The Kid became a critically hailed international hit. A tramp (Charles Chaplin) brings up an abandoned baby (Jackie Coogan), and later loses him to his mother (Edna Purviance); but there is a happy ending.
The film is a sentimental silent comedy set in the slums. The comedy is sparingly laid on, but the overall effect is much less painful than the synopsis would suggest. The production is comparatively smooth, young Coogan is sensational, and the film contains much of the quintessential Chaplin. Chaplin had difficulties getting The Kid produced. His inspiration, it is suggested was the death of his own first son, Norman Spencer Chaplin a few days after birth in 1919.
The film is a sentimental silent comedy set in the slums. The comedy is sparingly laid on, but the overall effect is much less painful than the synopsis would suggest. The production is comparatively smooth, young Coogan is sensational, and the film contains much of the quintessential Chaplin. Chaplin had difficulties getting The Kid produced. His inspiration, it is suggested was the death of his own first son, Norman Spencer Chaplin a few days after birth in 1919.