The Kid (1921)

26 December 2021

The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) takes in an abandoned child, until different events threaten to separate them years later. This is a silent film with a runtime of 1h8m, but it packs a lot into it. In this film, the story is gripping between the antics he and the kid (Jackie Coogan) get into, and the chases they have escaping from police and child services. Some parts feel a little out of place (eg: dreamland scene), and other scenes feel incredibly dated and cruel (the orphanage roles feel more akin to dog catchers or enemy soldiers and are brutal to the protagonists).

It's a fascinating film of it's time though, and worth checking out (I caught it on IMDb TV). Chaplin wrote, directed, and starred in this film. It ranks 104 in the top 250 films on IMDb. 8/10