Seeing The Gold Rush (1925) at the Old Town Music Hall

Last night I had the incredible pleasure of watching Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush (1925) at the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, CA. This is a movie have seen plenty of times before on Blu-Ray and TCM. However as great as this movie is those ways, they pale in comparison to seeing it with a live audience. Film, especially comedy film, is an experience meant to be shared with as many people as possible and this movie certainly shows why. Scenes like the Tramp trying to get out of the way of the gun, the storm keeping him from leaving the cabin, him using a dog's leash as a belt and more are funny when you see them on your own, but they are flat out hilarious when you see them with an enthusiastic audience. You'd rarely hear such enthusiastic laughter when seeing any current film. It is such a treat to know I was sharing the pure joy of this film, with others who love it as much as I do. While this isn't a slow paced movie when you see it on your own, it goes by so much quicker, when seeing it this way. I was amazed and saddened when the movie ended. I wanted this great experience to last so much longer.

Being the Old Town Music Hall, we got not only the feature film, but some great organ playing from my very talented friend Edward Torres, a sing-a-long of vintage music, and an episode of a Flash Gordon serial. The audience loved this with all their hearts too. This is perfect to me as someone who believes going to the movies should be an experience and not just something to do.

I was very happy to see that there was a good sized audience there, and that the audience featured people of all ages. I was especially happy to see some kids there, because while we adults may love Charlie Chaplin, films like this can have a special effect on kids.

-Michael J. Ruhland