|
Actors: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Georgia Hale
|
|
| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Gold Rush |
|---|
Gold has been found in the coldness of the Klondike and many people go up to the mountains to find gold and become millionaires. One of them is the Lone Prospector who travels through the mountain tops in search for gold. Meanwhile Big Jim finds a piece of gold in a mountain, but a strong wind starts to blow and he finds himself in a cabin with a big brute called Black Larson. The same wind blows the Lone Prospector into the same cabin. Soon, there is no more food in the cabin so they all draw straws to see who goes out to search for food. Black Larson gets the smallest straw and off he goes. The Lone Prospector decides to cook his shoe and the two eat it, but they continue being hungry and soon Big Jim hallucinates and thinks that he is a chicken. The Lone Prospector runs away from him, but then sees a bear which he proceeds to shoot. The weather calms down and the two set off on different paths. Big Jim finds the gold he found earlier, which just happens to be found by Black Larson who then gives Jim amnesia and then falls to his demise. Big Jim is left to wander the Klondike alone. The Lone Prospector arrives in a small nearby town where he falls in love with a famous model. However, a man who thinks that he is her boyfriend attempts to stop the Lone Prospector from marrying her.
--Estefan Ellison, Resident Scholar
|
Along with Keaton's "The General," this 1925 film is one of the enduring epics of the silent era. Chaplin's tramp heads for the Yukon territory to seek his fortune in the Alaska gold rush just before the turn of the 20th century. Mack Swain is his prospecting partner, Georgia Hale plays a dance hall girl who catches his fancy, and Tom Murray is Black Larson, his romantic rival. There are many classic comic sequences: the cabin hanging over the edge of a cliff, the "Oceana Roll" (a dance routine with forks stuck in a pair of bread buns), and the awesome boot-eating scene (which took 3 days and 63 takes to shoot; the boot was actually made of licorice and the star was taken to the hospital afterward suffering from insulin shock). Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, edited, and starred in the film, for which he shot 27 times as much footage as what finally appeared on screen. He also composed an original musical score added in 1942 (with a little help from Rimsky-Korsakov and Wagner).
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
|
| Analysis of The Gold Rush |
|---|
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- 19th century
Kind of comedy
- physical comedy
How much humor v. drama
- Nearly all humor
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- explorer
- unemployed
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- emotionally unstable
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard wavey
Body type
- (man) very skinny
Events of movie makes character more...
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (man) bald
Body type
- (man) muscular
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Eccentric:
Yes
- wild
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
- obsessed
- deluded
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) muscular
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Dumb
Physique
- bulging muscles
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Alaska
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Canada
Ice Caps?
Yes
Where?
- North Pole
Mountains/Cliffs
Yes
Mountains:
- climbing on trails
- falling off
Misc setting
- bar
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- very happy
- full of laughter
Check here if B&W
Yes
Any profanity?
- None
If lots of song/dance...
- lot of dancing
If this is a kid's movie...
- Ages 10-15
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Orchestra/classical
|
| Most similar reviews by Gordonator ranking |
|---|
| Playing the Ponies
starring Moe Howard, Curly Howard, Larry Fine
|
| Calling All Curs
starring Moe Howard, Curly Howard, Larry Fine
|
| The Flying Deuces
starring Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Jean Parker, Reginald Gardiner, James Finlayson
|
| Commotion on the Ocean
starring Moe, Larry, Curly
|
| Sons of the Desert
starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, John Elliot, Mae Busch, Dorothy Christie, Charley Chase
|
|
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
|
