The Kid

Movie Information

In Brief: By the time Charles Chaplin wrote, directed, produced and starred in the first feature-length production entirely under his own control, he was already the most famous movie star on Earth. Chaplin, being Chaplin, stuck with the formula that made his earlier short films so successful, but turned the heartstring tugging up to 11. Semi-autobiographically based on Chaplin's impoverished childhood in London, the film features one of the best performances ever committed to screen by a child star in Jackie Coogan's turn as the eponymous Kid, and paves the way for the conflation of comedy and social statement that would define Chaplin's later films. While it may not be as political as Modern Times or The Great Dictator, or as deeply affecting as Limelight or Monsieur VerdouxThe Kid represents the crucial turning point at which Chaplin ceased to be strictly The Tramp and became Charles Chaplin, auteur. It's one of the purest examples of what Chaplin means to the history of film, and is an absolute must-see.
Score:

Genre: Silent Comedy
Director: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan
Rated: NR

The Asheville Film Society will screen The Kid on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m. at The Grail Moviehouse, hosted by Xpress movie critic Scott Douglas.

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