The Twin Cities Organ Concert Series opens its 11th season with “Gold Rush,” a 1925 silent film, starring Charlie Chaplin and special guest organist Steven Ball from the University of Michigan.
This concert featuring a classic silent film with organ music will be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 20 at the First Congregational Church in St. Joseph.
Ball obtained his bachelor of music and doctoral degrees in organ performance from University of Michigan and studied abroad for several years. Ball has performed throughout the United States and Europe where he has improvised organ music for other great silent films, performed classical organ concerts and taught workshops. He is also an expert performer on the carillon. Ball is senior staff organist at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, where he appears weekly when not performing or teaching elsewhere.
In keeping with the tradition that First Presbyterian Church in Niles started where Ball improvised organ music for silent films such as “Phantom of the Opera” and “Ben Hur,” here is another opportunity to witness Ball’s dexterity as he creates melodies spontaneously on the organ while the “Gold Rush” film is played. You will hear the impressive range of sound Ball produces on a three-manual, G. M. Buck pipe organ located in the airy sanctuary at the First Congregational Church in St. Joseph. TPC Technologies Inc. located in Niles will also provide special visual effects to maximize the audiences’ viewing pleasure.
The film “Gold Rush” is filled with action, comedy and romance. The famous Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) travels to Alaska searching for gold. On his journey, he encounters some burly characters such as Big Jim McKay (Mack Swain), who found a large gold deposit, Black Larsen (Tom Murray), an escaped fugitive. There’s even a beautiful dance hall girl named Georgia (Georgia Hale), whom Charlie falls in love with and tries to win her heart. There are a few scenes in this film that may offend some, but they are quickly remedied by Chaplin’s wit and humor.
When Chaplin wrote “Gold Rush,” he knew that a good comedy has a little tragedy in it. As the quest for gold is foiled by blizzard conditions resulting in frigid temperatures and imminent starvation, Chaplin “breaks the ice” by writing funny and creative scenes that invite an audience to smile and laugh out loud in spite of the dire situation. Chaplin cooks and eats his old black boot with the airs of a gourmet chef, Charlie morphs into an appetizing chicken dinner in the eyes of a delirious Big Jim (Mack Swain), and Charlie’s dreamlike New Year’s Eve Party featuring the famous dance of the rolls are all fine examples of Chaplin’s sense of humor and creative imagination.
When Chaplin produced “Gold Rush” he based it on the actual Klondike Gold Rush of 1896. Chaplin became inspired by images of a seemingly endless line of prospectors hiking up the Chilkoot Pass, the gateway to the goldfields. He successfully recreated this scene by shooting film onsite for two weeks at Truckee, Calif. in the snow-covered mountains of Sierra Nevada where 600 extras climbed up a 2,300-foot pass dug through the mountain snow. The main film was shot at a Hollywood studio where an impressive replica of the mountain range was made out of timber (a quarter of a million feet reportedly) chicken wire, burlap, plaster, salt and flour. There were other unique models made such as the minors’ cabin to produce special effects. The scene when the minors’ cabin is blown by a tempest and teeters on the edge of a cliff is considered one of Chaplin’s most sustained sequences of comic suspense. It took 17 months to finish “Gold Rush, which was a monumental feat, and it was the most expensive comedy made in the silent film era.
The film runs approximately 1 hour and 36 minutes. A $10 donation is suggested.