The Kid

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The Kid

Released Jan 21, 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

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.

Jun 25, 2021

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Mabel McElliott

New York Daily News

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.

May 17, 2021

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Times (UK) Staff

Times (UK)

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.

Aug 5, 2020

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Carl Sandburg

Chicago Daily News

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.

Mar 28, 2022

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Robert E. Sherwood

LIFE

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.

Oct 4, 2021

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John McDonald

Australian Financial Review

The Kid was a breakthrough for Chaplin and for the industry in the way it combined slapstick comedy with the kind of drama that touched viewers' hearts.

Aug 1, 2021

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William B

Must-see film. Beautiful storyline.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/22/24

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Gorptholemew T

🍅 7.6/10 It was pretty chuckle worthy, especially that scene with the windows. This isn’t really my genre, but watching it it’s surprisingly heartwarming and pretty funny at times. Even with no dialogue, the characters are charming in their own ways.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/26/24

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Andrew M

Fun Fact The kid grew up and tied the nooses used to hang a couple of kidnappers in San Jose, California. Thirty years after the lynching, nooses were used on the set of the Addams Family where the grown up kid, Jackie Coogan, played as Uncle Fester. The Governor of California spoke live on the radio and offered pardons to rioters that dare break into the county jail and hang the suspects.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/11/24

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Dan O

People talk about Citizen Kane as the old tired of cliche of when film became an important art form but when films like this were being made, what a stupid thing to say. I’ve watched this film over a hundred years later with both my children and they’re entranced, and I’m crying and laughing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/28/24

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Dani G

Beautiful and emotive dramedy from the master Charlie, in his first feature film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/07/24

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Audience Member

"A picture with a smile-and perhaps a tear." really does this film justice. I really liked the drama, and the way it played out was masterful. The stunts were pretty great too, unfortunately I think the humor is pretty dated. If you like sped up slapstick then more power to you. The drama is the best selling point, and if you are going to watch this keep it in mind. 3.5/5 stars.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/02/24

Full Review

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Charlie Chaplin

Director

Charlie Chaplin

A Tramp

Jackie Coogan

The Kid

Edna Purviance

The Woman

Carl Miller

The Man

Granville Redmond

The Man's Friend (uncredited)

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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

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