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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1359

The Terrible Turkish Executioner

19032 minFrance
ComedyFantasy

Synopsis

An executioner's display becomes a trick-film spectacle in which severed heads remain disturbingly active. Méliès plays the central role, combining a macabre premise with visual transformations.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
2:17
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Georges Méliès · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsGeorges Méliès

Historical context

The moving heads recall effects used in magic-lantern shows. The film also draws on period stereotypes of an imagined cruel East, rather than offering a historical account of Turkish life.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 16, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

  • Georges Méliès — Georges Méliès; Publicity materials for an exhibition at La Caixa Foundation: http://press.lacaixa.es/socialprojects/exhibiton-georges-melies-magic-of-cinema-caixaforum-barcelona-eng__816-c-17952__.html · Public domain

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