The Execution of Mary Stuart is an American silent trick film produced in 1895. The film depicts the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. It is the first known film to use special effects, specifically the stop trick.[1]
Production and content
The 18-second-long film was produced by Thomas Edison and directed by Alfred Clark and may have been the first film in history to use trained actors as well as the first to use editing for the purposes of special effects. The film shows a blindfolded Mary (played by Robert L. Thomas, a male actor playing the role of a woman, following a long theatrical tradition) being led to the execution block. The executioner raises his axe and an edit occurs during which the actor is replaced by a mannequin. The mannequin's head is chopped off and the executioner holds it in the air as the film ends.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Sarat, Austin; Madeline, Chan; Maia, Cole; Melissa, Lang; Nicholas, Schcolnik; Jasjaap, Sidhu; Siegel, Nica (2015). "Scenes of Execution: Spectatorship, Political Responsibility, and State Killing in American Film". Punishment in Popular Culture. New York University Press. p. 199.
- ^ Musser, Charles (1991). Before the Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Manufacturing Company. University of California Press. p. 56.
External links
- The Execution of Mary Stuart at IMDb
- The Execution of Mary Stuart is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- The Execution of Mary Stuart at AllMovie
- The Execution of Mary Stuart for download
- "Alfred Clark, Narrative and Special Effects Pioneer"
- The Execution of Mary Stuart on YouTube
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