The Kid (1921)



A distraught Jacki Coogan



Directed by Charlie Chaplin

Starring Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Coogan, Edna Purviance

Produced by Charlie Chaplin Productions

A new mother is evicted from the charity hospital. Her crime? Having her child out of wedlock. In desperation she leaves her son in the backseat of a car outside of a mansion. Maybe this rich family can provide a better life for her boy.

Unfortunately, the car is almost immediately stolen by a couple of criminals. They discover the child and leave him in an alley where our beloved tramp comes upon him. He tries to ditch the kid, but when he finds a note saying the baby is an orphan, he decides to raise the child himself.

Fast forward five years. The woman has become a famous star, but she does charity work hoping to find her abandoned child. As for the boy, he is living with the tramp, executing scams to make money.

Will the woman find her son? And what will become of the tramp?

Incredible.

Every aspect of The Kid is head and shoulders above every other comedy I have seen so far. A fantastic mix of comedy and drama that manages to make you laugh moments before yanking your heartstrings.

Jackie Coogan is remarkable as the title character.  His kid is wonderfully expressive and a terrific mimic of Chaplin.  But when he is abducted by the orphanage officials, his fear and terror are so palpable it kills you inside to watch. 

Chaplin is (of course) brilliant.  In many ways, he is underplaying his character compared to some of the other shorts he has done.  He's not as over-the-top zany as he has been.  The comedy is more grounded in reality which serves the story perfectly.

My favorite comedic moments?  I love the image of the baby in the makeshift hammock drinking from a coffee pot-turned-bottle.  I love Chaplin's con with the boy (the boy breaks windows, Chaplin comes along to repair them).  I love the fight between Chaplin and the kid and the bullies.  Sure, it's reminiscent of Easy Street, but the stakes here are higher.

What truly makes The Kid remarkable though is the moment when Charlie loses his ward.  The movie took the time to build their relationship through comedic and quiet moments and it pays off.  Charlie flips out and chases down the orphanage truck across the rooftops.  It's a spectacular sequence.

The film ends with an elaborate dream sequence where Chaplin's neighborhood is transformed into heaven.  All of its denizens except the Tramp now sport wings.  The kid is there and helps Charlie buy his own wings, but they seem to bug him.  Sin enters this world and ultimately Charlie falls for a woman he shouldn't.  He tries to get away, but the police shoot him out of the sky.  He awakens on the steps of his flat, being summoned by the police, not to be arrested, but to be reunited with his surrogate child and his mother.

The tramp has always been opposed to authority.  Here though, it seems the message is that the Tramp's love of the child can be something transformative.  The police who oppose him early on, ultimately deliver him and the audience to the happiest of endings.

***** out of *****