Century Film Project

This Kinetoscope picture, as with “Caicedo with Pole,” was shot outside the Black Maria studio, in a corral near the studio according to Charles Musser. Even though this was New Jersey, not the Wild West, I suppose it’s possible that there was an already-existing corral on the premises in this era of horse-drawn transportation. The movie is, of course, one of those made during the visit of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show to the Edison Studios, along with “Annie Oakley” and “Sioux Ghost Dance.” The bronco is quite aggravated in its bucking, made the moreso when a cowpoke fires his gun into the corral to get it even more worked up. The rider hangs on almost to the end, at which point he seems to voluntarily dismount, while the horse continues to leap in a dangerous fashion after he has gone. There are quite a number of male spectators in the background; presumably a group of Edison employees came out to see the spectacle on their break.

Director: W.K.L. Dickson

Camera: William Heise

Run Time: 38 seconds

You can watch it for free: here.