3:00 pm | $7/$5 members | With Live Accompaniment by Marta Waterman
A vulnerable, plucky child, a heart-touching tramp, a fallen woman, haunting background music—all make us think of the genius of one man, Charlie Chaplin. His 1921 silent masterpiece, THE KID, was the first full-length film to use these elements, and display the best of his talent. Chaplin, wrote, directed, and acted in the film, and composed the music for it.
The Kid was the first film Chaplin made on his own, and it is considered among the greatest silent films ever made. It tells the story of a tramp who finds an abandoned infant and raises him as an accomplice in his activities. The child is played by Jackie Coogan, a youngster Chaplin found working in vaudeville, who portrayed the combination of mischief and street smarts that perfectly complemented Chaplin’s brand of innocence and savvy as the tramp character. The real affection the two had for each other was readily visible in the silent medium. Edna Purviance, one of Chaplin’s favorite leading ladies, played the part of the mother, who later in the film is reunited with her child.
The movie is a true combination of comedy and drama and showed the medium’s ability to combine the two in one poignant story.
The silent films in Rosendale’s series are enhanced by the piano of Marta Waterman.