The Gold Rush
Short description
A lone prospector heads into the frozen north during the Alaska gold rush, hoping to strike it rich. Caught in a blizzard, he takes shelter in a cabin with two other men, one of them a fugitive and the other a prospector who has just found gold. Hunger and the harsh conditions push the trio to desperate measures before they go their separate ways. The little tramp drifts into a frontier town, where he becomes smitten with Georgia, a dance hall girl, and sets about trying to win her over while surviving the rough world of the mining camps.
Charlie Chaplin directed, wrote and produced the film, and stars as the prospector. It is the fourteenth of the twenty-two features he directed, following A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate and preceding The Circus. Mack Swain plays Big Jim, Tom Murray plays Black Larsen, and Georgia Hale plays Georgia, among a credited cast of sixty-three. The film blends adventure and comedy with drama across its ninety-five minute runtime.
Made by Chaplin's own production company, the film took roughly four million dollars worldwide, a substantial sum for its era. On IMDb and TMDB, audiences rate it highly, and its critics' rating is even higher, reflecting its standing as one of the most enduring works of silent comedy.
What's left behind the scenes
- The filming of the opening scene took place in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Despite the harsh weather, Chaplin demanded perfect execution of all scenes, with the number of takes sometimes reaching 25. Subsequent filming took place in a studio.
- Chaplin re-edited the film 27 times before arriving at the final version.
- Albert Einstein loved Charlie Chaplin’s films and once wrote to him: "Your film 'The Gold Rush' is understandable to everyone in the world, and you will certainly become a great man. Einstein." Chaplin replied: "I admire you even more. No one in the world understands your theory of relativity, and yet you have become a great man. Chaplin."
- Lita Grey was originally intended to play the leading female role, but due to her pregnancy, Chaplin was forced to find another actress.
- Chaplin's only silent comedy filmed from a pre-written script.
- With the advent of sound film, in 1942 Chaplin made a new version of the film, which included his own music and authorial text, which he read himself. Some scenes were cut, including the final one. Considering this version final, Chaplin did not bother to preserve the original from 1925, which was restored from various sources. This was facilitated by the fact that the copyright on the original was not extended. In 1956, the film was re-edited: Chaplin made minor changes to the text read by the author.
- 2,500 vagrants were specifically hired for one shooting day to play the role of gold prospectors.
- Several methods of simulating snow were tried (such as salt), including filming in actual snow. Almost all of the footage was reshot two or more times "with different snow".
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
