In this exciting first-hand account of an unexpected cinematic discovery, Michael Gates delves into the history behind a hoard of silent films found buried beneath the permafrost of an Arctic gold rush town. In 1978, hundreds of reels of silent films were unearthed from beneath the demolished site of an old hockey arena in Dawson City, Yukon. Author Michael Gates witnessed the cinematic discovery of these once-lost films—and in this book excavates and illuminates the history of a gold rush town like no other. An event in the most unlikely of places and circumstances, the Klondike gold rush was unique in the history of Canada and the development of the North. Dawson City, the “Paris of the North,” was the hub of the Klondike gold rush 125 years ago. There were more saloons, gambling halls and theatres than there were places serving food, and the live theatre was at the centre of it all. Discover the icons who went from the Klondike to Hollywood: Robert Service, Jack London, Charlie Chaplin, Alexander Pantages, Sid Grauman, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Marjorie Rambeau and more. Join Gates on this cinematic journey as he ponders the question: Did the Klondike help make Hollywood, or did Hollywood make the Klondike? Crafted from Gates’s first-hand experience and extensive research, Hollywood in the Klondike casts a spotlight on an exciting piece of Canadian history.

In this exciting first-hand account of an unexpected cinematic discovery, Michael Gates delves into the history behind a hoard of silent films found buried beneath the permafrost of an Arctic gold rush town. In 1978, hundreds of reels of silent films were unearthed from beneath the demolished site of an old hockey arena in Dawson City, Yukon. Author Michael Gates witnessed the cinematic discovery of these once-lost films--and in this book excavates and illuminates the history of a gold rush town like no other. An event in the most unlikely of places and circumstances, the Klondike gold rush was unique in the history of Canada and the development of the North. Dawson City, the "Paris of the North," was the hub of the Klondike gold rush 125 years ago. There were more saloons, gambling halls and theatres than there were places serving food, and the live theatre was at the centre of it all. Discover the icons who went from the Klondike to Hollywood: Robert Service, Jack London, Charlie Chaplin, Alexander Pantages, Sid Grauman, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Marjorie Rambeau and more. Join Gates on this cinematic journey as he ponders the question: Did the Klondike help make Hollywood, or did Hollywood make the Klondike? Crafted from Gates's first-hand experience and extensive research, Hollywood in the Klondike casts a spotlight on an exciting piece of Canadian history.

First published in 1954, this is a true story of love and adventure which traces the history of Dawson City through the eyes of a young schoolteacher from Canada and the penniless Yukon miner she married... “This is a brave book. It is a record of a woman’s courage and devotion in a hostile land. It is the story of a refined and sensitive girl who found happiness the hard way, and triumphed over conditions that would have driven most women to distraction. It is also a tribute to a husband who with hand, heart and head was outstanding in a world of worthy men. “I have read many books on the Yukon, but this is different...It is the gallant personality of the author which shines on every page, and makes her chronicle a saga of the High North.” (Robert W. Service, Preface)

This book examines major British and American missionary films during the Golden Age of Hollywood to explore the significance of race, gender, and spirituality in relation to the lives of the missionaries portrayed in film during the middle third of the twentieth century. Film both influences and reflects culture, and racial, gender, and religious identities are some of the most debated issues globally today. In the movies explored in this book, missionary interactions with various people groups reflect the historical changes which took place during this time.

After a series of sex scandals rocked the film industry in 1922, movie moguls hired Will Hays to clear the image of movies. Hays tried a variety of ways to regulate movies before adopting what became known as the production code. Written in 1930 by a St Louis priest, the code stipulated that movies stress proper behaviour, respect for government, and 'Christian values'. The Catholic Church reinforced these efforts by launching its Legion of Decency in 1934. Intended to force Hays and Hollywood to censor films, the Legion of Decency engineered the appointment of Joseph Breen as head of the Production Code Administration. For the next three decades, Breen, Hays, and the Catholic Legion of Decency virtually controlled the content of all Hollywood films.

No event in our history is more legendary than the Yukon Gold Rush of 1896. On August 16, when rich gold deposits were discovered in Bonanza Creek, 100,000 prospectors set off for the newly created Dawson City in search of instant wealth. Hungry miners hoped for the one big strike; others, for prosperity in this instant boom town; some, for the adventure of a lifetime. Charlotte Gray, one of our best writers of non-fiction, tells the story of the Gold Rush through the intimate lives of six extraordinary people: the saintly priest Father Judge; the feisty entrepreneur Belinda Mulrooney; the struggling writer Jack London; the imperious British journalist Flora Shaw; the legendary Sam Steele of the Mounties; and the prospector William Haskell. Brilliantly interweaving their stories, Gray creates a fascinating panorama of a frontier town where desperados, saloon keepers, gamblers, dance hall girls, churchmen and law-makers were thrown together in a volatile time. Beautifully illustrated with period photographs and documents of the Gold Rush, Gold Diggers is a colourful and entertaining journey into a world gone mad for gold.

“No part of the Empire has given up more completely of her splendid men than Yukon ... Such being the case, the Dominion should not be forgetful of this region—the Empire’s farthest North, and take pride in the encouragement of the spirit that dominates the people of the Land of the Midnight Sun.” —Dawson Daily News, May 15, 1918 Nearly a thousand Yukoners, a quarter of the population, enlisted before the end of the Great War. They were lawyers, bankers, piano tuners, dockworkers and miners who became soldiers, nurses and snipers; brave men and women who traded the isolated beauty of the north for the muddy, crowded horror of the battlefields. Those who stayed home were no less important to the war’s outcome—by March of 1916, the Dawson Daily News estimated that Yukoners had donated often and generously at a rate of $12 per capita compared to the dollar per person donated elsewhere in the country. Historian Michael Gates tells us the stories of both those who left and those on the home front, including the adventures of Joe Boyle, who successfully escorted the Romanian crown jewels on a 1,300-kilometre journey through Russia in spite of robbers, ambushes, gunfire, explosions, fuel shortages and barricades. Gates also recounts the home-front efforts of Martha Black, who raised thousands of dollars and eventually travelled to Europe where she acted as an advocate for the Yukon boys. Stories of these heroes and many others are vividly recounted with impeccable research.