The Kid

The Kid

Criterion Collection Edition #799

Charlie Chaplin was already an international star when he decided to break out of the short-film format and make his first full-length feature. THE KID doesn't merely show Chaplin at a turning point, when he proved that he was a serious film director, it remains an expressive masterwork of silent cinema. In it, he stars as his lovable Tramp character, this time raising an orphan (a remarkable young Jackie Coogan) he has rescued from the streets. Chaplin and Coogan make a miraculous pair in this nimble marriage of sentiment and slapstick, a film that is, as its opening title card states, "a picture with a smile, and perhaps, a tear"

The Kid
  • The Kid

    Directed by Charles Chaplin • 1921 • United States

    Charlie Chaplin was already an international star when he decided to break out of the short-film format and make his first full-length feature. THE KID doesn't merely show Chaplin at a turning point, when he proved that he was a serious film dir...

Extras

  • THE KID Commentary

    This audio commentary, featuring Charlie Chaplin scholar Charles Maland, was recorded in 2015.

  • Jackie Coogan on THE KID

    This interview with THE KID costar Jackie Coogan was originally recorded by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill for the 1980 British television series “Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film.”

  • Lita Grey Chaplin on THE KID

    In this interview, Lita Grey Chaplin recalls her role as the flirtatious angel in THE KID, the production of THE GOLD RUSH, and her eventual marriage to Charlie Chaplin at the age of sixteen. The interview was conducted by Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance in 1993.

  • Rollie Totheroh on THE KID

    This audio excerpt is from a 1964 interview with Charlie Chaplin’s loyal cinematographer Roland “Rollie” Totheroh. In it, he recalls that the editing of THE KID was completed outside of California because of concerns that Chaplin’s then wife, Mildred Harris, would draw it into her divorce case ag...

  • Mo Rothman on THE KID

    The following audio excerpt is from an interview with distributor Mo Rothman, who partnered with Charlie Chaplin to rerelease his feature films, starting with THE KID in 1972. The interview was recorded by Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance in 1998.

  • Jackie Coogan: The First Child Star

    The following video essay by Charlie Chaplin scholar Lisa Haven, on THE KID actor Jackie Coogan, was produced in 2015.

  • A Study in Undercranking

    In the following program, produced in 2015, silent-film specialist Ben Model looks at how Charlie Chaplin used the difference between filming and projecting speeds to create unique gags that could only exist in silent cinema.

  • Charlie Chaplin Conducts THE KID

    This brief footage shows Charlie Chaplin conducting his newly composed score for THE KID in 1971.

  • Outtakes From the 1921 Version of THE KID

    THE KID was initially released in 1921, as part of Charlie Chaplin’s eight-picture deal with First National Exhibitors Circuit. When Chaplin revisited the film in 1971, he removed three scenes featuring “the Woman,” played by Edna Purviance. Those scenes are presented here, within the context of ...

  • Outtakes From the 1921 Version of THE KID

    THE KID was initially released in 1921, as part of Charlie Chaplin’s eight-picture deal with First National Exhibitors Circuit. When Chaplin revisited the film in 1971, he made significant changes. Included here are the original First National opening titles, various intertitles, and the closing ...

  • Nice and Friendly

    Directed by Charles Chaplin • 1922 • United States

    Filmed at Pickfair, the home of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, in 1922, as a wedding present for Lord and Lady Mountbatten, this short features Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Coogan, and the newlyweds. It is presented with a contemporary score by...

  • “Charlie” on the Ocean

    This newsreel from 1921 documents Charlie Chaplin’s first trip back to Europe, after relocating to the United States from England in 1914 to become a movie actor.

  • THE KID 1972 German and Dutch Rerelease Trailers

  • Anatomy of a Gag: Charlie and Jackie

    In this video essay, critic David Cairns explores the comedic magic of Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan in THE KID.