[2][3] Lasting longer than was then usual, about 15 minutes, the film more or less accurately depicts the events of the day in 1588 when King Henry III (played by co-director le Bargy) summoned his powerful rival, Duke Henri de Guise, to his chambers at the Château de Blois and had him brutally murdered.

[4] The script was written for the screen (by Henri Lavedan), but its costumes and staging followed the historical tradition of the French theater.

Other elements were theatrical rather than filmic, such as sets with painted backdrops and the camera's single stationary position for each scene, reminiscent of a seat on the main floor, not far from the "stage."

The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays contains the earliest documented original score in all of cinema; The Assassination of the Duke of Guise debuted in the United States around four months later.

The score integrates small-scale dramatic details within a large-scale musical form to a degree rarely equaled during the rest of the silent period.

Many critics noted that with the movie's basis in French history, the film might appeal to the upper class, but the average American moviegoer might not be able to follow the plot.

When comparing the movie with contemporary American historical drama, many critics considered The Assassination to have better photography, better acting, and better dramatic construction.