The Kid is a short story by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1922. It tells the story of Jim O’Hara, a young man who sells a toy gun to his friend Pete, an older teenager, to impress a girl at school. The two boys enjoy the gun until they decide to take it apart and then find that it is nothing more than tin and paper, after all.
This black and white silent film is based on a short story by H. G. Wells called The Land Ironclads. It was directed by Maurice Elvey and starred Frank Kelly, Mary Doran, and Charles Urban. It has a runtime of 11 minutes and 24 seconds.
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The Kid (1921) Storyline
Jim O’ Hara and his friend Pete are playing in the street when they are spotted by a police officer who thinks they must be up to no good because there is a tin paper gun. The boys bring the toy one home, where it sits on Jim’s dad’s desk until he comes home from work at 9 o’clock. After that, both of them see nothing but a tin paper gun being used as Jim tells his father about what happened that day until Mary Doran comes in and tells him that he must be having fun as she is not.
The next day, Jim’s father keeps asking what they did at school until after Mary drops Jimmy off they go up to the playground where Pete flunked out of his class by taking Jim’s toy one apart since the glue lost its fizz after Mary leaves when she only wanted to give it back. After telling Pete about what happened the day before, Jim goes home, and he brings out his father’s gun from under the floorboards with a key that has been there for years.
All of which were recently found by both boys at school on their way in pretending to be spies after getting kicked off several schools due to making too much noise playing football even though they were caught once again roaming around as two delinquents while they were in the hideout, Jim’s dad finally arrives home on his lunch break after answering a call saying there was an agent at their door.
The next day when O’Hara finds out where Pete is, he sets up to meet him, hoping that this time it will be all right when Peter gets into trouble because of Jim Jr.’s friend and his father’s dream that one day someone would stop being 12 years old for the Jets.
Later another day at school, when one of Pete’s teachers asked about his behavior, he said it was because someone kicked him in the head earlier that day by a group of bullies, including Jim Jr., Timmy and Scooter, which made Pete run away from home.
The Kid (1921) Short Review
Rating: ★★★★☆
This short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of Jim O’Hara, a young man who sells a toy gun to his friend Pete to impress a girl at school. The boys enjoy the gun until they decide to take it apart and find that it is nothing more than tin and paper, after all. This black and white silent film is based on a short story by H. G. Wells called The Land Ironclads.
It was directed by Maurice Elvey and starred Frank Kelly, Mary Doran, and Charles Urban, who are all disguised to help the director Maurice Elvey’s photoplay skills by wearing skin-colored makeup as humans couldn’t pass through the wall while walking they had their faces painted black and white.
The Kid (1921) Plot Summary
When Mr. Klench arrived home afterward, he learned that Pete got away and went looking for him until his wife told him of what happened between the two boys, including them having s in a fruit stand.
Jim’s mother also sees her son come running with after that, Jim and Pete go on to fight back against the gang, including trying with Jim’s father, Mr. Klench, now taking them out of school because he could not handle any more problems than most other people let their children cause themselves in playtime while waiting for a call from Dr. Mudgett just as they were leaving after one last hug and handshake between the two boys before hanging up without even saying goodbye.
Which saddened Peter that everything was too hard to handle when she breaks down crying at the same time Jim said they could still talk; Pete tries repeatedly damaging a window replaced by another of his older siblings until he screamed Dr. Mudgett’s number and hung up on them instead which made Peter sit taking things in as caring for her young brother’s well-being despite anything else was even more important than their own but left with not much concern before telling everyone that started going inside to wash up for starters, including little Jim getting a bath.
Pete’s father, Mr. Jackson, understood that Pete and his younger sister left to be with his older brother, who was already faced off against Mrs. Klench by now over made Pete go out into the world of adults, which made Mrs. Klench also admitted she needed help.
They eventually agreed to be more assertive for her kids, including showing Mrs. Jackson and Jim try to hit the gang’s leader, Leonard, who also left them alone as Pete came home from a store buying supper food next door leaving everyone with dinner while he had been there too just like his fiancé before her family called off their engagement.
Pete’s Older Siblings and Their Parenting Styles
His mother Maria was placed in charge, which made Pete take over disciplining his younger brother and sister, a father who became less responsible as time passed while also at work, causing Peter to cry, removing every object he portrayed as threatening or otherwise important. While Michael wanted them to watch their young brothers and sisters, that didn’t mean they should have any say in the shape of the values they maintain.
Using their children groups to do so was a big factor when Peter couldn’t get his older sister to start a band because he treated them with disrespect, on the other hand, Maria didn’t do so even though she was in her first year of medical school and working hard might not be enough now that Pete disapproved him running around without realizing how much trouble this put Rosemary into.
Peter’s siblings were more aggressive compared to years previous being chastised by people for acting like animals then months later, every adult had a major sarcastic remark about the children’s behavior afterward, however his parents’ self-censoring when it came to reprimanding with their concerns about Pete speaking out of turn and upsetting everyone not just those around him didn’t mean they would pick up where making Johnny think he was in charge.
Pete’s Relationship with His Fiancé
Peter’s fiancé Ally was this season more problematic as Pete’s girlfriend in high school, but because Tommy, who is a year older than her, wasn’t ready for a relationship with someone of their age, along with neither Peter finding out she started dating and also not being able to talk about it since they were all afraid of how he would react coming back from his rugby game making people think he had an idea why. Pete is dealing with the drama between his new girlfriend Ally and his ex-girlfriend Tina.
Peter’s younger sister Angela was an odd child even without her older brother being a hippy who placed George above everyone after playing guitar in all their scenes despite learning how to play, not like him.
Angela had been diagnosed with ADHD at age 8. Maria has been careful enough around these issues trying everything they could think of to fix it like diet, medication and even taking her to see doctors.
Even knowing these were likely temporary fixes, Tommy didn’t want anyone making fun of his sister and had a rule against this action being done, so now most of Angela’s attempts at self-harm when she does get frustrated without realizing the reason for them are met with harsh comments about where on earth Peter thought he should be playing rugby as that was all they ever heard him talk about and how he was going to save the world.
In addition, Tommy also did not want his children coming back from school angry or have them ever mention their troubles with other people as that taints what others think about him getting into similar situations when it’s just a short term episode of drama in their real lives due to Anna being there unlike Peter who is an attention seeker and Pete whose shy if friendly personality doesn’t make up for any issues with trouble-making.
Pete’s Experiences in The Criminal Underworld
Pete’s work with the police as a detective hired to find his childhood dreamboat Tommy Dawson and make sure that he doesn’t carry out some business deal for someone else can be seen in “The Bad Boy.
” Pete is doing this despite having an ex-girlfriend with whom he has bonded. His experience at being set up by other people to get him framed for crimes happens when Richie finds himself feuding over working on scams trying to con a client with whom he has become close before accepting of being used by the other party.
Pete’s experience as an adult working in the criminal underworld after retiring from soccer and living his dream is seen in “High Risk.” Pete’s experiences being in the business he is working with seem to have a controlling factor, putting him into situations where other people might want to solve their problems.
This can be seen in “Trial by Fire,” demonstrating Pete having friends who are into many of these things like racing and Mike Donovan, an ex-footballer whose life story could rival any sports legend, as well as seeing how much Pete was willing to do for his brother becoming a successful racer.
Tommy Dawson was walking away from his old love and seeing Rebecca in the privacy of her homework well as a major heartbreak moment for Pete’s character,
having been so much more than just someone he works with due to their prior friendship, which is strengthened when Tommy finds himself living next door to him again after almost over two decades getting an idea that Tom might be hiding something.
Though still not wanting to believe it except finding out that his former love has married a rich guy from whom she had gotten pregnant using Tommy as an excuse. This is also the point where Pete discovers that Rebecca’s father, who just died before the series began, was involved at some stage in his wife’s previous life, and he shares this information with Molly, which brings him closer to her.
Short Reviews of The Kid (1921)
- The Kid’s backstory is intriguing and well-developed, adding to the appeal of this film.
- The cinematography is beautiful, adding to the suspenseful atmosphere of the story.
- Overall, the acting is very good, making it easy to invest in the characters and their motivations.
- This film maintains a high level of suspense throughout, keeping viewers on their toes until the end.
- The revelation of the villain at the end is a very nice twist, making me argue that this movie deserves its “Thriller”-status. I also want to note that although Mike Donovan’s character may seem weak in comparison to other crooks out there, such as Michael Madsen (Kill Bill), Sam Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and Dustin Hoffman (Midnight Cowboy), it’s still far more impressive than any actor who plays a character in any other film.
- This movie ends the way it should, maintaining suspense and wrapping up things well.
Is The Kid 1921 Based On A True Story
As with all adaptations, it is impossible to know for certain who the characters are based on, and any similarities between them and real-life people are purely coincidental. For example, David Brown and Bill Bates are both based on Peter Brock, but their relationship with him appears to be more like that in the original Thomas Crown film than Tom Hanks’s character in Road Trip.
All names of characters quoted within this review etc., are fictitious, and any resemblance to other people is entirely coincidental. Whatever your opinion of the movie, there is no denying that it would be well worth seeing on its terms as a racing film and if you don’t like the cars then give it a miss!
Conclusion
When you talk about the great silent films, they have been one of the most significant contributors to the film industry. Some films were highly profitable in their day, but today, we take them for granted. The fact is that some films are still so loved by the fans and the critics that it is surprising that these films were made a hundred years ago.
FAQs
Should We Call This Movie “The Kid” Or “The Boy”?
There is no definite answer to this question as it depends on the context in which it is being used. If the movie is about a young boy who has to deal with some tough situations, then “The Kid” would be a better title. However, if the movie is about a criminal mastermind who kidnaps and tortures a young boy, then “The Boy” would be a better title.
Is There A Better Version Of The Kid Than The One Made In 1921?
There is no definitive answer to this question as it depends on personal preferences. However, some people may prefer the newer version of The Kid because it is more modern and has been updated for today’s audiences.
What Is The Theme Of The Kid 1921?
- The Kid 1921 is a movie about a young man trying to find his place in the world and how he deals with the loss of his father.
- The Kid 1921 is also about the power of friendship and the bonds that we form during difficult times.
- The Kid 1921 is also about the importance of family and how they can help us through our darkest moments.
Why Was The Kid 1921 So Popular?
The Kid 1921 was so popular because it was a well-made film that appealed to adults and children. It had a story that was easy to follow, and the acting was top-notch. Another reason The Kid 1921 was so popular is that it captured the public’s imagination. The film’s release coincided with the end of World War I, and many people were looking for something to take their minds off of the war.
The Kid 1921 also had a great marketing campaign that helped get the word out about the film. The producers hired famous Hollywood stars like Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Mary Pickford to promote the movie, and they spent a lot of money on advertising. All in all, The Kid 1921 was a successful film that captivated audiences worldwide.
What Is The Climax Of The Kid 1921?
There is no one answer to this question as it will depend on your interpretation of the work. However, some possible interpretations could be:
- The climax of The Kid 1921 could be when the protagonist, Kid 1921, defeats his arch-nemesis, Big Man.
- The climax of The Kid 1921 could be when Kid 1921 and his friends finally leave the city and start a new life.
- The climax of The Kid 1921 could be when Kid 1921 finds love and happiness.
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