Chaplin’s classic ‘The Gold Rush’ strikes again at Leavitt Theatre

OGUNQUIT, Maine — He was a comedic icon of the silent era, and "The Gold Rush" was the movie that he wished to be remembered for.

He was Charlie Chaplin, whose Little Tramp character was beloved by early film audiences and remains a global icon to this day.

See for yourself when "The Gold Rush" (1925), a feature-length film regarded as Chaplin's masterpiece, is screened on Wednesday, June 19 at 7 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Ogunquit, Maine.

The screening, the latest in the Leavitt's silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

Admission is $15 per person; the Leavitt's full dinner menu and bar service will be available during the program.

"The Gold Rush," a landmark comedy and one of the top-grossing films of the silent era, finds Chaplin's iconic Little Tramp character journeying to the frozen wastelands of the Yukon.

There as a prospector, the Tramp's search for gold turns into a pursuit of romance, but with plenty of laughs along the way.

The film contains several famous scenes, both comic and dramatic, including a starving Chaplin forced to eat his shoe for Thanksgiving dinner and a heart-breaking New Year's Eve celebration.

As a comedian, Chaplin emerged as the first superstar in the early days of cinema. From humble beginnings as a musical hall entertainer in England, he came to Hollywood and used his talents to quickly rise to the pinnacle of stardom in the then-new medium of motion pictures. His popularity never waned, and his image remains recognized around the world to this day.

"The Gold Rush," regarded by many critics as Chaplin's best film, is a prime example of his unique talent for combining slapstick comedy and intense dramatic emotion.

"'The Gold Rush' is still an effective tear-jerker," wrote critic Eric Kohn of indieWIRE. "In the YouTube era, audiences — myself included — often anoint the latest sneezing panda phenomenon as comedic gold. Unless I’m missing something, however, nothing online has come close to matching the mixture of affectionate fragility and seamless comedic inspiration perfected by the Tramp."

Rapsis, who uses original themes to improvise silent film scores, said the best silent film comedies often used visual humor to create laughter out of simple situations. Because of this, audiences continue to respond to them in the 21st century, especially if they're presented as intended — with an audience and live music.

"These comedies were created to be shown on the big screen as a communal experience," Rapsis said. "With an audience and live music, they still come to life as their creators intended them to. So, this screening is a great chance to experience films that first caused people to fall in love with the movies."

Rapsis achieves a traditional movie score sound for silent film screenings by using a digital synthesizer that reproduces the texture of the full orchestra.

"Films such as 'The Gold Rush' were designed for a specific environment. If you can put those conditions together again, you can get a sense of why people first fell in love with the movies," Rapsis said.

"The Gold Rush" will be screened with live music on Wednesday, June 19, at 7 p.m. at the historic Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., Ogunquit, Maine. Admission is $15 per person; the Leavitt's full dinner menu and bar service will be available during the program. For more info, call (207) 646-3123 or visit www.leavittheatre.com. For more about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Chaplin’s classic ‘The Gold Rush’ strikes again at Leavitt Theatre