Kebeh Sando

“The Gold Rush”  Screening Report

In class we have discussed about the introduction to American films and how films have developed over the years. We have seen technical developments such as the kinetoscope, which was used to view a short film by one individual at a time through a peephole. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector but it was the beginning to something much more, which led to films such as the Gold rush. The Gold rush is a film produced by Charles Chaplin, according to sources he was one of the greatest entertainer of his time. His silent film “The gold Rush” was at the time where film development was booming, motion pictures was more sophisticated than previous years,longer in time length, consisted of more actions and understanding of the story being watch.

According to the article from Sierra College Press, by 1924 Charles Chaplin was the highest paid actor, and the Gold Rush was something he cherished and wanted to be remembered by. Chaplin was fascinated with the story of the Donner Party and he endeavored to develop a movie that built upon the themes of enduring great hardships in pursuit of immense riches or a better life. He chose Alaska’s Yukon Gold Rush of 1898 as his setting. Unfortunately Chaplin was too expensive and no studio could afford him, so he contracted with independent film industries and profited half of their revenue with films he was in.

Going back to the development of motion pictures and the few struggles of production, it seem as though most films did not take a lot of time to make. Taking into perspective the time these films were made, probably few of the actors and actresses were local citizens and not professional. Meanwhile learning that “Gold Rush” took seventeen months to complete is an amazing growth in that time period. According to the article,  most films in those years were completed in less than 30 days. It cost $923,886,the most expensive comedy of the entire silent-film era. This article was very helpful in the way that it allowed me to see the work put into this silent film compared to others in that time period; which is one reason why even in the 21st century I enjoyed the film.

The Film was very entertaining. Especially these few funny and surprising scenes such as ,scenes of the hungry men  eating a boiled shoe, battling with a cabin that is seesawing on the edge of a cliff, and performing a remarkable dance using two forks stuck into bread rolls, and the bear chasing and following Chaplin on his journey without and realization of the danger he may have been in. I also admired the way the story was told, it being a love story in a comedic form. There was messages to each person in the audience to receive; whether it be the love story message of love is sweet and not harsh, or the comedic message do not look down on people anything can happen, the film was magnificent.