Movie #137: The Gold Rush

Movie #: 137
Movie Title: The Gold Rush
Year Released: 1925

Director: Charlie Chaplin
Notable Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Georgia Hale, Malcolm Waite

Short Description: A prospector goes to the Klondike in search of gold and finds it and more. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #58
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: #86
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 4/18/2016

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (Very Good)

Rationale: If not for the fact I watched the rereleased version from 1942, which contains a musical score and, more importantly, narration by Charlie Chaplin himself, The Gold Rush may have been yet another low scoring silent film. Thankfully that wasn’t the case as both additions added greatly to the movie. I thought Chaplin was very engaging with his expressions and actions, especially during the roll dance scene. Numerous times I found myself chuckling and thinking I wish Marx Brothers movies could be this good. The humor, which I would describe as a mild slapstick, never feels forced and over the top like it does in a Marx Brothers movie. I was also very impressed to learn that Chaplin starred in the film while serving as the director, producer, and editor and in the 1942 version he added narrator and music director to his credentials. Bravo.