The Kid / A Dog's Life

Starring:Dave Anderson, Bert Appling, Albert Austin, Henry Bergman, Mel Brown, Minnie Chaplin, Syd Chaplin, Slim Cole, Ted Edwards, Louis Fitzroy, Charles Force, M.J. McCarthy, Edna Purviance, Granville Redmond, Alf Reeves, Charles Reisner, Thomas Riley, N. Tahbel, Tom Wilson
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
A Chaplin double feature starring Edna Purviance and Jackie Coogan. "The Kid" (1921, 68 min.) was director Charlie Chaplin's first full-length film and is considered one of his best. Co-starring five-year-old Coogan, whom Chaplin discovered on a Los Angeles vaudeville stage, "The Kid" is the story of a child abandoned in a limousine by his unwed mother (Purviance). When The Little Tramp finds him, he tries unsuccessfully to find a home for the boy. Obliged to keep him, The Little Tramp teaches the youngster about life on the streets and just as they have bonded and become a family, the boy's mother returns in a bittersweet finale. "A Dog's Life" (1918, 35 min.) is not only the satisfying story of canine and human underdogs succeeding in spite of the odds against them, it's also a series of side-splitting gags and slapstick routines that are as funny today as they were when the film was released and became an instant hit.

The Kid / A Dog's Life
Average customer rating:

Two of Chaplin's Best

Wonderful early Chaplin movie

Chaplin's "The Kid": a picture with a smile-perhaps a tear

It's all-right...

My Favorite!

The Kid / A Dog's Life
Starring: Dave Anderson , Bert Appling , Albert Austin , Henry Bergman , and Mel Brown
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Silent Films | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video
Purviance, Edna | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
( K ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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The Gold Rush/Pay Day

ASIN: 6305760047
Release Date: 2000-02-08

Description

A Chaplin double feature starring Edna Purviance and Jackie Coogan. "The Kid" (1921, 68 min.) was director Charlie Chaplin's first full-length film and is considered one of his best. Co-starring five-year-old Coogan, whom Chaplin discovered on a Los Angeles vaudeville stage, "The Kid" is the story of a child abandoned in a limousine by his unwed mother (Purviance). When The Little Tramp finds him, he tries unsuccessfully to find a home for the boy. Obliged to keep him, The Little Tramp teaches the youngster about life on the streets and just as they have bonded and become a family, the boy's mother returns in a bittersweet finale. "A Dog's Life" (1918, 35 min.) is not only the satisfying story of canine and human underdogs succeeding in spite of the odds against them, it's also a series of side-splitting gags and slapstick routines that are as funny today as they were when the film was released and became an instant hit.

Customer Reviews:

Two of Chaplin's Best.......2005-10-10

Avoid the disappointing Warner reissues of Charlie Chaplin's First National work and track down this Image DVD. Film historian David Shepard's excellent restorations of "The Kid" (1921) and "A Dog Life" (1918) remain the definitive, uncut versions. Why Chaplin chose to tamper with these classics in his later years is truly mind-boggling. The Chaplin family should acknowledge the superiority of the original versions -- regardless of their father's final wishes.

Wonderful early Chaplin movie.......2005-04-27

Perhaps not as polished as "City Lights" and "The Gold Rush", this movie tells an interesting story about an orphan boy (played by a very young Jackie Coogan or Fester as his friends call him) who gets abandoned by his mother, played by Edna Purviance, and finds himself in the care of a tramp played by you know who. There are many usual early Chaplin features such as a good fight scene and bumbling police officers ala the "Keystone Cops" and hard-headed bureaucratic types. Well to make it short, despite much drama, the kid gets reunited with his mother and all ends well.

Matched with a fun little short, "The Idle Class", Chaplin spoofs the well-healed and their penchant for playing golf and partying. In a case of mistaken identity, the tramp and a millionaire find themselves in the same resort and some funny drama ensues with Edna Purviance in the middle of it. The golf scene is very funny and the sight of the millionaire character finding himself in a phone booth without any pants on is enough to conjur up terrifying dreams of the past.

Both movies are very entertaining and my little girls love to watch them both, laughing themselves silly at numerous scenes. The score is also really good. Chaplin really had a good feel for what music goes well with each scene. If you can find a copy, get it, keep it and enjoy it.

I welcome feedback on this and all reviews at wstrnlibwarrior@yahoo.com

Chaplin's "The Kid": a picture with a smile-perhaps a tear.......2004-12-01

Charlie Chaplin began filming "The Kid" two weeks after the death of his three-day old son from his marriage to Mildred Harris. Chaplin had signed a new contract with First National Studio and "The Kid" was going to be one of the eight two-reelers Chaplin was supposed to make, but the project kept growing until the film was six reels long. As such "The Kid" becomes the comedian's first feature film as writer, director, and star (He had appeared as the male lead in 1914's "Tillie's Punctured Romance," but that was just as an actor and not really a "Chaplin" comedy).

Edna Purviance, Chaplin's long time leading lady, plays a desperate unwed mother who leaves her baby in a limousine with a note pleading whoever finds him to take care of him. She changes her mind, but the baby (Baby Hathaway), is gone and ends up in the tender care of Chaplin's Tramp. The Fates have brought the two of them together, and the Tramp raises the Kid (Jackie Coogan) as best he can. They survive by working together: the Kid throws a brick through a window and Charlie walks by and offers to repair it. The big moment comes in the film when the authorities literally rip the Kid away from the Tramp's arms intending to the boy to the Orphan Asylum. The Tramp actually resorts to physical violence to rescue the Kid and flee to a flophouse. There the proprietor (Henry Bergman) learns of the reward for the Kid and while Charlie is sleeping steals the boy and returns him to his mother for the big reward. Longing for the Kid, Charlie has a wondrous dream where their poverty row street is transformed into Heaven (where the "Flirtatious Angel" is young Lillita McMurray, who would later become Chaplin's second wife, Lita Grey). The Tramp awakes from the dream and is taken by a kindly policeman to be reunited with the Kid and his mother.

Chaplin had seen Coogan performing on the Vaudeville stage with his parents and had given him a bit part in his 1919 comedy short "A Day's Pleasure." With the six-year-old Coogan "The Kid" was a tremendous box office hit, quite possibly the biggest money making movie of all time up to that point grossing $2.5 million. Chaplin had combined comedy and pathos before, but when the Kid is taken away from the Tramp by the authorities and screams for his papa, you almost forget this is a silent film. Posters for the film proudly stated that Chaplin had worked an entire year on the film, and audiences were obviously pleased with the results. This would give Chaplin the leeway to take all the time he wanted to perfect the films that he made the rest of his life. Coogan was the biggest child star of the silent era, but would eventually become known to later generations as Uncle Festus on "The Addams Family." However, his biggest impact game when it was discovered his guardians had spent Coogan's fortune before he reached the age of 18, which inspired the passage of the "Coogan Law" that protects the assets of minor children.

While it seems clear that "The Kid" owes much to Chaplin's personal tragedy, there is something archetypal to the story of the abandoned child who is rescued. Tales of orphans were popular throughout the 20th century, starting with "Anne of Green Gables" and ending with Harry Potter. However, "The Kid" is not without its flaws, which come mainly in the subplot regarding the Kid's mother. Chaplin portrays her as an unwed mother ostracized by a judgmental society for her sun, making a visual comparison to Christ on the cross and sanctifying her with strong religious imagery throughout the film. There is nothing wrong with that, but once she loses her baby she ends up becoming a famous opera star, which means that in the end the Kid will not only be reunited with his mother but be able to live the good life. Pretty convenient, but it means that the reunion of mother and son pales in comparison to Charlie rescuing the Kid from the authorities.

Also on this DVD is the 1918 short, "A Dog's Life," which is one of my all-time favorite Chaplin two-reelers. The Tramp, who lives in a vacant lot, becomes friends with Scraps, and together they steal some tasty sausages from a lunch wagon (run by Chaplin's brother Sydney). The main set piece is when Scraps digs up a wallet filled with money that has been buried in the lot by some crooks and the Tramp sneaks the dog into a dance hall. Edna Purviance is a singer there, having to put up with the unwanted attentions of the patrons, and the obvious object of the Tramp's affection. The crooks show up looking for Charlie and the money as well and the best bit is where the Tramp knocks out one of the crooks and continues the silent conversation with the other one by replacing the unconscious crook's arms with his own. I also have a fondness for this short because it was the one that got my youngest daughter hooked on Charlie Chaplin.

It's all-right..........2004-05-24

It's a watchable movie, and it never really does anything wrong, but in my opinion it is simply not as brilliant as many of Chaplin's later movies (ie. The Gold Rush, City Lights). It has its funny moments, but they do not approach anywhere near the pinnacles seen in some of his later works; they provide more of a chuckle than the uncontrollable laughter that results from watching some his later ones.

There were some very touching sceens in the movie, and the acting was pretty good, from both Chaplin and the kid. Still, when I finished watching it, I didn't feel like I had just watched a great movie; I felt like I had watched an acceptable one (there was also a little too much Christian imagery in the film for my taste, but I'll take it as a sign of the times).

Anyway, if you're new to Chaplin I suggest that you see something like City Lights first; this film is fairly good, but it's not among his best.

As for "The Idle Class", it's a pretty good Chaplin short that has its definite highlight in the scene where the tramp goes golfing and finds that he forgot to bring a ball. Needless to say, hilarity ensues!

My Favorite!.......2004-05-09

This is the most charming, touching, story from that genius little fellow Chaplin! There's one scene in the film that you can never forget. Hauntingly beautiful score written by him to boot, how could one man have so many gifts?

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