The Gold Rush

Title: The Gold Rush | 1925 | Silent Comedy Director: Charlie Chaplin Studio: Charles Chaplin Productions Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Malcolm Waite, Henry Bergman Release Date: June 26, 1925 Runtime: 95 Format: Silent, black-and-white, 1.33:1, 35 mm, English intertitles Country: United States Language: Silent Genres: Comedy --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Klondike trek and the Lone Prospector 00:20:00 Snowbound cabin and hunger 00:45:00 Dance hall and Georgia 01:05:00 New Year’s Eve and the rolls dance 01:25:00 Teetering cabin and reunion --- Summary: A lone prospector journeys to the Klondike in search of gold and becomes trapped by a blizzard with Big Jim and the outlaw Black Larsen. Starvation drives them to desperate measures before the storm breaks and their paths diverge. In the boomtown, the prospector falls for dance-hall girl Georgia. Misunderstandings, daydreams, and reversals lead to a final return to the wilderness, where a cliff-hanging cabin and a rediscovered claim change everyone’s fortunes. Themes of survival, perseverance, and romantic longing play out through Chaplin’s pantomime and set pieces. --- Background: Chaplin shot opening scenes near Truckee in the Sierra Nevada, using hundreds of extras to recreate the Chilkoot Pass climb, while the bulk of the film was staged at his Hollywood studio with elaborate Klondike sets. The original 1925 silent cut ran approximately 95 minutes; Chaplin re-released the film in 1942 with added music and narration, and that version received Academy Award nominations. The production drew on imagery from the Klondike Gold Rush and stories of winter privation to shape its comedy and pathos. --- Trivia: Chaplin repeatedly cited this as the film by which he wished to be remembered. For the shoe-eating gag, the “boot” and laces were made of licorice; the scene reportedly took three days and dozens of takes, leaving Chaplin and Mack Swain indisposed. The “dance of the rolls” became so popular that at the Berlin premiere the sequence was replayed as an encore; in London the BBC broadcast audience laughter from a premiere engagement. The opening ascent of the Chilkoot Pass was staged with roughly 600 extras, contributing to the film’s convincing large-scale imagery. The 1942 reissue condensed the film and added Chaplin’s musical score and narration, distinguishing it from the longer 1925 silent version. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: June 26, 1925 Original Studio / Distributor: Charles Chaplin Productions / United Artists Copyright Status: Public Domain Renewal: No --- Hashtags: TheGoldRush CharlieChaplin SilentFilm ClassicCinema PublicDomain 1925 Source page: https: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Gold_Rush_(1925).webm Direct media URL: https: //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/The_Gold_Rush_%281925%29.webm