Execution of Leon Czolgosz, with a panorama of Auburn Prison
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, where a chair with wires attached is visible. 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.
- “A detailed reproduction of the execution of the assassin of President McKinley, faithfully carried out from the description of an eyewitness. 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 show State Electrician, Wardens, and Doctors making the 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. 200 ft.”–Edison films catalog.