The General (1927)

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Directed by Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton.

Starring Glen Cavender, Marion Mack, Fred Vroom, Buster Keaton, Jim Farley.

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Buster Keaton plays Johnny Gray, a Southern railroad engineer who loves his train engine, The General, almost as much as he loves Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack). When the opening shots of the Civil War are fired at Fort Sumter, Johnny tries to enlist -- and he is deemed too useful as an engineer to be a soldier. All Johnny knows is that he's been rejected, and Annabelle, thinking him a coward, turns her back on him. When Northern spies steal the General (and, unwittingly, Annabelle), the story switches from drama and romance to adventure mixed with Keaton's trademark deadpan humor as he uses every means possible to catch up to the General, thwart the Yankees, and rescue his darling Annabelle -- for starters. As always, Keaton performs his own stunts, combining his prodigious dexterity, impeccable comic timing, and expressive body language to convey more emotion than the stars of any of the talkies that were soon to dominate cinema. ~ Emru Townsend, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Re:Recasting RAIDERS OF THE LOS ...
by mercurial in Recasting couch

hasn't rated it.

"Laurence Harvey - Indiana Jones Katherine Hepburn - Marion Ravenwood Basil Rathbone - Dr. Rene Belloq Peter Lorre - Major Arnold Toht Orson Welles - Sallah Buster Keaton - Dr. Marcus Brody Frank Puglia - Satipo Rudolph Valentino - Colonel Dietrich Ernest Borgnine - Major Eaton Circa 1950, this could actually have been made with everyone at an appropriate age to fill their roles except for Rudolph Valentino (The Sheik) who would be spot on as Colonel Dietrich except for the fact that he had already died. Laurence Harvey (The Manchurian Candidate) and Katherine Hepburn (Christopher Strong) would have that undeniably flirtatious tension between them. And what would be more fun than having Peter Lorre's (M) face being melted? Orson Welles (Citizen Kane), Basil Rathbone (The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes) and Buster Keaton (The General) were masters of the craft and could play any role. Frank Puglia (Now, Voyager) would play the bumbling local native perfectly. Lastly, ... " [More]

The General (1927, USA, Buster ...
by CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"After just seeing a movie that I feel doesn't deserve it's spot on the Sight and Sound list, here's one that definatley does. It's Buster Keaton's best film, the best Civil War film, and surely is one of the most perfect movies ever made. The film is based on William Pittenger's The Great Locomotive Chase, a nonfiction account of a real event during the Civil War (which Keaton, being illiterate, never read). Keaton stars as Johnnie Gray, a southern train engineer who is rejected from enlisting in the Confederate Army because he is considered to be more valuble on the railroad. This does not impress his girlfriend Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack) who refuses to see him until he is in uniform. A year later, a Union plot is hatched to still Johnnie's train and use it to destroy supply lines and launch a secret attack on Confederate forces. After the General is stolen, Johnnie follows in another train. What follows is one of the great technical acheivement in all of cinema... When it ... " [More]

The South will rise again...
by mrbuckyk in mrbuckyk Blog

loved it.

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"This is the first Buster Keaton film I've ever seen and I loved it. It was hilarious and some of his physical gags were jaw dropping in their danger and scope. Amazing to know he did them all himself. I liked the silent film style of acting. Nothing was really lost in translation. really large scale film. Interesting that it was a comedy set during the Civil War and the protagonist was on the South's side. Could you make a comedy were the protagonist was a Nazi??? " [More]

Silent classic that holds it's ...
by NevermoresRaven in NevermoresRaven Blog

liked it.

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""The General" is another one of those silent classics(like "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari") that seems to hold it's own 81 years after it's debut. I won't go in to the details of the plot, needless to say it's a slapstick comedy taking place during the United States Civil War(yes, other countries have had civil wars too).The comedic aspects of this film are great, and the slapstick works well. In fact, it tends to work better than most modern slapstick attempts. It's really simple stuff too, a guy falling through a hole in a bridge, or tossing a plank of wood over the train car he's trying to get it into. Yet it made me laugh out loud, which is something this movie should be proud of. The acting isn't really something you can comment on when it comes to silent films, because it's not like you can really get into a character if they have no voice right? So i'm going to avoid trying to comment on this for fear of being yelled at b ... " [More]

Re: Top War Films
by Risselada in Top 5

loved it.

"[quote user="SkyPilot"] 1. The Thin Red Line--I've never been in the military but the movement of the film feels very realistic, a hurry-up-and-wait situation. But since it's Malick, it's often slow-down-and-wait, too. 2. The Deer Hunter--By now we probably all know that there is no evidence for the Viet Cong forcing their prisoners to play Russian roulette. Fine. It's still one of the most compelling scenes in cinema history. 3. Apocalypse Now--not the Redux, in which the scenes had some interesting points or themes, but I don't think most of the scenes helped the movie. Except maybe the scene where Kurtz comes to the guys' cell and reads to him from--Time magazine was it? Still, you have a trade-off because that's the only time you see Kurtz in the daylight, and I like how in the original he's always in the dark of the temple. 4. Saving Private Ryan--UPPUM WILL YOU GET UP THAT F***ING STAIRCASE! It still does it to me every time. 5. Platoon--I don't have much to say a ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

loved it.

Buster Keaton perfectly balanced romance, action and comedy in his most admired film and personal favorite, a Civil War story about an engineer and his eponymous locomotive. Based on a true incident involving a hijacked Confederate train, Keaton strove to make the film as authentic as possible, shooting on location in Oregon to get the proper track gauge and sinking an actual locomotive engine at the film's climax (in reportedly the most expensive single take for a silent film). The lighting and composition recall Matthew Brady's Civil War photographs, while tracking shots following Keaton's locomotive adventures further displayed his technical expertise. The train became Keaton's supreme comic prop in the two intricately devised, and narratively mirrored, chase sequences involving his efforts to elude Union pursuers; the humorous business accompanying Keaton's retrieval of the General, and girlfriend, sent up romantic fantasies and war heroics. The effort seemed to be for naught when The General received negative reviews in 1927 and failed to make a profit. The General's reputation, along with Keaton's, however, was resuscitated in the 1950s; The General became Keaton's masterpiece, joining Charles Chaplin's The Gold Rush (1925) as one of the greatest silent comedies ever made. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Tags: silent , cannon , keaton , civil-war , right-time-right-place
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