Watching Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush (1925) is just like watching a live-action cartoon. There is plenty of slapstick humour, an undefeatable character surviving physically impossible situations, and of course a happy ending. By today’s standards it is heavily dated in terms of technology, but it speaks volumes about Chaplin’s talent that his movie is still entertaining. I also have a feeling plenty of cartoonists were inspired by his style in the decades that followed his success.
Charlie Chaplin is an icon of cinema and was at one point one of the biggest movie stars in the world. You’ll excuse if I haven’t seen all of his movies since they came out early last century, but I have made some headway in his filmography. I saw Modern Times at a university film course, and my fiancée and I recently enjoyed The Great Dictator that is now available on Netflix along with many of Chaplin’s other successes. The Gold Rush is a bit less profound in terms of content, but what it lacks in profundity it makes up for in entertainment value.
At slightly 95 minutes this is a relatively short film, yet Chaplin packs a lot of content in his tale. It features his iconic Tramp character travelling to the Klondike region of the Yukon in the late 19th century in search of gold along with many other prospectors. Sometimes this is a story of man vs nature, sometimes man against man, always with plenty of adventure and romance. This is all told in black and white, with no dialogue except for Chaplin’s narration, and the action was obviously shot on a studio with a lot of fake snow.
Even though a modern version of this movie would either be shot in an actual snowy landscape with computer generated images to enhance the action, you believe the Tramp and other characters are having a tough time fighting the elements. When the Tramp reaches a cabin during a snowstorm, the wind is so strong it keeps blowing him out through the backdoor. After spending days stuck with fellow prospector Big Jim (Mark Swain) hunger starts affecting their bodies and minds. Out of desperation they eat the Tramp’s shoe, which sounds disgusting, but the shoelace can conveniently be wrapped around a fork just like a noodle. However, that’s not enough for Big Jim, who soon hallucinates the Tramp is a giant chicken.
One of the film’s most impressive set pieces features the Tramp and Big Jim falling asleep only to wake up and realize the cabin has been moved several feet by a storm onto the edge of a cliff. Is that possible? Probably not, but there are plenty of modern movies in which characters find themselves in similar situations, only they are usually in cars or RVs. You have to give Chaplin credit for being one of the first filmmakers to come up with this gag and having a whole cabin tipping back and forth between solid ground and oblivion.
Chaplin also deploys his slapstick for more tender moments. While at a dance hall the Tramp ties his sagging pants with a rope attached to a dog, which becomes a problem as he tries to dance with a pretty girl named Georgia (Georgia Hale). In one of Chaplin’s most memorable moments, he imagines himself impressing her at a dinner by making a dance with his forks and bread rolls.
Even though The Gold Rush is almost 100 years old it remains very watchable and entertaining. At a time when films had no sound, Chaplin and his peers had to rely on their bodies to convey ideas and emotions, which is probably why they had such a global and enduring success. It’s easy to root for Chaplin’s Tramp character, whether he is trying to find gold or love, because like many who went looking for fortune, he started out with almost nothing. Like Bugs Bunny he always looks the same in all his adventures and just like Bugs he is an overall decent person who keeps moving forward despite all adversity.
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