The Gold Rush
About The Gold Rush
During the Klondike rush the Lone Prospector takes shelter in Black Larsen's cabin, and Big Jim arrives after staking a claim. Starving, the Prospector cooks his shoe, and Jim sees him as a chicken until a bear becomes the meal. Larsen steals the gold and dies in an avalanche, and Jim loses his memory. In town the Prospector falls for Georgia while Jack crowds her. Jim finds him, their cabin tips on a cliff as they recover the claim, and the rich Prospector meets Georgia again on the ship home.
Cast & crew
More about The Gold Rush
Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, edited, and played the Lone Prospector. United Artists released it on June 26, 1925. The opening snow, including the Chilkoot climb, was shot near Truckee in the Sierra Nevada. The rest was done on the Hollywood studio stages and back lot. United Artists took about $1,000,000, and Chaplin's own profit was reported at $2,000,000. U.S. and Canada rentals were $2,150,000. The $4,000,000 figure is the worldwide gross given on the film's Wikipedia page.
Themes
In film history
Chaplin said at the time of release that this was the film he wanted to be remembered for.
Reviews
Mordaunt Hall, in the New York Times, called it a comedy with streaks of poetry, pathos, and tenderness linked to brusqueness and boisterousness, and wrote that it had more thought and originality than The Kid or Shoulder Arms.
Look
Roland Totheroh photographed the Truckee snow scenes and the cabin and dance-hall sets at Chaplin's Hollywood studio.
Music
The 1925 release is silent, with English intertitles. The 1942 version carries Chaplin's narration and a score credited to Chaplin, Carli Elinor, Max Terr, and James L. Fields.
Preservation
The 1925 version was not renewed and is in the public domain in the United States. The Library of Congress placed it on the National Film Registry in 1992.
Notes
- Mack Swain is Big Jim. Tom Murray is Black Larsen. Georgia Hale is Georgia. Malcolm Waite is Jack. Henry Bergman is also in the cast.
- In 1942 Chaplin reissued the film at 72 minutes, with his narration, sound effects, and a score by Chaplin, Carli Elinor, Max Terr, and James L. Fields.
- The 1942 version was nominated for Best Music Score (Max Terr) and Best Sound Recording (James L. Fields). Neither nomination won.
- At the 1958 Brussels World's Fair the film placed second on a list of twelve, five votes behind Battleship Potemkin.
- The 1925 picture entered the public domain in the United States in 1953 because the copyright was not renewed.
Awards
- National Film Registry, 1992
Scenes
- The Lone Prospector boils and eats his shoe while Big Jim watches.
- Jim, starving, sees the Prospector as a chicken and chases him.
- Their cabin, back on the claim, balances on the edge of a cliff.
Influenced by
- Photographs of the Klondike Gold Rush
- The Donner Party
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (The Gold Rush.webm)
