THE CINEMA BEHIND STAR WARS: THE KID

Via Starwars.com:

WITH SO MANY WAYS TO DESCRIBE IT, JUST IMAGINE JAR JAR BINKS WITH A MUSTACHE.
Over the years, Ahmed Best and George Lucas have pointed to the films of Charlie Chaplin as an inspiration for the way Jar Jar Binks acted and moved, and one of my favorites exemplifies Chaplin’s influence on the character.

The Kid was Charlie Chaplin’s first feature length film (though it clocks in at just under an hour), and stars him as the lovable Tramp. The movie opens with a poverty-stricken woman trying to abandon her baby with a rich family, and leaves the infant in their parked car with a note asking for whoever finds him to love and care for him. Little does she know that thieves would steal the car just after she left. When the hoodlums discover the baby in their stolen vehicle, they decide to leave the infant in a random alley-way. Although the mother regrets her decision, the thieves have ensured that she can’t go back on her choice.

And that’s where the Tramp enters the picture. Centered in the frame, the poor Tramp who no one wants anything to do with walks down an alleyway minding his own business while people are throwing all manner of trash and debris at him. Almost by total happenstance, he finds the baby.

Click below to read the full article.