Raggedy Man
Encyclopedia
Raggedy Man is a 1981 film starring Sam Shepard
and Sissy Spacek
. It
was filmed in Lockhart, Texas
. The story is about people in the small Texas
town of Gregory during World War II
.
Sissy Spacek plays a divorced mother of two boys who tries to go it alone in mid-1940s Texas small town. Shunned by the "respectable" townsfolk because of her marital breakup, Spacek must endure the unwanted attentions of every man in the community. Being the switchboard operator, she is not allowed to leave her "home", thus adding to her lonliness and her vulnerability. Enter Eric Roberts, a young sailor who becomes both friend and protector to Spacek and her sons. He is kind hearted and grows close to the boys and Spacek. Once Roberts is called to active duty, however, Spacek is supposedly left at the mercy of the menacing Triplett brothers who torment Spacek and her sons. The title refers to a "raggedy man"-a ragpicker, played by Sam Shepard, who seems to keep a careful watch on the house, Spacek and the boys. His intentions are frightening at first, but when the Triplett brothers show up to cause harm to Spacek and her boys, he moves his broken body quickly to help them and ends up saving them. At the end of the film, Spacek buys three bus tickets for San Antonio, quits her job, and boards the bus with her two sons.
and Sara Clark, published in 1979, on which the movie of the same title is based.
. (See Wikisource article.)
Tina Turner also referred to Mel Gibson's Mad Max as Raggedy Man in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
.
In the television series Doctor Who
, the character Amy Pond
refers to The Doctor as her "raggedy Doctor", and in the episode The Big Bang
, she remembers The Doctor calling out "Raggedy Man I remember you and you are late for my wedding!"
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
and Sissy Spacek
Sissy Spacek
Sissy Spacek is an American actress and singer. She came to international prominence for her for role as Carrie White in Brian De Palma's 1976 horror film Carrie for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination...
. It
was filmed in Lockhart, Texas
Lockhart, Texas
-External links:* *...
. The story is about people in the small Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
town of Gregory during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Sissy Spacek plays a divorced mother of two boys who tries to go it alone in mid-1940s Texas small town. Shunned by the "respectable" townsfolk because of her marital breakup, Spacek must endure the unwanted attentions of every man in the community. Being the switchboard operator, she is not allowed to leave her "home", thus adding to her lonliness and her vulnerability. Enter Eric Roberts, a young sailor who becomes both friend and protector to Spacek and her sons. He is kind hearted and grows close to the boys and Spacek. Once Roberts is called to active duty, however, Spacek is supposedly left at the mercy of the menacing Triplett brothers who torment Spacek and her sons. The title refers to a "raggedy man"-a ragpicker, played by Sam Shepard, who seems to keep a careful watch on the house, Spacek and the boys. His intentions are frightening at first, but when the Triplett brothers show up to cause harm to Spacek and her boys, he moves his broken body quickly to help them and ends up saving them. At the end of the film, Spacek buys three bus tickets for San Antonio, quits her job, and boards the bus with her two sons.
Additional cast members
- R.G. Armstrong
- Eric RobertsEric RobertsEric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
- William SandersonWilliam SandersonWilliam Sanderson is an American character actor.-Early life:Sanderson was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to an elementary school teacher mother and a landscape designer father...
- Henry ThomasHenry ThomasHenry Jackson Thomas, Jr. is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in more than 40 films and is best known for his role as Elliott in the 1982 Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.-Early life:...
- Tracey WalterTracey WalterTracey Walter is an American character actor. He has appeared in over 100 films and television shows.-Life and career:Walter was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a truck driver....
Novel
Raggedy Man is the title of a novel by William D. WittliffWilliam D. Wittliff
William D. Wittliff , sometimes credited as Bill Wittliff, is an award winning American screenwriter, author and photographer who wrote the screenplays for The Perfect Storm , Barbarosa , Raggedy Man and many others.Wittliff was born in Taft, Texas and moved to Blanco as a teenager...
and Sara Clark, published in 1979, on which the movie of the same title is based.
Other uses
The Raggedy Man is also the name of a poem written in 1890 by James Whitcomb RileyJames Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the Hoosier Poet and Children's Poet for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively...
. (See Wikisource article.)
Tina Turner also referred to Mel Gibson's Mad Max as Raggedy Man in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie, written by Miller, Doug Mitchell and Terry Hayes, and starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. It is the third installment in the action movie Mad Max franchise...
.
In the television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, the character Amy Pond
Amy Pond
Amelia Jessica 'Amy' Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
refers to The Doctor as her "raggedy Doctor", and in the episode The Big Bang
The Big Bang (Doctor Who)
"The Big Bang" is the 13th and final episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the second part of a two-part season finale started with "The Pandorica Opens", at the end of which The Doctor is trapped, the TARDIS destroyed, and Amy Pond has been shot...
, she remembers The Doctor calling out "Raggedy Man I remember you and you are late for my wedding!"