Day 6 – Favorite First National – 30 Day Charlie Chaplin Challenge

One of the best things that I like about the films from here on out is that Charlie Chaplin wrote the music for them. Either right as he was making the film or years later. And not just a few years, but a few decades.

The film I picked for this is one that he wrote the music 50 (yes, 50!) years after the movie was originally released. But I’m not here to just write about the music. This post is for my favorite First National film.

And that is The Kid. Where Chaplin just rips my heart out, stomps on it, and leaves me an emotional wreck. Because, really, it is hard not to cry at this film. Some sad crying but also some happy crying.

Basic premise is this: Charlie finds a baby abandoned on the street He decides to bring the baby up as his own at his home in the city slums. And the adventures begin. The kid is played by Jackie Coogan.

I love how Edna Purviance’s character of the mother is portrayed. She is visibly torn over whether to keep the baby or not, and then is continuously haunted by his memory. Not knowing that the little boy she befriends is her son. (UGH! Ugly crying!) When she gives him the toy dog, and then a sad long walk towards the camera, and he waves to her without her seeing it… is beautifully shot.

One of Chaplin’s best scenes in any of his films, where the authorities had found out that Charlie is not the legal father and they come for the “Proper care and attention” (take the kid away to an orphanage).

I had mention in my last post how I loved his films that were autobiographical. This is another one of those. When he was a boy, he was separated from his mother and brother due to the family living in extreme poverty. And just before starting on this film, he lost his first child, Norman, nicknamed Little Mouse, due to some sort of severe deformation (what that was, I have never been able to find out).

Here is a short interview with a much older Jackie Coogan from the early 1980s where he talks about how Chaplin directed him (clip via Criterion YouTube channel):

In 2003, a number of Chaplin’s films (First National and later) were re-released on DVD. There were a wonderful set of introductions done by the amazing Chaplin biographer, David Robinson. Below is for this film. (following clips from the Official Charlie Chaplin YouTube channel)

A wonderful documentary (part of a series of docs done for the above mentioned DVD release) tells the making of the film. It also includes an interview with a more modern filmmaker from Iran and how Chaplin has influenced him.

Finally, the soundtrack:

And a bonus bit: Chaplin, age 81 or 82, (in color and talking a little), conducting a little of his score:

Want to watch the film? You can rent or purchase it streaming at Amazon, or get the DVD or Blu Ray.

And a Happy (belated) Birthday to Jackie, whose 105th birthday was 4 days ago!