The Gold Rush
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| The Gold Rush | |
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| Directed by | Charlie Chaplin |
| Produced by | Charlie Chaplin (Uncredited) |
| Written by | Charlie Chaplin |
| Starring | Charlie Chaplin |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | June 26, 1925 (USA) |
| Running time | 82 min (original), 72 min (1942 re-issue) |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
| Budget | $923,000 (est.) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Gold Rush is a 1925 silent film comedy written, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin in his Little Tramp role. The film also stars Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, Malcolm Waite and Georgia Hale.
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[edit] Plot
The Little Tramp goes to the Klondike in order to find gold.
One famous scene shows the Little Tramp, starving, having to eat his boot; another famous scene shows a house teetering on the edge of a cliff, before its occupants (including Chaplin) manage to scramble out.
Another famous scene, parodied in the Simpsons (and the movie Bennie and Joon), involves the Little Tramp showing a dance to his imaginary dinner guests using two bread rolls stabbed with forks.
One sequence was altered in the 1942 re-release so that instead of the Tramp finding a note from Georgia Hale's character which he mistakenly believes is for him, he actually receives the note from her. Another major alteration is the ending, in which the now-wealthy Tramp originally gave Georgia a lingering kiss; the sound version ends before this scene.
[edit] Background
Lita Grey was originally cast as the leading lady. Chaplin married Grey in mid-1924, and she was replaced in the film by Georgia Hale.
Chaplin attempted to film many of the scenes on location near Truckee, California, in early 1924. He abandoned most of this footage (which included him being chased through the snow by Big Jim, instead of just around the hut as in the final cut), retaining only the film's opening scene. The final film was shot on the backlot and stages at Chaplin's Hollywood studio, where elaborate Klondike sets were constructed.
The Gold Rush was a huge success in the US and worldwide. It is the 5th highest grossing silent film in cinema history, taking in more than $4,250,001 at the box office in 1926. It is in fact the highest grossing silent comedy film.
Chaplin proclaimed at the time of its release that this was the film for which he wanted to be remembered.
[edit] 1942 re-release
The movie was originally released before the invention of sound film. For the 1942 re-release Chaplin composed and recorded a musical score, added a narration (his own voice) and tightened the editing.
Since the film was originally shot at 18 frames per second, the sound version, shown at 24 frames per second, is both shorter and faster than the original silent screenings. This has the side effect of making Chaplin's slapstick routines appear more frantic than before, a fact that had probably influenced Chaplin's decision to shoot Modern Times at silent speed.
[edit] Critical reception
In its original 1925 release, The Gold Rush was generally praised by critics. In the August 17, 1925 issue of the New York Times, Morduant Hall wrote:
"Here is a comedy with streaks of poetry, pathos, tenderness, linked with brusqueness and boisterousness. It is the outstanding gem of all Chaplin's pictures, as it has more thought and originality than even such masterpieces of mirth as The Kid and Shoulder Arms."[1]
[edit] Legacy
- The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
- The "roll dance" the tramp character performs in the film is considered one of the most memorable scenes in film history, although Roscoe Arbuckle did something similar in the 1917 movie The Rough House which also starred Buster Keaton . The bit was briefly homaged by Curly Howard in the 1935 Three Stooges film Pardon My Scotch. In more recent times, it was replicated by Johnny Depp's character in the 1993 film Benny and Joon and by Grampa Simpson in the 1994 episode of The Simpsons entitled "Lady Bouvier's Lover".
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
The Mack Sennett Comedies: Kid Auto Races at Venice
The Chaplin-Mutual Comedies: The Floorwalker • The Fireman • The Vagabond • One A.M. • The Count • The Pawnshop • Behind the Screen • The Rink • Easy Street • The Cure • The Immigrant • The Adventurer
Feature-length films: Tillie's Punctured Romance • The Kid • A Woman of Paris • The Gold Rush • The Circus • City Lights • Modern Times • The Great Dictator • Monsieur Verdoux • Limelight • A King in New York • A Countess from Hong Kong
Other films: The New Janitor • Chaplin
Stock company: Edna Purviance • Eric Campbell • Albert Austin • Henry Bergman
