The Kid

No, not Disney's The Kid, but Charlie Chaplin's. This was on TV last night, and I was waiting for Nip/Tuck to come on at 9, so I decided to watch. I need to see more old movies anyway, right? The Kid is a story of the Tramp. In this adventure, he finds and raises a little orphaned boy that he names John. He and John develop and loving routine in their lives -- they take care of one another. This is disrupted when John gets sick and the authorities find out that the Tramp is raising a kid. They try to take the boy away, and the Tramp must try to save him. Jackie Coogan, who grew up to be Uncle Fester on The Addam's Family, is a really cute little boy. And, come on, it's Charlie Chaplin. He's great. The movie is less than an hour long, and it was one of the first feature length films that Chaplin made. It was the first one he wrote, directed, produced, scored, and starred in, as well. There is one scene that is pretty random -- the dreamland of angels and demons near the end -- but the rest of the film flows well and is really entertaining. There is a famous scene were the County Orphan Asylum comes to take John away. He's in the back of the truth, crying and trying to get back to the Tramp, who is being held back by the authorities. Very sad. Very pre-Judging Amy and other children's services TV shows. If you get the chance, see this movie. Maybe we should have a Chaplin and Keaton marathon or something. Finish it up by watching Chaplin and Benny and Joon. That'd be fun.