Annie Oakley

Like many of the earliest Edison Kinetoscope movies, this one showed a popular entertainment figure performing one of her specialties. It's an interesting attempt, and it's nice to have something preserved on film of Annie Oakley, one of the legends of her day. But the footage that resulted is clearly limited by the constraints of the studio.

Like most of the earliest Edison movies, this was filmed inside their 'Black Maria' studio. That setting worked very well in producing movies of various dancers, vaudeville acts, and the like. But with Annie Oakley, it forces her to squeeze her routine into an area much smaller than normal, and while she does a pretty good job anyway, it's clear that under the conditions to which she was more accustomed, she would have done much better.

It was not long at all before the Edison film-makers began to film subjects outdoors when it better suited the material. Even then, though, the scale and speed of Oakley's regular act would probably have created an insurmountable challenge to film with the equipment available in the 1890s. All the same, it's nice to be able to see moving footage of her, so as to be able to flesh out this legendary figure just a little bit better.

This short film is important for 2 reasons: One, because it's real footage of the legendary Annie Oakley; two, because it is the earliest known depiction of the American west. Not The Great Train Robbery (1903), not Kindnapping by Indians (1899), but this. In 1894, there were anthers like this - Bucking Bronco, Sioux Ghost Dance, - but this is the earliest. While The Great Train Robbery kickstarted the genre as a 12 minute story, this film was the beginning. However, this is just a 20 second recording. So it isn't much, but I gave it a 10 star rating because its an important part of history, and it's impressive to see someone with such good aim exploding glass orbs. It's obviously not iconic or a masterpiece, but it's a great way to spend 26 seconds, and everyone should see it.

It is first film where someone is starring. And who is starring there? See title of movie. You don't know who is Annie Oakley? I did not know also, but Annie is interesting girl who made her career with gun.

Wikipedia says: ''Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Her "amazing talent"[1] first came to light when the then-15-year-old won a shooting match with traveling-show marksman Frank E. Butler (whom she married). The couple joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show a few years later. Oakley became a renowned international star, performing before royalty and heads of state.''

I am curious, does USA people know who is Annie Oakley, is she recognized know or she is forgotten.

A little slice of American History from the Edison Black Maria studio from November of 1894 shows the real life Annie Oakley shooting fixed targets and airbourne tossed glass balls. Truly a fascinating little piece of film that bridges the real Wild West with a theme that was to run through countless fictional movies in the century to follow.

Annie Oakley (1894)

This film from Edison is certainly of historical interest since it shows the legendary Annie Oakley performing some of her trick shots. This film clocks in at just 21-seconds but there's no question that you can't help but be highly entertained just because you get to see her in action. What's so fascinating about these old movies is that they often captured famous shows and acts on film and it's great being able to see them today. More times than not these shows are long forgotten but being able to see someone like Oakley was great fun.