Page "Charlie Chaplin" Paragraph 32

The Kid was in production until May 1920.

Shortly before this, Chaplin and his wife had separated after 18 months of marriage — they were " irreconcilably mismated ", he remembered.

Chaplin became fearful that Harris would claim The Kid as part of the divorce proceedings, so packed the 400, 000 feet negative into crates and travelled to Salt Lake City to cut the film in a hotel room.

At 68 minutes, it was his longest picture to date.

Dealing with issues of poverty and parent – child separation, The Kid is thought to be influenced by Chaplin's own childhood and was the first film to combine comedy and drama.

It was released on 6 January 1921 to instant success, and by 1924 had been screened in over 50 countries.