Awakening of Rip
(1896) United States of America
B&W : [?] 41 or 234? feet
Directed by Wallace McCutcheon
Cast: Joseph Jefferson [Rip Van Winkle].
American Mutoscope Company production; distributed by American Mutoscope Company. / Cinematography by [?] W.K.L. Dickson? / © 4 February 1897 by American Mutoscope Company [9237]. © 29 December 1902 by American Mutoscope & Biograph Company [H25400]. Mutoscope 68mm spherical 1.36:1 format. / [?] Ramsaye-Million p. 216 implies that the films in the Rip Van Winkle series were taken late in 1895; Website-AFI notes that Biograph promotional materials state that the film was taken in August 1896 in Buzzard’s Bay, Massachusetts. The production was shot at approximately 36 frames per second. The film was made for Mutoscope viewing and (later) for Biograph projection and was shown for the first Biograph system program. The seventh film in the eight-film Rip Van Winkle series; preceeded by Rip’s Twenty Years’ Sleep (1896); followed by Rip Passing Over Hill (1896). The Joseph Jefferson Mutoscope films were assembled into a continuous narrative and rereleased in the USA as Rip Van Winkle by American Mutoscope & Biograph Company in 1903.
Drama: Fantasy.
Synopsis: Rip Van Winkle has awaken in the woods from twenty years’ sleep. He slowly reaches to the ground for a walking stick (or his old rifle barrel) and turns to walk away.
Survival status: Print exists in the Library of Congress film archive (paper print collection).
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 7 September 2023.
References: Film viewing : Ball-Shakespeare pp. 22, 389; Bardèche-History p. 43; Blum-Silent p. 8; Ramsaye-Million p. 216; Robinson-Palace pp. 64, 123; Shipman-Cinema p. 28; Slide-Early p. 12 : Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
Home video: DVD.
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