THE KID
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
In this era, when so much is available to watch on streaming TV and elsewhere yet so little from previous decades is seen, the appearance of a silent film – in prime time, on high-profile TCM – warms my heart. Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, TCM presents The Kid, a 1921 film produced, written and directed by Charlie Chaplin, who also stars. He plays his iconic character of The Tramp, who in this full-length film – Chaplin’s first, after a string of shorts – finds and cares for a baby, who grows up as the Tramp’s streetwise, loving “adopted” son. The kid in the title is played by Jackie Coogan, who, 43 years later, would be featured on ABC’s The Addams Family series as Uncle Fester. With The Kid, try this experiment: choose someone younger who claims to not like black and white movies, and to have no interest in a silent one, and sit down with them to watch The Kid. As it starts, hand them a sealed envelope, which they can open only after the movie is over. In it, place a few dollars (for their time) and a note, which reads: “I knew you’d cry.”