The film is sometimes called “The Execution of Mary Stuart” (1895) and it is the earliest surviving film using special effects, notably the ‘stop trick.’ It lasts about 18 seconds and was produced by Thomas Edison. A male Shakespearean actor wound up playing Mary being led to the chopping block, before the body is replaced with a mannequin as the head is chopped off.

Since the film is less than one minute in length and it is important merely for its place in the early history of cinema, I decided not to formally review it. The quality of the surviving film is poor at best.