The art in film history: Charlie Chaplin perfected comedy

Picture your favorite comedy movie. You got it?

Is it funny because of the jokes or the actions of the characters?

Now imagine watching that same movie on mute, the entire duration of the movie. Would it still be funny?

In 1925, movies were silent without dialogue and sound effects, though not two years later this changed.

Even with this complication, comedy film was still very popular. This is the year Charlie Chaplin, an iconic director still talked about today, made one if his biggest hits, “The Gold Rush.”

“The Gold Rush” is about a man wandering in Alaska who finds solace in a cabin during a winter storm.

Down on his luck, the Lone Tramp, played by Chaplin, struggles throughout the movie to make it in the harsh winter as he searches for gold and in the mean time finds love with Georgia, played by Lita Grey — who would eventually become Chaplin’s wife in real life.

Chaplin was known for turning tragedy into comedy, and so it was no surprise to find out his inspiration for this film was inspired by the Donner Party.

The Donnor family was known for practicing cannibalism after being snowbound in Sierra, Nev., in 1846. Like the Donner Party, the Lone Tramp faces cold, starvation, solitude and for comic relief, an interaction with a bear.

The film is on the top 100 classic films of all time for its special effects.

Now, when I first heard this I thought of computer effects like we have now and I was confused, because obviously this was not possible in 1925.

But Chaplin was able to create a snowy, Alaskan mountain range set in Hollywood, which was rumored to bring in crowds when it was being filmed.

He also created an explosion in the film that, at the risk of ruining the plot, was prefaced with comic suspense that is said to be the best in history.

One of the reasons this film was so intriguing to me is because Chaplin is one of my favorite comedy directors/producers.

Chaplin began his comedy career when he was just 12 years old, performing on stage and in many films before he decided to starting producing films in 1917.

Although he is known for making people laugh, Chaplin didn’t exit Hollywood unscathed.

Other films of his I enjoy are “Modern Times” (1936) and “The Great Dictator” (1940).

In “The Great Dictator” Chaplin makes fun of Hitler and the Nazi Party, just one year after the World War II started.

Chaplin never received punishment or immediate backlash for this film, but was rumored to have said that if he would have known all of what Hitler did during his reign he wouldn’t have made the film.

What I found most comical in “The Gold Rush” is Chaplain’s ability to make me laugh based solely on his actions. He is a short, goofy-looking man who uses props and facial expressions to show emotion and action in the film.

Unlike today’s comedy, there isn’t a single pop culture reference or sexual innuendo in Chaplain’s films, adding to why I enjoyed it. This is how comedy began — clean and to the point.