The Kid

1921 Directed by Charlie Chaplin

6 reels of Joy.

A tramp cares for a boy after he's abandoned as a newborn by his mother. Later the mother has a change of heart and aches to be reunited with her son.

Charlie Chaplin Jackie Coogan Edna Purviance Carl Miller Albert Austin Charles Reisner Lita Grey Beulah Bains Nellie Bly Baker Henry Bergman Edward Biby F. Blinn Kitty Bradbury Frank Campeau Bliss Chevalier Frances Cochran Elsie Codd Jack Coogan Sr. Estelle Cook Lillian Crane Dan Dillon Philip D'Oench Robert Dunbar Sadie Gordon Jules Hanft Kathleen Kay Raymond Lee Clyde McAtee John McKinnon Show All…

Alternative Titles

Le gosse, Charlie Chaplin - The Kid, El Pibe, Хлапето, Charlies plejebarn, Mališan, Dzieciak, Brzdąc, 키드, 寻子遇仙记, Малыш, キッド, Το Χαμίνι, Het Jochie

drama comedy

68 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Todd Gaines ★★★★ 32

A Tramp and Uncle Fester share a special bond in this timeless classic from Charlie Chaplin. Burned photograph. Crying babies scare gangstas. Pimpin' cigarette box. The way Charlie Chaplin tips his hat. Umbrella beatdown. The letter. Bootleg baby bottle. Street hustling like a boss. Rocks break windows. Charlie's giggle. The little kid runs faster than a jaguar. Smooth lobby boy. Charlie Chaplin's mustache is crooked. Booger picker. I'm still cracking the fuck up because the little kid grew up to be Uncle Fester from the Addams Family. Bully beatdown. The even bigger badder bully's muscles. Brick knockout. Ass kick. Quack doctor. The way Charlie Chaplin pushes a motherfucker. The kid is crying and I want to cry. Such passion. Such…
Review by Richard Chandler ★★★★½ 2

CRITERION CHALLENGE 2021: 31. Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Progress: 20/52
"A picture with a smile—and perhaps, a tear."
A desperate, unwed mother (Edna Purviance) abandons her newborn (Silas Hathaway—to be replaced by child star Jackie Coogan in later scenes), who is eventually found by the little tramp (Charlie Chaplin). After trying to pawn the kid off onto a random matron and a fellow derelict respectively, the tramp briefly considers chucking him down a sewer (in a moment that harkens back to Chaplin's slightly malicious Keystone characterization) before ultimately opting to care for the hapless urchin. A half decade later, Purviance is a famous star who compensates for her ceaseless regret by being obsessively charitable. The highly informal nature of the…
Review by CinemaClown ★★★★★ 3

Charlie Chaplin's first feature-length theatrical is one of the greatest achievements of silent era of filmmaking that paints one of the most heartfelt portrait of father-son relationship on the silver screen, presents the gifted talent at the prime of his creativity, and despite being nearly a century old classic, can still put most comedies of today to shame.
A comedy with a smile & perhaps a tear, The Kid tells the story of a tramp who after coming across an abandoned baby takes him under his care after which the film jumps five years in the span of which the grown child now works as his father's sidekick, helping his glazing business by breaking windows around the town. But an unfortunate…
Review by Shaik⚡ ★★★★ 2

The first feature length film directed, written, produced, composed, edited and starring the legend CHARLIE CHAPLIN!
One man army.
One of the greatest cinematic achievement of the silent era. Filled with lot of emotions and heartwarming feel-good scenes. The kid is really adorable.
I wouldn't lie but Chaplin really made me laugh.
Released in 1921 this year marks the 100th year anniversary of the first film of Chaplin. We should be grateful for people who preserve such iconic pieces of cinema. Exploring his filmography soon!
The Golden Silent-film Era of Chaplin and Keaton
Review by CinemaVoid 🏴‍☠️ ★★★★

That kid deserves the best family ever. An eccentric family who delight in the macabre and have room for an uncle. Hope he finds it.
Review by Siegel™ ★★★★ 5

It's a rugged, filthy, hard-knock life for Charlie Chaplin's Tramp, who barely has the means to keep himself fed and under a roof at night, much less to provide for the abandoned infant he's just stumbled across in an alleyway. Circumstance has put the two together, though, and after using his wit to get through the child's early years, the Tramp's put him to work as part of a slightly-shady window replacement scheme. They aren't exactly living above the board, and the policeman always seems to stumble by at precisely the wrong moment, but they're happy and the care they have for one another shines bright despite the absence of a voice track. Chaplin, of course, was already an expert…
Review by Neil Bahadur ★★★★½ 1

In many ways, perhaps the sweetest film ever made. But The Kid still, like all of Chaplin's films, is a very sad one. There's still barely enough to eat, authorities still antagonize only the proletarian classes, the "proper care and attention" of an orphanage only causes social disruption. Even as charming as the window breaking sequence is, the Tramp and the Kid have to resort to illegal work in order to make enough money to afford to eat. The Welfare Officer refuses to even speak to the Tramp, and speaks to him through a surrogate, in the Tramp's own home.
The ending is a deus-ex machina; the Tramp's look of bewilderment towards the camera as he's put incredulously into a…
Review by sydney ★★★★★

in heaven, all beds are free
Review by josh lewis ★★★★ 1

very cute and one of the earliest examples of a personal fav subgenre that's been repopularized recently: destitute cleverness. also includes a stellar rooftop chase scene which i always love.
Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★★ 16

Insert Here: Standard opening about how I don't deal well with silent films and how impressive it is that my fascination with Chaplin's comedies continues. These films are a great access point for audiences looking to broaden their horizons beyond sound film.
The Kid is easily the most melodramatic of Charlie Chaplin's work. This isn't particularly strange since despite their roots in slapstick comedy, Chaplin's films have always had a deeper side grounded in sympathetic emotionalism. But The Kid has a sad side which is darker than most.
It opens with a young mother abandoning her newborn baby played over a melancholic string arrangement that will make your heart wrench before you even know what's happening. The Tramp takes the…
Review by Ryan Daniel ★★★★½ 4

I am floored at how ahead of its time this film is. The restoration (which looks incredible by the way) could easily pass as having been made 20-30 years later than it actually was.
A lot of the humor still holds up really well, too. There were some shockingly dark jokes and gags in there that I never would have thought would be in a movie from the 1920’s.
Really beautiful story with a lot of charm.
Review by san ★★★★½

Short, sweet, and charismatic, Charlie Chaplin’s debut feature-length easily shows how respected he will become as a director. Jackie Coogan as the titular role brings a timeless performance by conveying an impressive emotion at such a young age. Precisely, it’s what you would expect from its first title card: “A picture with a smile — and perhaps, a tear.”

Recent reviews

Review by Hbol ★★★★★

Esse filme nunca vai envelhecer...a verdadeira magia do cinema.
Review by henry ★★★½ 2

first from chaplin and it was great! excited to see more from him in the future
Review by jlchockey94 ★★★½

Quality for a silent film. Left an impression even with its limitations. Was funny but also silly. But I guess that’s how it is for these.
Feel like it’s easier to be silly than dramatic like battleship potempkin
Review by Grover ★★★★

Absolutely adored the beautiful dream sequence towards the end of this, really some of Chaplin's best stuff right there.
Review by Jason Dement ★★★★

First Charlie Chaplin and all I can say is I don’t think he’s a kid anymore
Review by Kevin ★★★★½

There are some riffs in the score during the kidnapping scene that sound straight out of Twin Peaks.
Review by Paul Anthony Nelson ★★★★½

Beauty in simplicity personified, Chaplin’s debut feature film as Hollywood’s first true multihyphenate — he wrote, produced, directed, starred and composed the score — is a perfectly calibrated, timelessly charming winner (even with those oddball dream sequences).
A slapstick comedy that pulls double duty as a “social issues picture” isn’t the easiest thing to pull off, but Chaplin walks the line superbly, putting on a masterclass of comic staging while harnessing the megaton secret weapon that is Jackie Coogan (as the “kid” of the title), who plays every scene with a mischief and emotional honesty (as does his co-star and director) that counteracts all sentiment with truth — and, always never far away, hilarity. Perfectly paced and always relevant, 100 years on, The Kid remains one a peerless family comedy.
Review by Kayden ★★★★

if my child is not exactly like john i don’t want it
Review by Patrick Dunlop ★★★½

Someone once said that Charles Chaplin was the original "zaddy" in some film class once and it made me physically upset to a degree I haven't felt since. The fact that now, I kind of have to agree with them makes me even worse. Damn this shit kind of holds up.
After all these years, it's kind of undeniable that this is still Pretty Decent Movie.
Review by Shaik⚡ ★★★★ 2

The first feature length film directed, written, produced, composed, edited and starring the legend CHARLIE CHAPLIN!
One man army.
One of the greatest cinematic achievement of the silent era. Filled with lot of emotions and heartwarming feel-good scenes. The kid is really adorable.
I wouldn't lie but Chaplin really made me laugh.
Released in 1921 this year marks the 100th year anniversary of the first film of Chaplin. We should be grateful for people who preserve such iconic pieces of cinema. Exploring his filmography soon!
The Golden Silent-film Era of Chaplin and Keaton
Review by Angel_Eyes ★★★★

A picture with a smile — and perhaps, a tear.
The Kid, this year 100 years old is an acclaimed classic and my question is, is it as good today as when it came out? Does it still hold?
Yes it does.
It really is a movie with a smile. There is warmth and there is humor. For 50 minutes I both smile and laugh at the different situations that Chaplin's tramp encounters. Jackie Coogan is also extremely good in his role as the kid and the chemistry between the two is a pleasure to watch.
There is charm, there is warmth and there is comedy that still holds.
A fantastic little classic.
Review by Matthew

Truly excellent performance from the child actor. The slapstick humour is actually really funny. The impromptu boxing match in the alleyway was a personal highlight for me, and the dream sequence actually had some really good special effects re the wire work.
Very enjoyable and fun! Earns its classic status!