The film begins with a single mother who is struggling to take care of her baby. She leaves him in the backseat of a nice car, leaving a note explaining that she hopes the driver would be able to take of her child better than she could. She later regrets doing this and returns to find that the car and the child are missing, taken by thieves. The thieves later leave the baby on the street. The Tramp discovers him, and decides to care for him. Five years later, the Tramp and the kid, now named John, make their meager living as con artists. The movie shows their many misadventures as Chaplin tries his best to take care of John.
This story was very heartwarming. It was interesting to see the Tramp as a parental figure. Chaplin totally made it work. The movie had the dramedy formula down pat. In one funny scene, we see the Tramp fight a thug whose shirt was clearly stuffed so it looked he had muscles; in another scene, we are desperate for the Tramp and John to stay together as the police try to tear them apart. We also feel for John's mother, who had become a successful star while John was growing up. She does a great amount of charity work to overcome the guilt of losing her son. She even runs into John a few times with no clue that he is her son; these moments make your heart ache.
In the few Chaplin movies I've seen, I always love the Tramp. But in The Kid, I was super impressed with Jackie Coogan in particular. First of all, he was just the cutest kid. He had long hair and wore huge baggy pants just like the Tramp's. Coogan was able to keep up with all of the Tramp's comedic stunts and he was just overall a likable character. It was also just interesting to see a main character that is a kid in a silent movie. It does make sense that Jackie Coogan was one of the first successful child actors because you just really don't see a lot of kids in silent movies.
I really do have to mention the most entertaining and fascinating scene in The Kid. Towards the end of the film, the Tramp loses John; the child has been reunited with his mother but the Tramp doesn't know that. Distraught, he falls asleep on some steps and enters "Dreamland." Everything in the town changes. Flowers and fancy decorations appear on the houses and streets. People dressed in white robes with fake wings show up out of nowhere and start dancing and celebrating. Even John shows up with this new angel getup to greet the Tramp. The Tramp gains his own wings and robe but as this happens three men dressed in devil costumes enter the scene. They "tempt" a young woman to seduce the Tramp. They both begin to kiss as her boyfriend shows up; he is the thug who fought the Tramp earlier in the film. The devils then tell the boyfriend to be jealous and so he starts to fight the Tramp. A giant angel mob surrounds them and eventually an angel policeman shoots the Tramp dead. The Tramp is then awakened from this dream by a real policeman. This scene is captivating on so many levels. First of all I do just love the set design and costumes. The special effects are also amazing for the time. Everyone is flying; you know it's just strings, but it must have been cool to see back then. It reminded me of a silent film version of Peter Pan. They even put wings on a dog and made him fly around. The "Dreamland" also goes beyond just a regular ol' comedy movie. It represents the turmoil the Tramp is feeling. Not only is he always getting in trouble with John, but now he thinks he has lost John forever. Overall, I think this scene was just something really different and I loved it.
If you want to see some of the greatest American movies made, The Kid should definitely be on that list. It's a wonderful silent film, a wonderful Chaplin film, and overall just a fun movie to watch. I know that the idea of a silent movie seems boring to some people, but this movie was engaging all the way through. For an era in film that was starting to delve into real plots and real characters, The Kid stands out as one of the greats.
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