The Gold Rush
2 Oscar Nominations·AFI #58·National Film Registry
A gold prospector in Alaska struggles to survive the elements and win the heart of a dance hall girl.
What critics thought
Near-universally regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, The Gold Rush earns that reputation through the seamless way its celebrated comedy set-pieces — the eaten boot, the roll dance, the teetering cabin — grow out of character rather than interrupting it. The lone dissenting voice at the time of release came from critics who felt Chaplin's tonal ambition outran his execution, arguing that the film's sentimental reach weakened rather than deepened its comedy.
“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.”
Mordaunt Hall·The New York Times
“the greatest and most elaborate comedy ever filmed, and will stand for years as the biggest hit in its field, just as The Birth of a Nation still withstands the many competitors in the dramatic class.”
Variety
“We do not wish to deride Chaplin. He is as deft as ever and far and away a brilliant screen master. He has made a serviceable picture in The Gold Rush but it seems that he is not as funny as he once was.”
The New Yorker
Genres
Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorCharlie Chaplin
StarringCharlie Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, Malcolm Waite
The Gold Rush
2 Oscar Nominations·AFI #58·National Film Registry
A gold prospector in Alaska struggles to survive the elements and win the heart of a dance hall girl.
What critics thought
Near-universally regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, The Gold Rush earns that reputation through the seamless way its celebrated comedy set-pieces — the eaten boot, the roll dance, the teetering cabin — grow out of character rather than interrupting it. The lone dissenting voice at the time of release came from critics who felt Chaplin's tonal ambition outran his execution, arguing that the film's sentimental reach weakened rather than deepened its comedy.
“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.”
Mordaunt Hall·The New York Times
“the greatest and most elaborate comedy ever filmed, and will stand for years as the biggest hit in its field, just as The Birth of a Nation still withstands the many competitors in the dramatic class.”
Variety
“We do not wish to deride Chaplin. He is as deft as ever and far and away a brilliant screen master. He has made a serviceable picture in The Gold Rush but it seems that he is not as funny as he once was.”
The New Yorker
Genres
Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorCharlie Chaplin
StarringCharlie Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, Malcolm Waite