On the daybreak of cinematography, in the beginning of the final century, the occupation of stuntman as such didn’t exist. Again then, if administrators and producers wanted performers for excessive scenes, they took individuals actually from the road.

Additionally, volunteers agreed to carry out such stunts at no cost. The very concept that they might get into “shifting footage” was already sufficient motivation for them to take action.

The primary documented case of a paid stunt occurred solely in 1908 – then on the set of the film “The Depend of Monte Cristo” an unknown acrobat was paid 5 {dollars} for leaping off a cliff into the ocean.

Stuntmen of these instances had no insurance coverage and safety – daredevils may solely depend on their very own expertise and expertise. Due to this fact, the primary performers of stunts in motion pictures have been former circus performers and cowboys, who have been compelled to search for new jobs en masse after the decline of the Wild West period.

Certainly one of them was Frank Hanaway, a person who is taken into account to be the primary stunt double in historical past. He started his profession in 1903 within the film “The Nice Prepare Theft” and have become well-known for studying how you can fall off a horse whereas remaining utterly unhurt.

Earlier than the appearance of sound movies, elaborate stunt work was most frequently seen in slapstick comedies, normally carried out by the actors themselves. Comedians like Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd have been well-known for visible humor, constructed on acrobatic strategies.

It was Harry Lloyd, within the 1929 film “Secure at Final!” 1929, carried out the primary stunt that utilized varied security measures in preparation for it.

Within the story, Lloyd’s character climbs the wall of the Atlantic Lodge in Los Angeles. Even though the stunt was filmed at fairly actual heights, the creators of the film for the primary time in historical past took various precautions: below the actor they hid a platform with a smooth mattress, below his garments there was a smooth corset, and Lloyd himself was hooked up to the constructing with a hidden rope.

Nevertheless, the authors didn’t do it for security causes or worry of damage to the principle actor. Harry Lloyd was going to carry out the stunt “the old style means”, with out insurance coverage, however the metropolis commissioners of Los Angeles on this case merely wouldn’t give them permission to shoot. It seems, in a way, the stunt craft in its present kind owes its existence to town companies.

The true revolution within the stuntmen’s occupation occurred within the 30s, when Hollywood producers lastly realized the correlation between the earnings from movies and the presence of sure actors in them. The Golden Period of Hollywood started, and with it the idea of “film stars” was born. Actors started to be saved, in reference to what appeared “doubles” – individuals who changed the “stars” in probably the most harmful scenes.