Mon gosse

Jackie Coogan, the cute little "kid' in Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid" gets starring billing of his own in this sentimental story. I suppose how you like this film depends on how you feel about little kids. I've always thought kids were great - if they're nice; if they're spoiled brats, you can have them.

Since Coogan's character in this film, "Jackie Blair," (and almost a dead ringer for the same child in "The Kid"), is a good-hearted boy with two strikes against him, it was easy to root for him.

In this story, Coogan plays a young boy who suffers a horrible consequence of having his mother die on ship en route to America. Before that, his father had just passed away in France. Knowing not a soul upon entering Ellis Isand in New York, he winds up tagging along behind a crusty old guy called "The Captain" (Claude Gillingwater). The old man doesn't want to anything to do with him but, out of pity, lets the kid stay one night. The Captain is in bad shape himself; overdue on his rent and so poor he can't afford his medicine. Meanwhile, two people are after the boy: somebody from the immigration office which now knows someone has slipped by them, and a rich old lady named Mrs. J. Montague Blair who is really the young boy's grandma. By the time she got word of young "Jackie's" plight, it was too late. So, she had people on the lookout for the kid, too.

What happens after that, you'll have to watch the show. I thought it had an interesting blend of sentimentality, action, comedy and drama. It reminded me in some ways of a Shirley Temple film, and that's not all bad!

In all, a nice silent film.....and I mean SILENT. This was part of the The Chaplin Collection "The Kid" DVD and, while the picture was cleaned up and looked pretty good, there was no audio to the film, no score. I found it weird watching a movie with literally no sound.

It's sad that where so many important silent movies are lost - or ignored which is the same thing - this undistinguished piece of juvenilia survives.

Aimed at squeezing more action out of the Coogan character established in THE KID, the team has mounted the kind of vehicle which would later serve Shirley Temple. This one has comic chase routines (the best element) in place of the songs but the bearded grandfather character could wander into Shirley's films and not be out of place.

Unimaginatively filmed (head room for characters to stand into) and predictably scripted (will Jackie be dragged off to the orphanage?) MY BOY has little to recommend it.

Little Jackie Blair arrives at Ellis Island, his father having been killed in France and his mother having died during the voyage. He manages to elude immigration authorities, and befriends an old sea captain. But the captain is out of work and behind on his rent. Meanwhile, Jackie's rich grandmother is searching for the boy.

Very cute and sentimental story, with Coogan in top form. Not as emotional or sentimental as "The Kid," but still quite charming with plenty of funny moments. Coogan's antics are adorable and so natural one has to wonder if he ad-libbed some of his scenes. Claude Gillingwater, as the captain, lends fine support.

This is a little gem. With the basic plot in mind, I'd recommend watching any of the foreign language versions, since the prints appear to be better, and the conclusion is more satisfying.

Jackie Blair's father was killed in France. His mother died traveling in steerage. This leaves little Jackie Blair (Jackie Coogan) alone when he appears at Ellis Island, and the immigration officials want to send him right back. Captain Bill (Claude Gillingwater) appears on the scene asking for a job—but he's too old and no one wants him. He sees lonely little Jackie, pities him and asks the eight Pinkosuwitz children to include him in their games.

Thus, the Captain accidentally engineers Jackie's escape. The orphan is mixed in with the Pinkosuwitzes when they leave the immigration building. When they find they've gained a ninth child, they send him on his way. This leaves Jackie to follow Captain Bill back to his very modest home—for which the old salt is unable to pay the rent. Jackie tries to make himself useful. He even sings and dances with an organ grinder to make money for the Captain's medicine. Little does either guess that Jackie's wealthy grandmother (Mathilde Brundage) has everyone in immigration looking for the boy. When Jackie turns up at the matron's party for unfortunate children, he may be reunited with her. Or he may go to jail when he's suspected of stealing her hand-bag.

Jackie Coogan had just become a hit—the first great child star of the movies—when he appeared with Charlie Chaplin in "The Kid." This film is a tepid rehash of the Chaplin film. The slapstick gags are indifferently conceived and spaced far apart so that they don't build on one another. The makers of this film have no idea how to sustain comic momentum in the way Chaplin does.

Nor can they deliver the same emotional wallop. Where Chaplin discovers Jackie as an infant and raises him for five years, Captain Bill finds Jackie already in boyhood and spends perhaps a week with him. The tearjerking scene from "The Kid," where the social workers tear Jackie away from Chaplin, has a weak parallel in this film. And instead of Jackie's wealthy mother seeking him, he is being sought by his wealthy grandmother.

This is still worth watching for one reason: Jackie Coogan. He is just as charming here as he was in the Chaplin film, and just as adept with sentimental scenes and slapstick gags, even if the filmmakers make poorer use of his talents. "My Boy" does have one scene I'll never forget. When Captain Bill puts a sleeping Jackie to bed, the little boy puts his hand on the old man's face. After the Captain covers him up, he takes out Jackie's arm and puts the boy's hand on his face again. What a lovely moment.

Five-year-old orphan Jackie Coogan (as Jackie Blair, "The Boy") arrives at New York's Ellis Island; his father was killed in France, and his mother passed away during the voyage. United States immigration officials want to take him back, but young Coogan thwarts fate by slipping through with a family of eight. With no place to go (but with cuteness to spare), Coogan tags along with grumpy old man Claude Gillingwater (as Bill Hicks, "The Captain"). Desperate for lodgings, Coogan seeks to make himself useful to crusty Gillingwater; and, his growing fondness for the boy makes increasingly difficult for Gillingwater to throw Coogan out.

Coogan's late 1921 follow-up to earlier-in-the-year hits "The Kid" and "Peck's Bad Boy" owes much to the former (Charlie Chaplin) film. Still, "My Boy" does rate very highly on its own. First of all, Coogan is, by now, obviously a remarkable young actor. Suspicions about the five-year-old's performances owing everything to "Kid's" Chaplin and "Peck's" Sam Wood are laid firmly to rest. Coogan proves himself, herein directed by Victor Heerman and Albert Austin, an actor to be reckoned with.

Coogan's characterization is incredibly natural, under the circumstances. He steers clear of the tendency to become mawkishly cloying -- the road, unfortunately, taken by many a "child star". At this point in his career, the credit must be given to Coogan's camp (perhaps, the boy and his father). "My Boy" solidified Coogan as a box office super-star. Gillingwater and Mathilde Brundage (as Mrs. J. Montague Blair, "The Grandmother") provide fine support.

There are (at least) two absolutely indispensable film sequences to watch for, in "My Boy": The first is when Coogan gives himself a bath and shower; his performance is wonderful. The second is when Coogan runs away from a party, after being accused of stealing a lady's purse; the resulting cinematic poetry might have left Chaplin feeling envious. Coogan dancing to an organ-grinder's beat is almost as indelible.

"My Boy" features one of the most endearing child performers in one of his best roles.

********* My Boy (1921) Victor Heerman, Albert Austin ~ Jackie Coogan, Claude Gillingwater, Mathilde Brundage