The Kid

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The Kid

1921

1h 0m

Comedy

Drama

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100%

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49 Reviews

95%

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10,000+ Ratings

Chaplin's first full-length feature is a silent masterpiece about a little tramp who discovers a little orphan and brings him up but is left desolate when the orphanage reclaims him. Chaplin directed, produced and starred in the film, as well as composed the score.

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Critics Consensus

Charles Chaplin' irascible Tramp is given able support from Jackie Coogan as The Kid in this slapstick masterpiece, balancing the guffaws with moments of disarming poignancy.

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Grace Kingsley

Los Angeles Times

06/25/2021

There's really no classifying The Kid. The best one can do is say that it has all the old melodramatic material, but so jazzed up with fun and with its drama so simply and humanly played, that it almost fools you into believing it is like life.

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Mabel McElliott

New York Daily News

05/17/2021

Jackie, legging it madly 'cross corners, is almost as good for box office purposes as our own Charles, playing the Artful Dodger to a Bowery bum.

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Times (UK) Staff

The Times (UK)

08/05/2020

Formerly it was the custom to say that Mr. Chaplin played down to the level of his audiences. Now it is to be hoped that he will lift his audiences up to this new level of his own.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jan 11

3/4

The Kid is less uproarious than later Chaplin efforts, serving more as a testing ground as it offers a charming yet tough-minded tale.

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Carl Sandburg

Chicago Daily News

03/28/2022

Those constant contenders who maintain that Charlie Chaplin is the master mummer of the movies and the world's greatest actor, either in the silent or the spoken drama, now have another exhibit to put forward in behalf of their argument.

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Robert E. Sherwood

LIFE

10/04/2021

Chaplin, as always, demonstrates the marvelous quality which, in the cinema world, is so exclusively his own -- the ability to be coarse without being offensive; to mix Rabelaisian wit with Chesterfieldian delicacy.

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Robinson M

@Robinson.actor May 21

Creo que fue la primera o segunda película que vi de Charles Chaplin. Es cómica, sentimental, pasas de un sentimiento a otro en segundos. Las coreografías son tan precisas que logran una total armonía en la escena. La historia realmente te mueve por dentro, todo se conecta y al final aterriza para darnos un cierre hermoso.

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Nathan J.

@NathanDirector Apr 20

Rating: 8.9/10 ⭐️ I expected standard slapstick, but the raw emotional depth wrecked me. What Worked: Chaplin blends comedy blocking with emotional stakes perfectly, editing slapstick against the reality of poverty. Coogan is incredible; tight framing makes their bond feel super grounded. Through my Methodist faith lens, seeing the Tramp protect the Kid beautifully shows how loving someone through hard seasons is true grace. The Cuts: The Dreamland sequence really dragged for me, breaking the gritty vibe and causing total tonal whiplash. Keeping it spoiler-free, the mother’s storyline relies too much on coincidence, making her encounters feel forced. Plus, minor antagonists were so one-dimensional that the street fights felt cartoonish. Verdict: A hilarious classic that invented the dramedy. A must-watch for laughs and heartbreak, but skip if you strictly want goofy gags. Favorite Line: “Please love and care for this orphan child.”

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Sedale S.

@sedale143 Apr 17

As a parent, this definitely hits me in the feels 😭

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Garrett B

@gmoney637 Mar 5

A funny and heartwarming feature starring the Tramp.

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Marce S

@RT24248553 Sep 13

A beautiful and sweat Charlie Chaplin movie. The movies melancholy however makes it somewhat less rewatchable than other Chaplin movies

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Julian Rex M

@Julian_M Aug 10

Perhaps not quite hitting the silly-sentimental stride as confidently as some of Charlie Chaplin's later work, The Kid is still a charming, thought-provoking, and technically dazzling outing that still holds plenty of comedic heft even a century later.

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The Kid

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Synopsis

Chaplin's first full-length feature is a silent masterpiece about a little tramp who discovers a little orphan and brings him up but is left desolate when the orphanage reclaims him. Chaplin directed, produced and starred in the film, as well as composed the score.

Director: Charlie Chaplin
Producer: Charlie Chaplin
Screenwriter: Charlie Chaplin
Production Co: Charles Chaplin Productions
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 21, 1921, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 2, 2016
Runtime: 1h 0m