Annie Oakley
About Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley shoots in the Black Maria the way she shot in the Wild West show. She fires a Marlin 91 .22 rifle 25 times in 27 seconds, and she breaks composition balls in the air. A man assists her. He is taken to be her husband, Frank E. Butler.
Cast & crew
More about Annie Oakley
William K. L. Dickson produced it. William Heise photographed it. Thomas Edison is an uncredited producer. Edison Manufacturing Company distributed it. It was shot on one 35mm reel at the Black Maria on 1 November 1894, the date Wikipedia also gives as the release. Edison wanted the kinetoscope to catch rifle smoke and rapid motion. Oakley and Butler had both been with Buffalo Bill's Wild West.
Themes
Background
Oakley was already "Little Sure Shot" of Buffalo Bill's Wild West when the Black Maria filmed her in November 1894.
Making
Edison asked for the shooting specifically to see whether the kinetoscope could hold the smoke of a rifle and a very fast action.
Look
William Heise shot a single 35mm reel in the Black Maria, aimed at the rifle smoke and the speed of the shots.
Technique
The test was whether the kinetoscope could register rifle smoke and shots fired faster than the eye could follow.
Notes
- It is Oakley's first appearance on film.
- The Wikipedia infobox says 90 seconds. A duration line on the same page says 15 seconds. Wikidata says 26 seconds.
- Kinetoscope parlors charged a nickel. In 1894 the machines were in 60 city locations.
- Butler is uncredited. Oakley is uncredited on the film itself.
Scenes
- Oakley fires the Marlin 25 times in 27 seconds.
- She breaks balls tossed in the air while Butler assists.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Annie Oakley shooting glass balls, 1894.ogv)
