Annie Oakley is an 1894 American black-and-white silent film from Edison Studios, produced by William K. L. Dickson with William Heise as cinematographer.
| Annie Oakley | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | William Kennedy Dickson |
| Produced by | William Kennedy Dickson |
| Starring | Annie Oakley Frank E. Butler |
| Cinematography | William Heise |
| Distributed by | Edison Manufacturing Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 seconds |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Silent English intertitles |
Synopsis
editThe film shows Oakley performing trick shooting as she was known for in her live shows. The first scene is of Oakley shooting her Marlin 91 .22 caliber rifle 25 times in 27 seconds. There is also a scene of her shooting composition balls in the air.[1] The man assisting her is likely her husband, Frank E. Butler. Both were veterans of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.[2]: 201–202, 262
Background
editThe film is most notable for being Annie Oakley's first appearance on film. Thomas Edison had wanted to see if his kinetoscope could capture the smoke from a rifle,[3] so he employed Oakley to film some of her shooting.[4]: 66 In 1894, kinetoscopes were installed in 60 locations in major cities around the country.[5]: 53 Viewing the films cost a nickel.[1]: 55
It was filmed on a single reel using standard 35 mm gauge at Edison's Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey, November 1, 1894. The original film had a 90-second runtime.[4]: 66 The surviving film is preserved by the Library of Congress.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Sayers, Isabelle S. (June 26, 2012). Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Courier Corporation. ISBN 978-0-486-14075-9.
- ^ Leal, Juan Felipe (September 1, 2010). 1901: Segunda parte. El cine se difunde (in Spanish). Juan Pablos Editor, S.A.
- ^ a b Soodalter, Ron (February 2015). "Annie Oakley vs. Hearst's Worst". Wild West. 27 (5): 30–37.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Haugen, Brenda (2007). Annie Oakley: American Sharpshooter. Capstone. ISBN 978-0-7565-1869-1.
- ^ Balio, Tino (March 4, 1985). The American Film Industry. Univ of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-09873-5.
External links
edit- Annie Oakley at IMDb
- Annie Oakley at AllMovie
- Annie Oakley at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- AnnieOakley is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Annie Oakley at the Library of Congress