User Reviews

Unless you happen to be an especially ardent Ford Sterling fan, able to enjoy his antics in absolutely anything -- and what are the odds of that? -- you may not find much to enjoy in That Ragtime Band, which is one of the earliest surviving Keystone comedies but far from the best. There are no gags as such, and no real laughs, just a lot of mugging, gesticulating, and food-fighting. The plot hinges on a romantic rivalry between band conductor Sterling and musician Nick Cogley over a pretty girl, Mabel Normand, but nothing much of interest develops. The pioneer filmmakers who produced this short comedy were still learning their craft, and it looks like the comedians were pretty much left to their own devices while the cameras cranked away. Ford Sterling mugs as vigorously as ever, looking for all the world like a Tex Avery cartoon character come to life, but Cogley, a rather dull figure who wears a big mustache, barely registers as a screen presence at all. Young Mabel is certainly pretty, but is relegated to reacting while the guys do the roughhousing.

Still, there are points of interest here: as the film was re-released over the years the title was changed repeatedly, reflecting the eclipse of ragtime music by early jazz. Even so, the instrumental components of Sterling's band suggest neither ragtime nor jazz but heavily brass-based Germanic oom-pah music. Indeed, the film appears to be set in a German- American neighborhood, for the signs in the rehearsal hall are all in German, yet the signs in the vaudeville theater are in English. When this film was released on May 1, 1913, the European War was still more than a year away; once it had begun, some of these interesting sociological details would be avoided in American movies. Naturally, filmmakers didn't want to offend nationalist sensibilities.

Another point of interest: there's a surprisingly risqué gag (more sordid than risqué, really) during the vaudeville sequence: two acts in a row which showcase women performers turn out to be 'fronts' -- advertising, to put it bluntly -- for local prostitutes. This is revealed when the billing cards bearing the acts' names are flipped over to reveal the women's addresses printed in big block letters, much to the outrage of the stage manager. This gag is probably the funniest moment in the entire film, which should tell you something about the level of quality here. No wonder Charlie Chaplin created such a sensation when he arrived at Keystone a few months later!

Isn't Keystone Mabel simply gorgeous and ooh, soo sweet in this single reel of total nonsense. The lead is clearly meant to be Ford Sterling as the German (why were they always German?) bandleader. However, for us viewing today, the ex-circus clown comes over as a crazy, over-acting fool. We must remember that Edwardian audiences simply loved this type of stuff – Ford hadn't been over-exposed at this point. As for Mabel, she saves the film for us, and in her shimmering satin dress, goes through her entire repertoire. First we have the fickle Mabel gaily chatting up one bandsman, then, after a long pout, turning her attention to the band-leader. Her little girl lost routine with her mother (Alice Davenport) is delightful, and it is amazing how quickly her expression changes later, when the possibility of an engagement ring appears on the horizon (this could be the early real-life Mabel, before she became bored with shiny things). The excitable, bouncy Mabel is revealed when's she's ready to attend the band's practice session at the local hall.

At the hall there is some trouble between the band-leader and Mabel's first suitor. When Mabel arrives, she's delighted to see her bandsman, and thinks he's a cool dude with his crazy upside- down 'Kaiser Bill' mustache. Mabel's series of expressions, when the band-leader kicks the dude out, are a joy to see. Fickle Mabel then returns, when Ford makes a seemingly successful play for our girl. During the actual competition at the hall, bedlam breaks out among the various acts, and as usual Mabel is in her element among the chaos. The vegetables and pies hurled at the band are clearly expected, but the pie in Mabel's face, and the hosing down of the audience by Sterling is unexpected. Note that gum-chewing extra, Jewel Carmen, makes a very quick exit as the hose is turned on, while poor starlet Mabel, and her lovely dress, must stay and face the soaking. Mack Sennett, it should be noted, always disappeared from shot just before a drenching occurred.

At this time the word 'jazz' had only just arrived, so it is no surprise that this is a Ragtime Band and not a Jazz Band. Unfortunately, a Ragtime band has a (honkey-tonk) piano as its main instrument, so the title could merely be there to make the film seem trendy. However, this might well have been a joke, as audiences would have recognized that this was no Ragtime Band, and, consequently, was as false as Sterling's ridiculous gesticulating. It was many years later that some newspapers termed Mabel a 'Jazz Babe'.

The thinly disguised 'hookers', who perform on the stage are hilarious, but the people living at the real-life Los Angeles addresses shown on their advertising boards, could not have been amused. Of course, it could be that the addresses were those of genuine bordellos, which would make this, perhaps, an early example of advertising within a movie. Dead smart was Mack Sennett. It is interesting to note that an extra in this film, Jewel Carmen (alias Evelyn Quick), was herself involved in a sex for money and blackmail scandal at this time. She claimed immunity on the grounds that she was under-age and a white slave victim, although it was later found she was 23 years old. No other Keystoners were involved, but the majority of the company decamped for Mexico, and did not return until the case had been dropped by the police. Perhaps the 'hookers' in the film are there to give the 'finger' to the law, Keystone style. As a footnote, Carmen was later involved in the suicide, or murder, of actress Thelma Todd, Todd's body having been found in Carmen's garage.

Note: When the band march down to the hall, they do so along Allesandro Street, past the original building on the Keystone/Bison lot. All the buildings shown are probably around the Keystone lot. The line of trees, where the bandleader confronts the trumpet player, are the same ones in Mabel At The Wheel, where Chaplin and Mabel throw bricks at each other. Photos show a similar line of trees at the back of the Keystone lot.

This pictures the doings of Prof. Smeltz and his German band, Mabel being in love with one of the members. The vaudeville acts contain coarse touches, which are unfortunate, and the "rough-house" ending will not appeal to a refined audience. - The Moving Picture World, May 3, 1913