''The Child and the Tramp'' is a 1911 American silent short

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Bannister Merwin Henry Bannister Merwin (1873 – 22 February 1922), was an American poet, magazine editor, novelist, film director and screenwriter during the silent era. He wrote as many as 141 films between 1909 in film, 1909 and 1921 in film, 1921. He w ...

. It was produced by the

Edison Manufacturing Company The Edison Manufacturing Company, originally registered as under the name of the United Edison Manufacturing Company and often known as simply the Edison Company, was organized by scientist / inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas A. Edison (1847–1 ...

and was released on 28 April 1911. The film, a short, had an approximative length of 1000 ft of

footage In filmmaking and video production, footage is raw, unedited material as originally filmed by a movie camera or recorded by a digital video camera, which typically must be film editing, edited to create a motion picture, digital video, video cli ...

(one

reel A reel is a tool used to store elongated and flexible objects (e.g. yarns/ cords, ribbons, cables, hoses, etc.) by wrapping the material around a cylindrical core known as a '' spool''. Many reels also have flanges (known as the ''rims'') arou ...

). It adapts a story by Albert Mallory. The plot revolves around a

tramp A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English '' ...

who refuses to become a burglar and is welcomed into a family that adopts him as one of their own.

Plot

A contemporary magazine summarises the plot: "Reckles is a tramp who finds that two of his old road companions have "struck it rich" through a fake mining scheme. Some months later, "Reckless" lands in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

for the winter, and in asking for a "hand-out" is astonished to be received as one of the family and invited to dinner. He lingers to replace a broken toy, for he is skilled as a wood carver, and his work leads the father to ask why he does not work for a living." The family is ruined by the collapse of the Golden Valley Money Company, that the old companions of Reckless had robbed. Reckless manages to get hold of a part of the money and gives it back to the family on the child's birthday.

Cast

* Charles M. Seay as Reckless, 1st tramp *William West as 2nd tramp * John R. Cumpson as 3rd tramp * Harold M. Shaw as The Child's Father *

Miriam Nesbitt Miriam Nesbitt (September 14, 1873, in Chicago – August 11, 1954, in Hollywood) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Born Miriam Skanke, she studied at the Stanhope-Wheatcroft Dramatic School, before landing a part in Daniel Fro ...

as The Child's Mother *Edna May Weick as The Child

Reception

"The tramp has been the subject of much of the socalled humor of the comic papers and would seem very unlikely material for a hero, but in this story is again exemplified that idea that within each of us is a true prince if we would only allow the spirit to have its way.", wrote a contemporary review. "All the characters in this playlet do excellent work, but the tramp in the picture is so far superior to any we bave heretofore seen that we wish to mention him especially.", wrote ''The Billboard''.

References

External links

The Child and the Tramp at IMDb.com
1911 films American silent short films 1911 short films Edison Manufacturing Company films American black-and-white films 1910s American films {{Short-silent-film-stub Films directed by Bannister Merwin