page_title: Cultural depictions of Mary, Queen of Scots
section_title: Films
hierarchical_section_title: Cultural depictions of Mary, Queen of Scots / Films
caption_attribution_description: Cropped section of a publicity still for the 1936 film Mary of Scotland, featuring Katharine Hepburn. Such images were taken on set during filming, or as part of an organized photo-shoot, by a studio photographer. They were then disseminated to the media and the public to promote the film (see Film still). This is definitely a film still rather than a screenshot, as the quality is too high (compare, for instance, with this screenshot from the film). Public domain explanation The full photograph does not appear to contain the copyright symbol ©, the word "Copyright", or the abbreviation "Copr.", as then required for copyright. If one looks at other film stills from Mary of Scotland where a stock code can be clearly seen, none of these include the copyright symbol ©, the word "Copyright", or the abbreviation "Copr.": [1] [2] [3] [4]. This suggests that no publicity images for the film were published with a copyright notice. By publishing a photograph without such a notice, under the terms of the 1909 Copyright Act (which was law until 1978) the image went into the public domain. If there is any chance that the photograph was copyrighted, under the terms of the 1909 Copyright Act it would have had to be renewed 28 years after publication. A search for copyright renewal records of 1964 ([5], [6]) reveal no trace that this occurred. Film industry author Gerald Mast has written: "According to the old copyright act, such production stills were not automatically copyrighted as part of the film and required separate copyrights as photographic stills ... Most studios have never bothered to copyright these stills because they were happy to see them pass into the public domain, to be used by as many people in as many publications as possible." (Film Study and the Copyright Law (1989) p. 87.)
context_page_description: Mary, Queen of Scots, has inspired artistic and cultural works for more than four centuries. The following lists cover various media, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture. The entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering rather than a complete catalogue.
context_section_description: In the 1936, 1971 and 2018 film biographies of Mary, fictional meetings between Queens Mary and Elizabeth take place. 
  The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895), the first appearance of Mary on film, depicts her beheading. It is one of the first films to utilize an intentional jump cut to create the illusion of a single shot beheading. The effect was so convincing at the time that many viewers believed that the actress was actually killed.
  The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots (1923), stars Fay Compton.
  Mary of Scotland (1936) was directed by John Ford, written by Dudley Nichols (based on the stage play Mary of Scotland by Maxwell Anderson, which was a Broadway success in 1933). and stars Katharine Hepburn as Mary, Florence Eldridge as Elizabeth I, and Fredric March as Bothwell.
  Das Herz der Königin (The Heart of a Queen, 1940) features Zarah Leander, the Swedish-German actress from the Nazi period as Mary. This UFA production, directed by Carl Froelich, makes use of the historical story for anti-British propaganda in the context of the then ongoing World War II.
  Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), starring Vanessa Redgrave as Mary, Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth, Patrick McGoohan as Moray, Trevor Howard as Cecil, Ian Holm as Rizzio, Timothy Dalton as Darnley, and Nigel Davenport as Bothwell. was written by John Hale, who also wrote a novelization of the film's screenplay. Two events were included that never historically took place: a private outdoor meeting between Elizabeth and Mary when Mary arrives in England and Elizabeth's visiting Mary in prison the night before Mary's execution.
  The Mirror Crack'd (1980), a Miss Marple mystery, is metafiction (a film within a film centered around the making of a motion picture) about Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots; Elizabeth Taylor portrays the actress playing Mary.
  Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) features Samantha Morton as Mary
  Mary Queen of Scots (2013), based on Stefan Zweig's 1935 biography, was directed by Thomas Imbach and stars the bilingual French actress Camille Rutherford.
  Mary Queen of Scots (2018) stars Saoirse Ronan as the titular character and Margot Robbie as Elizabeth.
caption: Katharine Hepburn in John Ford's 1936 film adaption of Maxwell Anderson's play Mary of Scotland
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