Comedy Drama and Charlie Chaplin's The Kid Comedy drama (also known as dramedy) is the fusion of comedy and drama. These works usually present a serious story, but approached in a humorous way. It is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. The plots typically revolve around a character who desires to achieve something that will be their personal fulfillment or who is forced to achieve it so as not to cause them any suffering. The attempts, usually frustrated, end up provoking laughter from the audience or reader. One of the prerequisites of this genre is that, after much laughter and tears, the character achieves what they desire and has a happy ending. In film, as well as in television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, and grief) are treated with realism and subtlety, preserving a humorous tone. The term "dramedy" began to be used in the television industry in the 1980s. Modern television comedy-dramas tend to have more humor integrated into the story, but generally contain fewer jokes than sitcoms. History In Greek theater, plays were considered either comedies or tragedies (i.e., drama): the former were lighthearted stories with a happy ending, and the latter were serious stories with a sad ending. Even today, plays are often classified into two broad categories: dramas and comedies. For example, many awards that recognize achievements in film and television, such as the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards, segregate several awards into these two categories. The 20th century saw an increase in the number of film and television works that could be described as comedies-dramas. In American cinema, Charlie Chaplin's The Kid (1921) is recognized as the first feature film to blend comedy and drama. The Kid is a 1921 American silent comedy-drama film written, produced, directed, and starring Charlie Chaplin, and featuring Jackie Coogan as his adopted son and sidekick. This was Chaplin's first feature film as director. It was a huge success and was the second-highest-grossing film of 1921. Now considered one of the greatest films of the silent era, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2011. Plot Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, edited, and starred in The Kid, and later composed a soundtrack. Innovative in its combination of comedic and dramatic elements, the film is considered one of the greatest of the silent era. Chaplin's biographer, Jeffrey Vance, states that, with its "perfect blend of comedy and drama, [it is] arguably Chaplin's most personal and autobiographical work." The film transformed Coogan, then a vaudeville performer, into cinema's first major child star. It is speculated that the depth of the relationship portrayed in the film may be linked to the death of Chaplin's first son, just ten days before production began. First National wanted to release the film as three two-reel comedies, not a seven-reel feature. Chaplin wanted the film to be released as a complete work. Releasing it as three separate shorts also meant that First National owed Chaplin a much smaller salary. Chaplin eventually removed scenes he considered too sentimental for modern audiences and composed and recorded a new score for the film's theatrical reissue. This re-edited version of The Kid had its world premiere at a gala in Chaplin's honor, held by the Film Society of Lincoln Center on April 4, 1972, at Philharmonic Hall in New York City, with Chaplin in attendance. Reception The Kid premiered on January 21, 1921, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The Kid received critical acclaim upon its release. The film received widespread praise from Chicago newspapers, including this review from The Chicago Herald and Examiner: "The Kid settles once and for all the question of who is the world's greatest entertainer. Chaplin gives some of the most refined, delicately shaded acting you'll ever see anywhere, and for every slapstick furor there's a classic, exquisite scene. His actions are unrestrained, convulsive, irresistible. The kindest grandmother would tear him apart. He's the best Hamlet alive today. Jackie Coogan is the best child actor you've ever seen. Women would cry just watching him. The Kid has two fists. His right glove is full of pearls of tears, his left with the horseshoe of laughter. The film is perfect. Six reels that feel like one; seven reels funnier than any other human being's work; seven reels that are sadder and simpler than anything in movies; seven reels that will atone for everything the cinema has ever done." Legacy Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance writes about the legacy of Chaplin's The Kid: "The Kid remains an important contribution to the art of film, not only for its innovative use of dramatic sequences in a feature-length comedy, but also for the revelations The Kid provides about its creator. Undoubtedly, when Chaplin wrote the preface to The Kid, "A film with a smile—and perhaps a tear," he had his own artistic credo—and life—in mind." Mary Pickford said of the film: "The Kid is one of the finest examples of screen language relying on its actions rather than intertitles." In December 2011, The Kid was chosen for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. The record declared the film "an artful fusion of touching drama, social commentary, and inventive comedy" and praised Chaplin's ability to "sustain his art beyond the length of his usual short subjects and could skillfully elicit a variety of emotions from his audience by deftly blending slapstick and pathos." In 2016, the Dallas Chamber Symphony commissioned an original score for The Kid from composer Craig Safan. The score premiered during a concert performance on February 21, 2017, at Moody Performance Hall with Richard McKay conducting. As of January 2021, "The Kid" has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 50 reviews, with a weighted average of 8.6/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Charles Chaplin's irascible Tramp is capably supported by Jackie Coogan as "The Kid" in this slapstick masterpiece, balancing laughs with moments of disarming poignancy." Alex