The Gold Rush
La Ruée vers l'or
Charles Chaplin
At the end of the 19th century, hoards of prospectors arrive in the snowy Klondike Mountains in search of gold. Among them is an adventurer with a bowler hat and a cane. Caught in a snowstorm, he takes refuge in an isolated cabin, which belongs to the bandit Black Larsen. There he meets Big Jim McKay, the owner of a mine that the bandit wants to get his hands on. Big Jim knocks out Black Larsen during a brawl. He loses his memory...
With : Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, Malcolm Waite, Georgia Hale
Screenplay : Charles Chaplin
Image : Roland Totheroh
Editing : Charles Chaplin
Decors : Peter Stitch, Mr Wood
Screenplay : Charles Chaplin
Image : Roland Totheroh
Editing : Charles Chaplin
Decors : Peter Stitch, Mr Wood
Production : Charles Chaplin Productions
Distribution: MK2
Distribution: MK2
Using historical facts, the opening scenes of The Gold Rush were filmed in the Californian Rocky Mountains. Roads had to be dug through the snow for the realism of the film and to bring in people and material for the film. The mining camp was totally reconstituted, and the two thousand five hundred prospectors were in fact tramps hired for one day as extras. The remarkable crowd scenes were overseen by none other than Chaplin himself. The British actor, director, producer, scriptwriter, writer and composer was one of the most creative people from the age of silent film. Through his miming talent and his clownery, he became noticed, going on to become one of the most famous actors in Hollywood, his Tramp character, complete with stick and bowler hat, has become one of the most emblematic figures in cinema. He mixed his comic world with melodrama and a critique of social reality, as can be seen in The Gold Rush.