Charlie Chaplin
The character is referred to as the “Lone Prospector” but anyone even remotely familiar with Chaplin will instantly recognize this character as his iconic “Little Tramp” complete with cane and mustache. The Little Tramp was continuing to evolve and Chaplin saw no reason to come up with a completely new and unfamiliar figure that would only serve to immediately distance the film from audiences.
Georgia Hale
The part of Georgia was written with Lita Grey in mind. Lita Grey was the underage actress with whom Chaplin has become sexually involved and whose pregnancy resulting from that affair produced something akin to a shotgun wedding. By production, Grey was pregnant and out and Georgia Hale was in. By the end of the production, Hale was in even more: that long kiss between the Tramp and her character wasn’t just acting. Hale also had to beat out Carole Lombard to win the part.
Mack Swain
At one point Swain had decided he could not put up with the physical pressures of playing Big Jim anymore and quit. After some time, Chaplin decided he simply couldn’t make the movie without him and lured him back into the cast. The only problem was that Swain had shaved his burly beard by then so Chaplin put the production on hold long enough for Swain to regrow the whiskers.
Tom Murray
The villainous criminal Black Larsen is played by Tom Murray, who carved a short career in silent films playing similar heavies.
