A woman on skid row abandons her baby and Chaplin's Tramp finds it and takes it in looking after the boy for 5 years. During this time the woman has become rich and famous, of course, and the authorities are getting concerned about the boy's welfare.
Clearly this is regarded as something of a masterpiece, bridging the gap between Chaplin's silent slapstick and his later classics. I had somehow managed to miss this and was reticent given its reputation for cloying sentimentality, but a restored 4K version persuaded me. What I found for the most part was a really funny film and limited sentimentality, albeit when it arrives it's laid on with a trowel, supported by Chaplin's treacle thick score. Coogan is absolutely terrific as the kid and easily holds his own with the man himself. Overall then rather enjoyable and often very funny - albeit I didn't care for the messy dream sequence though, which felt like padding.
Clearly this is regarded as something of a masterpiece, bridging the gap between Chaplin's silent slapstick and his later classics. I had somehow managed to miss this and was reticent given its reputation for cloying sentimentality, but a restored 4K version persuaded me. What I found for the most part was a really funny film and limited sentimentality, albeit when it arrives it's laid on with a trowel, supported by Chaplin's treacle thick score. Coogan is absolutely terrific as the kid and easily holds his own with the man himself. Overall then rather enjoyable and often very funny - albeit I didn't care for the messy dream sequence though, which felt like padding.