United States

THE KID is essentially a dramatic story told with comedy. In the alley of a big city slum the tramp comes across an abandoned infant and, unwittingly at first, becomes the child's foster father. By the time the kid is five Chaplin has become a proud parent and his "son" a necessary component in the tramp's slightly larcenous method of earning a living. The attempts of a social service agency to rescue the child from his sordid surroundings and the desperate efforts of Chaplin and the kid to thwart this scheme provide the story's drama. The hilarious comedy running all through THE KID is underlined by the poignancy of the dramatic conflict. This combination of the funny and the sad was to become increasingly associated with Chaplin's later work.