The Kid

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Comedy

Drama

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100%

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50 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.

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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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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

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Steve D

A classic if this is your kind of film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

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MM N

One of the greatest child acting performances ever.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/16/24

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Lars N

Sweet and funny. Basic storytelling that still manage to engage evene after a hundred years.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/12/24

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Teddy B

Although the runtime is almost ridiculously short, Charlie Chaplin's directorial debut still stands as one of his most poignant, clever, charming, and witty features to date and is only ever lifted up with Jackie Coogan's irresistibly adorable, irascible, and precocious performance as the title lead.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/19/23

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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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