The Kid

Play trailer

The Kid

1921

1h 0m

Comedy

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

95%

Popcornmeter

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

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.”

See more

Sedale S.

@sedale143 Apr 17

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

See more

Garrett B

@gmoney637 Mar 5

A funny and heartwarming feature starring the Tramp.

See more

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

See more

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.

See more

Stephen C

@bob25009 Jun 7

Failure in 1 hour, due to the lack in sound and action!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

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)

The Gold Rush

98%

93%

The Gold Rush

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Gold Rush

City Lights

95%

95%

City Lights

Watchlist

TRAILER

for City Lights

Skippy

86%

55%

Skippy

Watchlist

What Price Glory?

100%

77%

What Price Glory?

Watchlist

No Man of Her Own

91%

69%

No Man of Her Own

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

On DVD This Week: Steve Jobs, Black Mass, Trumbo, and More

Now Streaming: Ex Machina, Seinfeld, and More

View more photos

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