Comedy · Drama
American
1921 · Directed by Charlie Chaplin · 68 min
A poor city glazier, Chaplin's Tramp, finds himself responsible for a small child nobody else seems to want. Slapstick, slum-street poverty and open tenderness share the screen in a comedy that sets out to move its audience as well as amuse it.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining film of silent comedy's move from one-reel gags to feature-length storytelling, and the template for the mix of laughter, pathos and social observation in Chaplin's later features.
Watch with intention
Watch how often Chaplin sets a gag right beside a moment of feeling, so that each makes the other land harder.
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