Single Film

In Chaplin’s first feature film (six reels in 1921), the “Little Tramp” rescues an orphan from the streets and raises him as his own.

Chaplin and Jackie Coogan make a miraculous pair in this clever and innovative marriage of sentiment and slapstick, a story of pancakes, fistfights, and dodging social services and policemen - as the opening title card says, “a picture with a smile - and perhaps a tear.” Chaplin himself (and his half-brother, Sidney) spent most of their childhood in orphanages, where they often went hungry and were poorly treated.

The shadow of this childhood can be seen in this comedy, which Chaplin wrote, produced, edited, and directed (as well as originally scored).

The Kid ends with a fantasy sequence that showcases in-camera effects, editing techniques, and masterful use of rigging for the period. An instant success in 1921, The Kid remains a masterwork of cinema.

In 2011, The Kid was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. MEET THE ENSEMBLE for THE KID Jack Curtis Dubowsky - Conductor, composer Emily Barrett – Guitar, ukulele, mandolin Ellen Burr – Flutes R.

Scott Dibble – Keyboards Reanne de Klerk – Reeds Matthew Miller – Percussion Jeff Schwartz – Double Bass Charles Sharp – Reeds