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The Kid (1921 film)
Encyclopedia
The Kid is a 1921 American silent
dramedy film written by, produced by, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin
, and features Jackie Coogan
as his adopted son and sidekick. This was Chaplin's first full-length movie. It was a huge success, and was the second-highest grossing film in 1921, behind The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
.
) leaves a charity hospital carrying her newborn son. An artist (Carl Miller
), the apparent father, is shown with the woman's photograph. When it falls into the fireplace, he first picks it up, then throws it back in to burn up.
The woman decides to leave her child
in the back seat of an expensive automobile with a handwritten note imploring the finder to care for and love the baby. However, the car is stolen. When the two thieves discover the child, they leave him on the street. The Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) finds the baby. Unwilling at first to take on the responsibility, he eventually softens and names the boy John.
Five years pass, and the child becomes the Tramp's partner in minor crime, throwing stones to break windows that the Tramp can then repair. Meanwhile, the woman becomes a wealthy star. She does charity work among the poor to fill the void of her missing child. By chance, mother and child meet, but do not recognize each other.
When the boy becomes sick, a doctor comes to see him. He discovers that the Tramp is not the boy's father. The Tramp shows him the note left by the mother, but the doctor merely takes it and notifies the authorities. Two men come to take the boy to an orphanage, but after a fight and a chase, the Tramp regains his boy. When the woman comes back to see how the boy is doing, the doctor tells her what has happened, then shows her the note, which she recognizes.
The fugitives spend the night in a flophouse
, but the manager (an uncredited Henry Bergman
), having read of the $1000 reward offered for the child, takes him to the police station to be united with his ecstatic mother. When the Tramp wakes up, he searches frantically for the missing boy, then returns to doze beside the now-locked doorway to their humble home. In his sleep, he enters "Dreamland", with angels in residence and devilish interlopers. He is awakened by a policeman, who takes him to the woman's home.
The film made Coogan, then a vaudeville
performer, into the first major child star of the movies. Many Chaplin biographers have attributed the relationship portrayed in the film to have resulted from the death of Chaplin's firstborn infant son just before production began. The portrayal of poverty
and the cruelty of welfare workers are also directly reminiscent of Chaplin's own childhood in London
. Several of the street scenes were filmed on Los Angeles' famed Olvera Street
, almost 10 years before it was converted into a Mexican-themed tourist attraction.
After production was completed in 1920, the film was caught up in the divorce
actions of Chaplin's first wife Mildred Harris
, who sought to attach Chaplin's assets. Chaplin and his associates smuggled the raw negative to Salt Lake City, Utah
(reportedly packed in coffee cans) and edited the film in a hotel room there. Before release he negotiated for and received an enhanced financial deal for the film with his distributor, First National Corporation, based on the success of the final film. Chaplin edited and reissued the film in 1971, and he composed a new musical score.
Lita Grey
, who portrays a tempting angel in the film, was Chaplin's second wife from 1924 to 1927. Chaplin and co-star Coogan met for the last time in 1972, during Chaplin's brief return to America
for an Honorary Academy Award.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
dramedy film written by, produced by, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, and features Jackie Coogan
Jackie Coogan
John Leslie Coogan , known professionally as Jackie Coogan, was an American actor who began his movie career as a child actor in silent films. Many years later, he became known as Uncle Fester on 1960s sitcom The Addams Family...
as his adopted son and sidekick. This was Chaplin's first full-length movie. It was a huge success, and was the second-highest grossing film in 1921, behind The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1921 silent movie produced by Metro Pictures Corporation, adapted by June Mathis, directed by Rex Ingram and starring Rudolph Valentino, Pomeroy Cannon, Josef Swickard, Wallace Beery, and Alice Terry...
.
Plot
An unwed woman (Edna PurvianceEdna Purviance
Edna Purviance was an American actress during the silent movie era. She was the leading lady in many Charlie Chaplin movies. In a span of eight years, she appeared in over thirty films with Chaplin.-Early life:...
) leaves a charity hospital carrying her newborn son. An artist (Carl Miller
Carl Miller (actor)
Carl Miller , was an American film actor. He appeared in 44 films between 1917 and 1942.He was born in Wichita County, Texas and died in Honolulu, Hawaii.-Selected filmography:* The Kid - The Man...
), the apparent father, is shown with the woman's photograph. When it falls into the fireplace, he first picks it up, then throws it back in to burn up.
The woman decides to leave her child
Child abandonment
Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting them. Causes include many social and cultural factors as well as mental illness. An abandoned child is called a foundling .-Causes:Poverty is often a...
in the back seat of an expensive automobile with a handwritten note imploring the finder to care for and love the baby. However, the car is stolen. When the two thieves discover the child, they leave him on the street. The Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) finds the baby. Unwilling at first to take on the responsibility, he eventually softens and names the boy John.
Five years pass, and the child becomes the Tramp's partner in minor crime, throwing stones to break windows that the Tramp can then repair. Meanwhile, the woman becomes a wealthy star. She does charity work among the poor to fill the void of her missing child. By chance, mother and child meet, but do not recognize each other.
When the boy becomes sick, a doctor comes to see him. He discovers that the Tramp is not the boy's father. The Tramp shows him the note left by the mother, but the doctor merely takes it and notifies the authorities. Two men come to take the boy to an orphanage, but after a fight and a chase, the Tramp regains his boy. When the woman comes back to see how the boy is doing, the doctor tells her what has happened, then shows her the note, which she recognizes.
The fugitives spend the night in a flophouse
Flophouse
A flophouse , doss-house or dosshouse is a place that offers very cheap lodging, generally by providing only minimal services.-Characteristics:...
, but the manager (an uncredited Henry Bergman
Henry Bergman
Henry Bergman was an American actor of stage and film, known for his long association with Charlie Chaplin....
), having read of the $1000 reward offered for the child, takes him to the police station to be united with his ecstatic mother. When the Tramp wakes up, he searches frantically for the missing boy, then returns to doze beside the now-locked doorway to their humble home. In his sleep, he enters "Dreamland", with angels in residence and devilish interlopers. He is awakened by a policeman, who takes him to the woman's home.
Background
The Kid is notable as being the first feature length comedy film to combine comedy and drama, as the opening title says: "A picture with a smile-and perhaps, a tear." The most famous and enduring sequence in the film is the Tramp's desperate rooftop pursuit of the agents from the orphanage who had taken the child, and their emotional reunion.The film made Coogan, then a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer, into the first major child star of the movies. Many Chaplin biographers have attributed the relationship portrayed in the film to have resulted from the death of Chaplin's firstborn infant son just before production began. The portrayal of poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and the cruelty of welfare workers are also directly reminiscent of Chaplin's own childhood in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Several of the street scenes were filmed on Los Angeles' famed Olvera Street
Olvera Street
Olvera Street is in the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles, California, and is part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. Many Latinos refer to it as "La Placita Olvera." Circa 1911 it was described as Sonora Town....
, almost 10 years before it was converted into a Mexican-themed tourist attraction.
After production was completed in 1920, the film was caught up in the divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
actions of Chaplin's first wife Mildred Harris
Mildred Harris
Mildred Harris was an American film actress. Harris began her career in the film industry as a popular child actress at age eleven. At the age of fifteen, she was cast as a harem girl in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance . She appeared as a leading lady through the 1920s but her career slowed with...
, who sought to attach Chaplin's assets. Chaplin and his associates smuggled the raw negative to Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
(reportedly packed in coffee cans) and edited the film in a hotel room there. Before release he negotiated for and received an enhanced financial deal for the film with his distributor, First National Corporation, based on the success of the final film. Chaplin edited and reissued the film in 1971, and he composed a new musical score.
Lita Grey
Lita Grey
Lita Grey was an American actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin. She was born in Hollywood, California, in 1908, to a Mexican-born mother and a father of Irish heritage and christened Lillita Louise MacMurray.-Personal life:Grey married four times...
, who portrays a tempting angel in the film, was Chaplin's second wife from 1924 to 1927. Chaplin and co-star Coogan met for the last time in 1972, during Chaplin's brief return to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for an Honorary Academy Award.
Cast
- Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
as The Tramp - Edna PurvianceEdna PurvianceEdna Purviance was an American actress during the silent movie era. She was the leading lady in many Charlie Chaplin movies. In a span of eight years, she appeared in over thirty films with Chaplin.-Early life:...
as The Woman - Jackie CooganJackie CooganJohn Leslie Coogan , known professionally as Jackie Coogan, was an American actor who began his movie career as a child actor in silent films. Many years later, he became known as Uncle Fester on 1960s sitcom The Addams Family...
as The Kid ("John") - Carl MillerCarl MillerCarl Miller may refer to:*Carl Miller , BBL*Carl Miller , American film actor*Karl Miller, writer*Karl Miller...
as The Man - Tom WilsonTom Wilson (actor)Tom Wilson was an American film actor. He appeared in 254 films between 1915 and 1963. He was born in Helena, Montana, and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Little Marie...
as Cop (uncredited) - Jack Coogan Sr as Pickpocket / Guest / Devil (uncredited)
- Henry BergmanHenry BergmanHenry Bergman was an American actor of stage and film, known for his long association with Charlie Chaplin....
as Night Shelter Keeper (uncredited) - Lita GreyLita GreyLita Grey was an American actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin. She was born in Hollywood, California, in 1908, to a Mexican-born mother and a father of Irish heritage and christened Lillita Louise MacMurray.-Personal life:Grey married four times...
as Flirtatious Angel (uncredited)