"The Rag Man"

I remember the first silent film I watched.  I had just come home from school and had turned on the T.V. to Turner Classic Movies when I saw early black and white film scenes set to music – no audible words.  I was pretty ready to dismiss this, thinking to myself, “I don’t want to spend any effort right now to try and figure out what’s going on.”  But as soon as these thoughts came into my head, the title card for the scene came up, I read it, and then I found myself hooked. 

MGM's The Rag Man title card

The film was The Rag Man.  Produced by Edward F. Cline in 1925 and starring Jackie Coogan (discovered by the unforgettable Charlie Chaplin, and later known as The Addams Family’s “Uncle Fester), it captures the story of a young orphan boy who survives a fire.  He gains his freedom by the mistaken belief of his perishing, and roams around with a “junk man.”  These unlikely two develop a special relationship that the rest of the film reflects. 

Max and Tim

While watching this movie, I found myself completely mesmerized by the story.  Although the words were not audible, they were just as important in the role of captivating the audience.  In fact, the creators of the silent film probably had to learn the knack of capturing an audiences’ attention in a different way than actors on a stage do, or “talkie” movies that include modern films today.  Cartoon artist, Brian Fies, explained that when words and picture come together, they should be dependant so that one cannot stand alone without the other.  His analogy was something that words and picture should be what rock music and lyrics are when combined.  Lyrics alone are just “bad poetry” and rock music is really just “a bunch of chords repeated and strung together.”  Yet, when put together, they create a medium that is enough to make one cry.  In the same way, when words and picture are put together in a successful and artful way, they can create something that captivates a person, as The Rag Man did for me. 

Singin' in the Rain's "Royal Rascal"

P.S.  As a side note, I love Singin’ in the Rain’s satirical usage of this concept – which in fact, only proves how written word and picture can unite to create something that, once again, captivates people.