Director
Charles (Charlie) Chaplin
Leading Actors/Actresses
Charlie Chaplin
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Jackie Coogan, Edna Purviance
Genre
Silent comedy-drama
Language
Silent with English title cards
Awards
National Film Preservation Board awarded The Kid a place on the National Film Registry
Date of Release
1921
Producer
Charles Chaplin
Setting and Context
The film is set primarily in an impoverished urban area, likely Los Angeles.
Narrator and Point of View
There is no narrator; the point of view shifts between primarily The Woman and The Tramp.
Tone and Mood
The tone is comedic and sentimental; the mood is dramatic, absurd, and hopeful.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is The Tramp; antagonists include the police officer, the child welfare authority, the doctor, and the flophouse proprietor.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the film is that The Tramp must learn to be a parent and provide John with the love and care that The Woman's note pleads for.
Climax
The film reaches its climax when The Tramp and John are reunited on The Woman's doorstep before the three characters enter the mansion together.
Foreshadowing
That the manager of the flophouse's newspaper shows an ad offering a reward for the return of the boy foreshadows John being taken away while The Tramp is sleeping.
Understatement
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
The Kid marked the first time Chaplin could test his theory that a mix of "sentiment and slapstick" would appeal to audiences. After proving it to be a winning formula, Chaplin continued to inject moments of melodrama into his slapstick films.
