Charles Chaplin
The Lone Prospector
Subtitles off by default
Internet Archive · Charles Chaplin · 1925 · Public domain
Audience rating
Loading ratings…
Synopsis
A solitary prospector arrives in the Klondike expecting a fortune and finds hunger, snow and unpredictable companions instead. Shelter in a remote cabin becomes a contest of survival, while a dance-hall encounter gives him a different dream to pursue. Chaplin turns the distance between grand ambitions and immediate needs into a romance built from awkward gestures and ingenious physical comedy.
Cast
DirectorsCharles Chaplin
Inspirations
Photographs of prospectors on the Chilkoot Pass and accounts of the Donner Party helped Chaplin develop the film. Historical hunger and hardship became the starting point for invented comic situations; this is a fictional story shaped by those sources, rather than a reconstruction of one prospector's life.
Behind the scenes
The original 1925 film and Chaplin's narrated 1942 reissue are different editions. This Internet Archive presentation runs about 87 minutes and has no audio. It retains English intertitles and does not include the later score or narration; silent-film running times vary with the print and playback speed.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.
Availability checked on September 11, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Charles Chaplin — Strauss-Peyton Studio, 1921; published in Photoplay no. 3 (1922); National Portrait Gallery / Wikimedia Commons. · Public domain in the United States (PD-US-expired)
- Georgia Hale — Charles Chaplin Productions / United Artists; The Gold Rush (1925), United Artists pressbook; Internet Archive / Wikimedia Commons. · Public domain in the United States (PD-US-expired)
