Most critics respond warmly to The Gold Rush, with praise clustering around Chaplin’s physical comedy and his ability to make hunger and loneliness funny without dismissing either. The boot banquet, bread roll dance and teetering cabin recur as examples of carefully worked comic invention. Several reviews find the melancholy just as important as the slapstick, singling out Chaplin’s expressive use of space and the New Year’s Eve sequence for the strength of their feeling.
The differences are chiefly in the degree of enthusiasm, rather than any sustained case against the film. Slant Magazine finds stretches slack but admires the romantic emotion, while Collider’s preference for Keaton and Lloyd does not prevent it finding Chaplin charming, funny and poignant. The accessible verdicts range from appreciative to emphatic praise; two entries lack accessible judgements, so they provide no firm evidence of further reservations.