The Gold Rush (1925)

• Year: 1925
• Released: 13 Jul 1925
• Country: United States
• Adwords: Nominated for 2 Oscars. 3 wins & 3 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015864/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Charlie_Chaplin_The_Gold_Rush
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: Passed
• Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
• Runtime: 95 min
• Writer: Charles Chaplin
• Director: Charles Chaplin
• Cast: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray
• Keywords: love, black and white, silent film, dance, gold,

8.2/10

The Gold Rush Storyline

The Little Tramp goes prospecting for gold in the Klondike. Conditions are harsh, there is little in the way of comfort or food and even less it seems in the way of gold. Thanksgiving dinner for himself and Big Jim Mckay consists of a boiled boot. Once in town, he meets the beautiful Georgia at the Monte Carlo dance hall. He finds himself in competition with the ladies man who has his eyes on Georgia as well. Meanwhile, Black Larsen – wanted by the police – tries to steal Big Jim McKay’s claim. Big Jim tries to stop him but knocked unconscious, he loses his memory. Back in town, the little tramp tries to impress Georgia. When Big Jim arrives, he regains his memory and he and the Little Tramp set off to make their fortune. Sailing home as rich men, the Little Tramp has one more chance to unite with Georgia.

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The Gold Rush Movie Reviews

A golden treasure

I love Charlie Chaplin and I love his films. As much as I love The Tramp(his most touching), City Lights(my personal favourite of his movies), Modern Times(has my favourite soundtrack of all the Charlie Chaplin movies, love Smile), Limelight(a beautiful film) and The Great Dictator(love the speech at the end), The Gold Rush is one of his more light-hearted films.

The Gold Rush looks very nice, with lovely cinematography, sets and costumes. The story is simple, but really well-done, fast-paced and involving, while the direction is very fine. The performances are first-rate, Georgia Hale is beautiful and contemptuous but it is Chaplin’s performance that holds The Gold Rush together. But I cannot not mention the comedy, there are so many wonderful moments that are well and truly hysterical including the opening sequence, the dance of the bread rolls, Chaplin and his companion hallucinating(the companion hallucinating that Chaplin is a very edible chicken), the way Chaplin ate the shoe leather, Chaplin dancing with the dog tied to his belt and the final scene in the cabin on the cliff.

Overall, a golden treasure from a comedy genius. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Classic Chaplin Gold

It’s the Great Gold Rush in Alaska. The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) is a lone prospector followed by a bear going up the mountain. Big Jim McKay (Mack Swain) has staked out a lucky claim. In a blinding snow storm, Chaplin takes shelter in a cabin where fugitive Black Larsen (Tom Murray) is hiding. Big Jim also finds shelter in the cabin. As time goes by, things gets harder and harder. Black Larsen goes off, kills some people and discovers Big Jim’s secret claim. Big Jim gets back and is hit with a shovel by Larsen. Big Jim wonders off with amnesia while Larsen falls off a cliff. Chaplin arrives in town and abandons gold mining. He finds the beautiful Georgia in the Monte Carlo dance hall. She ignore him until she needs him to help avoid a brutish customer. Hank Curtis is a good Samaritan who helps Chaplin in his time of need. While Hank is away, Chaplin is given the cabin. Georgia agrees to a New Year’s Eve dinner as a cruel joke on the Tramp. Big Jim arrives in town but he’s forgotten the way to his claim. He needs the Tramp’s help to find his way back to the cabin.

The scenes in the cabin are hilarious, iconic and full of life. It’s slapstick classics. There’re the shoe eating, the dancing rolls, and the cabin. The Tramp is charming in this and the shoe eating scene is the best example of that. The tilting cabin and the wind blown cabin are great physical comedy scenes. One can’t help but love the Tramp and Big Jim. The romance is the weak point. Georgia needs to show more care with her dealings with the Tramp. It would have been better if the joke was played by one of her friends instead. At least, she redeems herself in the end.

Chaplin’s best–what a film!

I’ve seen both version of this film–the original silent version from 1925 and the re-release by Chaplin in the 1940s. The difference is that the re-release was designed to appeal to a new audience that expected sound from their movies. To do this, title cards were removed–having Chaplin narrate the film. In addition, Chaplin-created music (for the most part–some were classical pieces), sound effects and singing were added to make the movie more palatable to the average viewer. I personally like BOTH versions and the one you watch is up to you if you get a copy of the Warner Brothers release on DVD–it has both plus excellent DVD extras. Otherwise, there have been a lot of public domain versions on video out there–many with terrible quality prints or music or both. The Warner version is the most pristine and beautiful silent print you can find. The version usually shown on Turner Classic movies is the 1942 re-release.

I use this film for my American history class when we do our unit on the history of film, though I might, in the future, use it for my Psychology classes as well (I teach both) because Chaplin’s genius came from his obsessive-compulsive nature. The movie reportedly had 27 times more film exposed than you actually see in the film and the shoe eating segment was shot after more than 60 takes!!

The plot involves Charlie going to Alaska for the Gold Rush at the turn of the century. Along the way, he has a series of misadventures that have been thoroughly discussed in the other reviews here on IMDb. Suffice to say, the supporting acting was excellent and the story kept an excellent pace and had enough slapstick to make it fun to watch (something not true of all full-length slapstick comedies–sometimes, their pacing was negatively affected by the transition from shorts to full-length).

This is a gorgeous, well-executed piece of American art and a must for any real cinemaniac. The musical score (arranged by Chaplin), direction, acting and cinematography all are simply perfect–making this, in my opinion, the best full-length silent comedy ever made. This is saying a lot considering how much I love Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton’s films!