Special Effects in The Gold Rush

Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush isn’t notable just for its timeless gags; it’s also a superbly designed film with impressive sets and special effects. For a supplemental feature in our new edition of the film, we interviewed effects specialist Craig Barron to shed light on how Chaplin and his crew achieved some of the film’s visual coups. In this short clip, Barron breaks down the scene in which the side of a cliff collapses under the character Black Larsen, realized with miniatures and photographic tricks.