Photolysis of 2-allylaniline (1a) and trans-2-cinnamylaniline (2a) produced mainly the five-or the six-membered ring products 3a or 9a, respectively. Compound 1b, the N-acetyl derivative of 1a, preferentially underwent photo-Fries rearrangement of the anilide moiety, while − in contrast − the analogous compound 2b, derived from 2a, displayed competition between photocyclisation and double-bond isomerisation. The latter process, characteristic of the styrene chromophore, largely predominated in the case of 2c, the Ntrifluoroacetyl derivative of 2a, while the allyl analogue 1c was essentially unreactive. The photochemical behaviour of the cis-cinnamyl compounds 7a and 7b was analogous to that of their trans isomers 2a and 2b, although double bond isomerisation occurred to a smaller extent. Thus, the introduction of electron-withdrawing acyl groups decreased photocyclisation. The nature of the excited states involved in the