The Boxing Kangaroo
About The Boxing Kangaroo
Against a white backdrop at Circus Busch, a man and a kangaroo, both in boxing gloves, square off and mime a bout. Max Skladanowsky filmed the turn for his Bioscop program.
Cast & crew
More about The Boxing Kangaroo
Max Skladanowsky directed, produced, and photographed it on 35mm. The negative is 18 feet long. It was shown on 1 November 1895 in the first public projection of motion pictures in Germany.
Themes
Background
Skladanowsky's Bioscop program in Berlin that night was the first time a paying German audience saw projected films. The kangaroo turn was one of the short loops on the reel.
Look
Skladanowsky shot it himself, full figure, against a plain light ground so the two boxers read clearly.
Preservation
The 18-foot 35mm film survives.
Notes
- The German title is Das Boxende Känguruh.
- The bout is a stage act, not a wildlife study. The animal and the man both wear gloves.
- Eighteen feet of 35mm is the measured length.
- It shared the bill with the other Skladanowsky loops at that November 1895 show.
Scenes
- The kangaroo and the man raise gloved fists and trade a staged round.
