I have seen a few silents where folks were supposedly on a rocking boat but the effect was just achieved by rocking the camera...not the boat. In most of these (including a Buster Keaton short), the rocking is WAY overdone...going way too fast to be realistic. Here in perhaps the earliest such film, Georges Méliès uses this trick...with middling efforts. The boat is supposed to be rocking but if you watch some of the passengers aren't being affected by the rocking at all! A bit sloppy but since it was so early, some of this can be forgiven.
By the way, the ship had a plaque on it saying "Robert Houdin Star Line". Robert Houdin was a super-famous magician of the 19th century (like Méliès) and is considered by some as the father of modern magic.
By the way, the ship had a plaque on it saying "Robert Houdin Star Line". Robert Houdin was a super-famous magician of the 19th century (like Méliès) and is considered by some as the father of modern magic.