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IMDb > The Kid (1921)
The Kid
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Overview

User Rating:
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Director:
Charles Chaplin
Writer:
Charles Chaplin (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Kid on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
6 February 1921 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Family more
Tagline:
This is the great film he has been working on for a whole year more
Plot:
The Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put that relationship in jeopardy. full summary | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Classic Ten - Best of the Big-Screen Brats
 (From amctv - Future of Classic: Classic Ten. 24 March 2009, 10:00 PM, PDT)

I'm Not a Huge Charles Chaplin Fan but...
 (From Rope Of Silicon. 2 February 2009, 12:41 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Pathos And Comedy more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Carl Miller ... The Man
Edna Purviance ... Mother
Jackie Coogan ... The Kid (as Jack Coogan)

Charles Chaplin ... A Tramp (as Charlie Chaplin)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
68 min | 50 min (1971 edit with new Chaplin score) | Germany:54 min
Country:
USA
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (new music score) (1971) | Silent

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
For the scene in which the Kid is taken from the Tramp and nearly carted away to a workhouse, Charles Chaplin stated in his autobiography that the young Jackie Coogan was made to cry by his father, who told him that if he would not cry in the scene, he would be sent to an actual workhouse. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When The Tramp finds the baby while sitting in the sidewalk, he leaves his stick by his right side. After the shot of the baby's mother's letter, there is no stick by Tramp's side, and after another shot, it appears again and in a different position. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Patrasche: A Dog of Flanders, Made in Japan (2007) more

FAQ

A NOTE REGARDING SPOILERS
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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful:-
Pathos And Comedy, 9 March 2008
9/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

Due to an unwed mother abandoning her child in an automobile and said automobile being subsequently hijacked, The Little Tramp winds up with the baby and proceeds to raise it in its first five years.

In reading Charlie Chaplin's memoirs I learned two things about the making of The Kid. First he had to get child star Jackie Coogan away from Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle under whom the lad was contracted. Chaplin saw him and was determined to make a film with him. The second thing was Chaplin's determination to make a film that combined both pathos and comedy which many said could not be done.

The success of The Kid is due to the chemistry established between Chaplin and Coogan. As Chaplin said in his memoirs young children in their uninhibited way are natural actors. Part of the chemistry though is to make sure they don't totally steal the film from you.

The Tramp gets his innings in with The Kid. He's the same rapscallion Tramp we all know, but The Kid showed another side of The Tramp, one of deep feeling and protectiveness. Two people who need and love each other very much. This film couldn't miss.

First National Pictures sure thought so as it became part of a three way tug of war between Chaplin, the studio, and his estranged wife Mildred Harris. The Robert Downey, Jr. biographical film Chaplin illustrates that whole bit of business where Charlie smuggled out the negative of The Kid and took it on the lam across state lines. He edited it and was able to get it back to First National as a finished product on his own terms. That whole business probably would make a good movie unto itself.

Till that one is made see and enjoy the Tramp and the future Uncle Fester in The Kid.

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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Kid (1921)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I watched this with my 4-year old daughter balehead74
Seen all Chaplins famous film now... and this is the best! henrik-1988
First Silent Masterpiece... zhmaqot
The 'Little' Things... cadeaux
delightful dorothy-gale
FINALLY IN THE TOP 250!!!! nicknc1214
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