 In his autobiography, Charles Chaplin (qv) revealed he had the  idea for this film at Pickfair, the home of Mary Pickford (qv) and  Douglas Fairbanks (qv). Indeed, his two friends and associates  were showing him pictures of Alaska and Klondike. One of them was  picturing prospectors climbing the Chilkoot col, which gave Chaplin  the subject of his next movie.