film

Written and directed by Charlie Chaplin, who also stars in his Little Tramp persona, The Gold Rush (1925) is a landmark in early cinema history that expertly blends comedy, romance and adventure during the Klondike Gold Rush. The Little Tramp heads to the Yukon in search of fortune but ends up facing harsh winters and hunger, as well as finding unexpected companionship.

This movie came at the height of Chaplin's powers and the height of the Little Tramp's popularity, and is forever imbued with the power of watching a bona fide phenomenon in action. The Gold Rush was particularly notable for its visual gags, several of which, including the "roll dance", with dinner rolls on forks, and Chaplin eating his shoe, became cultural touchstones still regularly parodied and referenced a century on.