in rewind his straw boater twirls on to his head and his trousers creep up his legs.