Chaplin attempted to film many of the scenes on location near Truckee, California in early 1924. He retained only the film's opening scene. For two weeks the unit shot on location at Truckee in the snow country of the Sierra Nevada. Here Chaplin faithfully recreated the historic image of the prospectors struggling up the Chilkoot Pass. Six hundred extras clambered up the 2300-feet pass dug through the mountain snow.[3]
The rest of the film was shot on the back lot and stages at Chaplin's Hollywood studio, where elaborate Klondike sets were constructed.[3]
Lita Grey, whom Chaplin married in November 1924, was originally cast as the leading lady but due to her pregnancy was replaced by Georgia Hale. Grey appeared in the film as an extra.
Discussing the making of the film in the documentary series Unknown Chaplin, Hale revealed that the marriage had collapsed during production of the film; the final scene of the original version, in which the two kiss, reflected the state of his relationship with Hale by that time.
