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 #153 | 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

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

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 | railway chase | national film registry | general | 

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Taglines:

The tale of a lad, a lass and a locomotive. (Trade paper ad).

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | War | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 1927 (France)

Also Known As:

The Engine Driver

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

Johnnie's and Annabelle's clothes are dry, neat, and clean the morning after camping outside without shelter during the thunderstorm

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Quotes

[first lines]
Annabelle's brother: Fort Sumter has been fired upon.
Mr. Lee: Then the war is here.
Annabelle's brother: Yes, dad, and I'm going to be one of the first to enlist.

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Connections

Featured in Hugo (2011)

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Soundtracks

Wiener Blut (op. 354)
Written by Johann Strauss

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".