Director: Charlie Chaplin Cinematographer: Roland Totheroh
With a mix of comedy and tragedy the film follows Chaplin’s Tramp as he travels to Alaska to take part in the Gold Rush, but bad weather (blizzards and avalanches) strands him in a remote cabin with a prospector who has found a large gold deposit. It’s a brilliant example of Chaplin’s gift for visual storytelling as he delivers one great scene after another (in particular the eating of the boiled shoe and the cabin teetering on the edge of a cliff). It’s probably Chaplin’s best performance as his iconic character and even with the memorable slapstick and dramatic scenes, it’s the emotional resonance, particularly the pathos and tenderness, that places it among the greatest works of silent cinema.
