The Gold Rush (United Artists) (1925)

CHAPLIN'S FAMOUS LITTLE MAN WINS ROMANCE IN "GOLD RUSH" Charlie Is At His Funniest In Comedy About Adventurer In The Klondike {Advance Reader) One of the many factors which stand out in the minds of the audience after seeing a Charlie Chaplin picture is that the film invariably closes with the Little Fellow walking away from the camera alone—his pathetically jaunty figure trudging to¬ ward the horizon—in the hope of better things to come. So, the audience leaves the thea¬ tre with a laugh on its lips but a lump in its throat, for such frus¬ tration in the case of the Little Fellow doesn’t seem fair. Life never metes out to him his fair propor¬ tion of the good things he deserves. For Charlie’s famous character is the symbol of all that is pathetic, good and kind in the human race. He never rebels except at an un¬ kindness or injustice done to some person other that himself. However, in “The Gold Rush,” which is slated for its local pre¬ miere at the . Theatre on ., Charlie veers away from the usual Chaplin formula. Perhaps when Charlie was writing this particular story, he, too, re¬ belled at life’s rough treatment of the Little Fellow. At any rate, in “The Gold Rush,” the popular little tramp not only gets the girl of his dreams but becomes a multi-mil¬ lionaire to boot. The story of “The Gold Rush” tells of the famous gold rush days in the Klondike where our hero suffers the rigors of cold, hunger and unbelievable hardships and nurses an aching heart all the while he goes on prospecting for the treasure hidden in the earth’s sur¬ face. Charlie appears in the role of the Lone Prospector and his sup¬ porting cast is headed by Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Berg¬ man, Malcolm Waite and Georgia Hale. Charlie himself wrote and directed “The Gold Rush” and he also composed the music which was directed by Max Terr. The setting of “The Gold Rush” is the Alaska of the Kondike gold rush with its dance-halls and dance- hall girls; with its miners old and young; with toughs and hangers- on ; with newspaper correspondents and photographers—a locale that teems with color and excitement, drama, comedy and romance. Charlie's Beloved Tramp Is Chip Off The Old Block The Gold Rush " Is Called Symbolical Autobiography of Great Comedian {Advance Reader) “The Gold Rush,” Charlie Chaplin’s next screen feature at the.Theatre, beginning on . ., is said to be a symbolical autobiography by Chaplin himself. , Rush.” 16A— One Col. Scene {Mat .15; Cut .25) ** Snow-CappedPass Is Scenic Locale Of Chaplin Story {Advance Feature) The famed Chilkoot Pass, the gun-sight notch through which gold-seekers passed in the mad j rush to the Klondike, is realisti- ' cally presented in Charlie Chap¬ lin’s great comedy, “The Gold ' Rush,” which will start a run at the.Theatre on. through United Artists release. The panorama of the pass was filmed near the summit of the high Sierras at an elevation of 9850 feet. Professional ski jump¬ ers were employed to notch out steps of a pathway 2300 feet long and rising 1000 feet up a precipi¬ tous declivity from a narrow basin, known as “The Sugar Bowl,” where a rude mining camp was con¬ structed. Twenty-five hundred extras ap¬ pear as “sourdoughs” for the cross¬ ing of the pass and it is reported, not a single man was hurt when this scene was filmed. This was considered remarkable since these men, untrained to “mushing” 'Ijff through deep snows and climbing over frozen ledges, were compelled to take many chances while carry¬ ing packs on their backs and haul¬ ing sleighs and other equipment over steep, precipitous places. The locale was near the crest of Mt. Lincoln, far above the timber line, on granite ledges, where eternal snows are banked. Comic Tenderfoot In “The Gold Rush,” called Char¬ lie Chaplin’s greatest comedy and / due for its premiere at the. Theatre on ., the world’s most famous comedian is seen as a pathetic tenderfoot struggling with hundreds of others who are in search of gold in the Klondike. Charlie Chaplin as the Little Fellow in “The Gold Rush.” 13A— One Col. Head {Mat .15; Cut .25) With that genius which is pecul¬ iarly his own, and against the back¬ ground of the old Klondike gold rush days of Chaplinesque concep¬ tion, the greatest screen comedian depicts with subtly tender and delicate masterstrokes the struggle of man’s eternal hunt for happi¬ ness, his heartbreak and tears and his laughter and joy. Charlie, of course, wears the derby, the cane, the baggy trousers, the funny mustache and the genteel cutaway. He waddles instead of walks, he is easily bewildered but he is also easily aroused when the bully is trying to put one over on any little fellow anywhere. Chaplin portrays a hard-luck sourdough who chases rainbows of the soul and heart in the midst of a mob that is chasing only one thing—gold. He is supported in the film, which he wrote and di¬ rected himself, by Mack Swain, Georgia Hale, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman and Malcolm Waite. Chaplin composed the musical score and it was directed by Max Terr. Comic Does Oceana Role With Finesse and Artistry Charlie's Dance In "The Gold Rush" Provides Laugh-Packed Scene {Advance Feature) Of course, the rhumba. La Conga and the rhum boogie have already taken the country by storm with the Samba now enjoying a wide vogue. But what about the Oceana Roll? That, in case you haven’t heard, is the dance created and featured by Charlie Chaplin, the world’s greatest comedian, in “The Gold Rush,” which is slated for its gala premiere at the . Theatre on . With the dexterity that puts the Little Tramp’s pantomime in a class by itself, Charlie takes two buns, a fork stuck in each, and does a dance with them on the tablecloth with such grace, such incomparable finesse, such outstanding artistry, that it becomes an unforgettable masterpiece. The poignant fade-out to this unusual scene, in which Charlie has been entertaining in his dreams the girl he loves, shows the little tramp forlornly asleep, alone in the midst of all his pa¬ thetic home-made decorations. This scene, of course, is only one of the many which Chaplin uses to illustrate and accent the many ironies of life as well as its sor¬ rows and pathos. Another equally unforgettable scene depicted in “The Gold Rush” shows Charlie serving a boiled dilapidated shoe in the best manner of a Ritz chef. Gay Comedy Scene In “Gold Rush” When Charlie Chaplin’s “The Gold Rush” is unreeled at the . Theatre next ., through United Artists release, audiences will see King Clown per¬ forming as he has never performed before. Among the most touching and humorous scenes in the film, Char¬ lie is seen doing the Oceana Roll in his shabby little cabin on New Year’s eve, entertaining the lady of his heart—present only in his dream. Later his cabin totters on the edge of the precipice — and eternity, but the little tramp goes merrily about his business. And when he and his fellow prospector are slowly but surely starving to death, Charlie boils an old shoe and eats the laces with relish as if he were doing away with a plate of delicious steaming-hot spaghetti. Dance-Hall Drama In Film Comedy Charlie Chaplin as a pathetic tenderfoot struggling along with hundreds of others in search of gold in the Klondike plus the Charlie Chaplin with the funny walk, the odd clothes and the bewildered ex¬ pression keynote the comedy and the drama that are unreeled in “The Gold Rush,” which will have its first showing at the . Theatre on . through United Artists release. Charlie, as a lone bit of human flotsam and jetsam, finds a ssonpa- thizer and a sweetheart—a girl in a dancehall, played by Georgia Hale. In her garish finery, she dances with the sad little tramp, who beams over her shoulder into the eyes of his rival, a wealthy min- .er. He becomes enraged and Char¬ lie, the Lone Prospector, trembles as he is menaced^ and decides that death, after all, is better than the loss of his dancehall queen. Charlie Chaplin in “The Gold Rush.” 19A— One Col. Head {Mat .16;CMt .25) Page Eleven