The General (1926)

When Union spies steal an engineer's beloved locomotive, he pursues it single-handedly and straight through enemy lines.

Directors:

Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton

Writers:

Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman

Stars:

Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender

Top Rated Movies #199 | 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marion Mack	...	Annabelle Lee
Glen Cavender	...	Captain Anderson
Jim Farley	...	General Thatcher
Frederick Vroom	...	A Southern General
Charles Henry Smith	...	Her Father (as Charles Smith)
Frank Barnes	...	Her Brother
Joe Keaton	...	Union General
Mike Donlin	...	Union General
Tom Nawn	...	Union General
Buster Keaton	...	Johnnie Gray

Storyline

Johnnie loves his train ("The General") and Annabelle Lee. When the Civil War begins he is turned down for service because he's more valuable as an engineer. Annabelle thinks it's because he's a coward. Union spies capture The General with Annabelle on board. Johnnie must rescue both his loves.

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Plot Keywords:

train | confederate army | national film registry | army | spy | 

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Taglines:

The laugh hit spectacular of the year. (Trade paper ad).

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The real "The General" locomotive, built in 1855 in Paterson, New Jersey, is at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia.

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Goofs

When Johnnie is chopping wood on the train, the piece of wood changes size between the different shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Her Brother: Fort Sumter has been fired upon.
Her Father: Then the war is here.
Her Brother: Yes, Dad, and I'm going to be one of the first to enlist.

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Crazy Credits

Although Buster Keaton is the star of this film, he is listed last in the on-screen credits.

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Alternate Versions

In 2003, 'David H. Shepard' produced 75-minute video version with music by The Alloy Orchestra.

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Connections

Referenced in Drunk History: Behind Enemy Lines (2019)

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Soundtracks

The General
Written by William P. Perry

User Reviews

It is more appreciated now than when it was released

This film flopped when it was released in late 1926 for several reasons. First, its premiere was delayed because "Flesh and the Devil" was such a sensation that it was held over an extra couple of weeks. Second, people came to the movies to see Buster Keaton the comedian, not Buster the filmmaker and director, which is more of the role he played here. The film was funny, but it was not gag after gag, like so many of Keaton's other films. Keaton plays a railroad engineer living in the South. A title card declares he has two loves - his girl and his engine. when the Civil War starts he tries to enlist, but is considered too valuable to be in the Army due to his profession. His girlfriend misunderstands, thinks him a coward, and says she won't speak to him again until he is in uniform.

Meanwhile, the Union forces have developed a plan to crush the South that involves stealing Buster's train. Unknown to Buster, his girlfriend is on the train at the time of the theft. Buster starts out in hot pursuit of the thieves to retrieve his train, still without the knowledge of his girl's captivity by the Union army.

Forgotten with the arrival of sound, the film revived - often cut up from its original length - in the 1950's because Buster didn't preserve his rights to the film and it fell into the public domain. That is the reason there are so many versions of The General out there today, often with poor video and hideous musical accompaniment.

Today The General is considered one of the best silent feature length films, and one of the few silent films to not only be on DVD but to get the Blu Ray treatment too. SHERLOCK, JR. is clever. OUR HOSPITALITY is hilarious. The General is both of these things. It's story driven, races to a climax, and is fueled by cute, clever, inventive gags.Buster recycled these gags when he was a writer for MGM years later in "A Southern Yankee".

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

None English

Release Date:

21 February 1927 (Canada)

Also Known As:

The General

Filming Locations:

34560 Row River Rd., Cottage Grove, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Buster Keaton Productions, Joseph M. Schenck Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min 80 min (1982) 83 min (1962) 75 min (2003 alternate) 78 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1