The Gold Rush (1925)
Starring Charlie Chaplin, organist Russ Peck
Experience one of Chaplin's most beloved works on the big screen with live musical accompaniment! The Gold Rush is one of Charlie Chaplin's most acclaimed films; he was heavily involved in production of the film and considered it an important part of his legacy.
Set during the Alaskan Gold Rush of the late 1800s, Chaplin plays a prospector who gets caught in a blizzard and stumbles upon a small cabin occupied by two other men. Hunger makes them delirious, forcing them to eat one of Chaplin's shoes before a bear enters the cabin and becomes their next meal. What follows is a tale of gold-tinged greed, temporary memory loss, love at first sight, and inconvenient mix-ups that all get resolved by the film's end.
Upon its release, the New York Times wrote: "Here is a comedy with streaks of poetry, pathos, tenderness, linked with brusqueness and boisterousness. It is the outstanding gem of all Chaplin's pictures..." The film was added to the United States National Film Registry in 1992.
Fun Fact: As Chaplin waits for his lady love to arrive for a date, he imagines entertaining her with dancing bread rolls on forks. When the film debuted, audiences found the scene so funny that some theatres stopped the film, rolled it back, and played it again! Not easy when it's made of film strips...
Timeline for the Evening
- 5:45 PM - Doors open to VIP ticket holders for the Prelude
- 6:00 PM - VIP Prelude
- 6:30 PM - Doors open to GA ticket holders, pre-film entertainment begins
- 7:00 PM - Film begins