The General

Overview

"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."

Product Details

Release Date:	03/18/2003
UPC:	0089218412898
Original Release:	1927
Rating:	NR
Source:	GOTHAM DIST. CORP..***
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[silent]
Language:	English
Time:	1:18:00
Sales rank:	60,995

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Marion Mack	Annabelle Lee
Glen Cavender	Capt. Anderson
Jim Farley	Gen, Thatcher
Frederick Vroom	Actor,Southern General
Charles Henry Smith	Actor,Mr. Lee
Frank Barnes	Actor
Joe Keaton	Union General,Johnnie Gray,Actor
Mike Donlin	Union General
Tom Nawn	Union General
Richard Allen	brat Annabelle
Jimmy Bryant	Raider
Budd Fine	Raider
Eddie Foster	Union Railroad Fireman
Frank Hagney	Confederate Recruiter,Recruiting Officer
Ray Hanford	Raider
Jack Hanlon	Boy Who Follows Johnny
Anthony Harvey	Raider
Ray Thomas	Raider
Ross McCutcheon	Raider
Charles Phillips	Raider
Edward Hearn	Union Officer
Joe Hisaishi	Composer
Lee Erwin	Composer

Technical Credits

Clyde Bruckman

Buster Keaton

Al Boasberg

Charles Smith

Clyde Bruckman	Director,Screenwriter
Buster Keaton	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Joseph M. Schenck	Producer
Al Boasberg	Screenwriter
Charles Smith	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

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.