The Kid by Charlie Chaplin

[I wrote the next few synopsis type posts for my Intro to Film History class, I promise they get better!]

Directed and written by its leading actor, The Kid stars Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan. The lonely woman leaves her male child in a vehicle when she cannot care for the baby without a husband or other support. Then two thieves steal the vehicle and place the unnamed child near a dumpster. When the little tramp notices the baby, he does not know what to do but multiple comedic coincidences with a police officer lead him to care for the orphaned child. After five years, the tramp and the kid have become father and son. They take care of each other while living in poverty but they both don’t mind. To make some money, the kid breaks windows for the tramp to repair later for money. After five years, the woman, who abandoned her child, is a successful wealthy actress. She gives charity to the poor and coincidentally meets her son but doesn’t know it. When the kid becomes sick, the tramp has no option except to call the doctor. When the doctor asks if the tramp is the kid’s father, he tries to explain that he raised the kid because a woman left the child. The doctor is shocked and calls the orphanage because he wants to prevent orphans from living under poverty. The kid is ripped from the tramp and both are feeling the loss of their family. Somehow, the tramp rescues the kid from the orphanage, but with no place to go, they sleep in a hotel. The owner of the inn notices the WANTED article on a newspaper for the little tramp and the kid, so he takes the kid in his sleep to the police. The woman takes a visit to the poor community again and sees the note she wrote five years ago. She finds her child in the police station and invites the tramp and the kid to her house.