Britannica explains that “The Gold Rush,” released in 1925, centers on Chaplin’s Little Tramp character as a gold miner. Set in the late 1800s, the lone prospector, as he’s called, makes his way through Alaska while he encounters danger, starvation, and of course, love (per Smithsonian Magazine). According to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Chaplin was inspired to write the film when he saw photos of the Klondike Gold Rush at the home of fellow stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Additionally, he was said to have been inspired by the Donner Party after reading a book about the incident.
Both of these moments in history led Chaplin to write a film that demonstrated the horrors that one sometimes endures on the road to success (per Sierra College). Nevertheless, he did it by using comedy and adding a happy ending. Filming “The Gold Rush,” however, was grueling and expensive. Chaplin’s love interest became pregnant and had to be replaced by another actress. Filming took place in rural Truckee, California, to provide authenticity.
In a time when films were finished in one month, The Donner Summit Historical Society writes that “The Gold Rush” took a year and a half to complete. All in all, it cost nearly $1 million and was considered to be one the most expensive films made in the silent-film era (via Smithsonian Magazine).
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