The Kid (1921)
The Kid is a 1921 comedy movie directed by Charlie Chaplin, with a running time of 1h 8m. It stars Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Coogan and Carl Miller.
Chaplin's first feature, and he called it a picture with a smile and perhaps a tear. His Tramp finds an abandoned baby on the street and, with no idea how, ends up raising the boy himself. Years on, the two run a scrappy living together in the slums, the child breaking windows the Tramp is paid to mend. Jackie Coogan plays the kid with a gravity that matches Chaplin gag for gag. Silent, funny, and unashamed of its heart, it set the shape for everything he made after.
Quick answers
What is The Kid about?
Chaplin's first feature, and he called it a picture with a smile and perhaps a tear. His Tramp finds an abandoned baby on the street and, with no idea how, ends up raising the boy himself. Years on, the two run a scrappy living together in the slums, the child breaking windows the Tramp is paid to mend. Jackie Coogan plays the kid with a gravity that matches Chaplin gag for gag. Silent, funny, and unashamed of its heart, it set the shape for everything he made after.
When was The Kid released?
The Kid was released on 21 January 1921.
How long is The Kid?
The Kid runs 1h 8m.
Who made The Kid?
The Kid was directed by Charlie Chaplin.
Where can I watch The Kid?
The Kid is available on Bloodstream, Cineverse Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, FlixFling, Great American Pure Flix Amazon Channel and HBO Max.
Where to watch The Kid
Stream: Bloodstream, Cineverse Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, FlixFling, Great American Pure Flix Amazon Channel, HBO Max, HBO Max Amazon Channel, MGM Plus, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, Pure Flix, YouTube TV, fuboTV
Watch free: Bloodstream, Darkroom, Fawesome, JustWatch TV, Public Domain Movies
Watch free with ads: Cineverse, Mometu, Pluto TV, Shout! Factory TV, Tubi TV
Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Cast
- Charlie Chaplin as A Tramp
- Jackie Coogan as The Kid
- Carl Miller as The Man
- Edna Purviance as The Woman
- Albert Austin as Car Thief / Man in Shelter (uncredited)
- Beulah Bains as Bride (uncredited)
- Nellie Bly Baker as Slum Nurse (uncredited)
- Henry Bergman as Professor Guido / Night Shelter Keeper (uncredited)
- Edward Biby as Orphan Asylum Driver (uncredited)
- B.F. Blinn as Assistant (uncredited)
- Kitty Bradbury as Bride's Mother (uncredited)
- Frank Campeau as Welfare Officer (uncredited)
Similar movies
Explore The Kid guides
A few thoughts on The Kid
Start here if you are new to silent comedy: it is short, it moves, and it earns its feeling without a word of dialogue. Pair it with Charlie Chaplin's later features once it hooks you. The music and the faces do all the talking, and they say plenty.
Family films with as much heart as laughter
Chaplin made The Kid a picture with a smile and a tear, slapstick built around a man and the boy he ends up raising. These family films aim for the same double punch, broad laughs kids love, plus a real emotional undertow that catches parents off guard by the end.
Tender stories about found family and the people who raise us
Underneath the gags, The Kid is about an unlikely guardian and the child who becomes his whole world. These stories share that tender core, ordinary people holding a family together, raising someone who is not quite theirs, and finding the relationship matters more than they ever expected.