The Gold Rush
Charlie Chaplin was one of the first great actors of our time. He was known for his silent films that portrayed his slapstick
approach to comedy. Chaplin also displayed a persona which was translated as being a “tramp”. He wore the same costume and outfit all the time, and became famous for it. Its important to note that since there was no sound in film at the time, portraying a certain look made it easier to communicate to the audience just what type of person and character Chaplin was playing. The Gold Rush was the perfect movie to display just what type of character that Chaplin was trying to be. He was a lovable loser that wanted to be accepted by his community and more so by women. He wanted to become rich, and successful. This movie was said to be Chaplin’s favorite and distributed in 1925 and grossed over 6 million dollars.
Chaplin as an actor and a director was known to be a very meticulous man. As big as a star as he was, Chaplin knew that to make a successful movie that everyone had to act together as a team. The scene was as great as its weakest link. Every single person involved had an important role and no part was small. Chaplin walked everyone through all of the scenes that he directed or acted in. The man had a vision, and knew exactly what he wanted to create. He realized that working in silent films that you needed to show and describe a lot with your own actions and interactions with others. The smallest expressions and movements could express more than words. For someone who did not have a lot of technology to work with at the time, Chaplin made it very clear what exactly he wanted to say and show to the audience at hand.
The Gold Rush showed exactly that. Each scene was cleverly written and executed. The scene where the characters are in the cabin is the perfect example. The audience knew exactly what emotions the characters were feeling. You could feel their desperation, and their pure hunger not only for food, but for gold. You could see the pure evil in some characters, and the innate goodness in others. There needed to be no words to describe how much Chaplin wanted to be accepted by his peers. The scene where he is at the dance hall for the first time proves just how much he wants to be just like everyone else.
I have never seen a silent movie before, and was surprised to find out that it would actually be close to two hours long. I thought to myself how on earth could anyone make an interesting story with no dialogue and sound? The Gold Rush really blew all of my expectations away. I never expected to laugh as much as I did, and I never expected to be genuinely interested in what was going to happen to the poor little tramp. This movie makes me realize that humor is not only about the things you are saying, but how you are acting as well. Movements, mannerisms, scenarios can all make a person funny, and Charlie Chaplin must have been one hell of a funny guy in person. It takes a lot to be funny with what you say, but its even harder to be funny with out being able to say anything at all. It is also clear that this pattern that Chaplin used at being in these funny scenarios that always lead to him either getting hurt, or almost dying, or being left out have become the mold for television and movies today.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/charlie-chaplin/about-the-actor/77/
