The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
A short film depicting the execution of Mary, Queen of the Scots. Mary is brought to the execution block and made to kneel down with her neck over it. The executioner lifts his axe ready to bring it down. After that frame Mary has been replaced by a dummy. The axe comes down and severs the head of the dummy from the body. The executioner picks up the head and shows it around for everyone else to see. One of the first camera tricks to be used in a movie.
From the archive
From the Library of Congress website: Representing the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots. A realistic reproduction of an historic scene. - http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/papr:@filreq(@field(NUMBER+@band(edmp+4036))+@field(COLLID+edison))
Why this is free to watch
The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895) is hosted by the Internet Archive as a public-domain or openly licensed work, which means its copyright has expired, lapsed, or was released by the rights holder. The uploader declared an explicit licence, linked in the source panel. Nitrate streams the file directly from the Archive and hosts no video itself.
- Director
- William Heise
- Starring
- Robert Thomae
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