Electrocution of Czolgosz

CREATED/PUBLISHED United States : Thomas A. Edison, Inc., 1901.

SUMMARY The film begins by showing railroad cars in the foreground with the overshadowing walls of a state prison in the background. The second camera position, from a higher elevation, pans slowly showing the yard interior of the prison and some of the large buildings. There is a dissolve from the exterior to the interior, a set of a stone wall with an iron barred door. Uniformed men are visible; they open the door and remove a man in civilian clothes. The camera then dissolves to another set in which there is a chair with wires attached. The man in civilian clothes is brought in and strapped to the chair. At the end of the film, two of the six witnesses examine him with stethoscopes.

From a contemporary Edison film company catalog: ELECTROCUTION OF CZOLGOSZ. Unhonored. [code for telegraphic orders]. A detailed reproduction of the execution of the assassin of President McKinley faithfully carried out from the description of an eye witness. The picture is in three scenes. First: Panoramic view of Auburn Prison taken the morning of the electrocution. The picture then dissolves into the corridor of murderer's row. The keepers are seen taking Czolgosz from his cell to the death chamber, and shows State Electrician, Wardens and Doctors making final test of the chair. Czolgosz is then brought in by the guard and is quickly strapped into the chair. The current is turned on at a signal from the Warden, and the assassin heaves heavily as though the straps would break. He drops prone after the current is turned off. The doctors examine the body and report to the Warden that he is dead, and he in turn officially announces the death to the witness. Class B 200 ft. $24.00

NOTES Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 9Nov1901; H10605.

Duration: 3:24 at 15 fps.

Camera: Edwin S. Porter.

Location: Studio, New York City; Auburn, New York.

Received: 11/9/1901; paper pos; copyright deposit; Paper Print Collection.

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