Silent film with live music returns to Brandon with a free screening of "The Kid," Charlie Chaplin’s classic comedy-drama from 1921, at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center on Route 7 in Brandon.

This film, the latest in the Town Hall’s silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

Chaplin was already the world's most popular comedian and filmmaker when he produced "The Kid," his first feature-length film. "The Kid" tells the story of a tramp, played by Chaplin, who attempts to raise an orphaned boy on his own. It includes several classic scenes, and culminates in a sequence in which Chaplin battles authorities attempting to return the child to an orphanage.

Co-starring with Chaplin in "The Kid" was Jackie Coogan, who was 5 years old when the film was made and delivered what many critics considered one of the finest child performances of the entire silent film era. Chaplin himself worked closely with the young Coogan for more than a year to develop the youngster’s acting abilities.

Coogan went on to a long career that much later included the role of Uncle Fester in the popular 1960s television series, “The Addams Family.”

The screening enables local audiences to experience silent film as it was intended to be shown: on the big screen, in restored prints, with live music, and with an audience. "If you can put pieces of the experience back together again, it’s surprising how these films snap back to life," Rapsis said. "By showing the films under the right conditions, you can really get a sense of why people first fell in love with the movies."

Rapsis performs on a digital synthesizer that reproduces the texture of a full orchestra and creates the sound of a  traditional movie score.

For more about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.