1. The First Special Effect - The Execution Of Mary Stuart
Apparently wanting to do something simultaneously classy and lowbrow, in 1895 Thomas Edison staged the February 8, 1587 execution of Mary Stuart, the Scottish Queen and wife of Henry VIII. The seventeen-second movie doesnt have time to waste: The Queen (a man in drag) kneels down to put her neck on a chopping block, and through the miracle of using a cut to replace the actor with a mannequin the queen is beheaded. Its not the end of Ned Stark, but apparently it was more than good enough for audiences back then because reportedly audience members thought the execution was real. After all, this was the first time in the known history of film that any sort of special effect was done, and viewers would only have a couple seconds to study the film unless they paid extra to watch it a few times. Not to mention the fact that Edison movies weren't watched on large screens but by looking at small screens in boxes called "kinetoscopes." Naturally the mistaken impression that Edison was murdering people for entertainment was bound to create a lot of publicity, so the fake snuff film was a hit that Edison imitated repeatedly, including a recreation of president William McKinley's assassin Leon Czolgosz's execution. Some film historians claim Americas obsession with movie violence started here too. It would have been nice for the first special effect to be a little more whimsical than simulating a brutal killing, but hey, thats what the times were like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK3yq8AlyeQ Did you enjoy this article? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread below.
