Stop-Motion photography

THE EXECUTION OF MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS

In this twenty-second film from the Thomas Edison Studio, The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895) you can see how stop-motion photography can create a suitable illusion, in this case that a real person is being decapitated. But the join between the real person and the dummy is easy to see at exactly midway, or ten seconds into the film. Still it must have wowed spectators in 1896! (Due to the length of the film, there will be a ten-minute intermission after Mary rests her head on the chopping wood.)