The General (1927 film)
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"Regularly hailed as one of the greatest comedies ever committed to celluloid, Buster Keaton’s slapstick jewel uses a real-life incident from the American Civil War as the backdrop for bold and ingenious physical comedy. With a wildly climactic chase scene that earned its place in cinema history."
— MUBI's take
The General (1927 film)
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This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 1989.
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The General is a 1926/27 American silent comedy film released by United Artists. It was inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase, a true story of an event that occurred during the American Civil War. The story was adapted from the memoir The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger.
Why It Rocks
- Buster Keaton’s work led to one of the most important Civil War films in cinema. It moves so quickly that there’s barely any room for viewers to breathe. Compared to all of Keaton’s films, this one has the least jokes, and when humor arrives, it’s unusually bleak or even black. But then again, Its serious tone and historical context is likely a large reason critics favor this film over the rest of his films, and even various dramatic Civil War movies.
- The idea for the film came from a real-life incident where Union soldiers – led by James J. Andrews– stole a Confederate train in Georgia, headed north, destroyed track and bridges along the way, and was pursued by William Fuller – the Confederate conductor – who managed to catch Andrews before he reached Union lines. The film’s told from the perspective of a Southern engineer, as it would make the underdog character more sympathetic to filmgoers.
- For props and technical issues, Buster Keaton and the crew strived for authenticity. The costumes used for the film were meant to be based on Mathew Brady photographs, Keaton created his own railroad stock meant to resemble the engines and cars of the era, and he also based the production in Oregon, as the state he the unspoiled scenery he needed.
- It should also be noted that nearly 500 National Guard troops appear as extras, dressing as Union soldiers or Confederates as required by the story.
- Unlike a lot of films from its time, and even some today, there’s a logic to this film’s world, a sense that laws of physics still apply, and the geography of the frame is crucial.
- For modern-day viewers, it’s proof of Keaton’s mastery of film technique, including production design, acting and cinematography.
- For his films, there’s often a world outside of what a camera sees which his characters must interact with, and he pays close attention to the details of the setting. In this film, his character enters and leaves the frame from every quadrant, leading to gags on how he gets from one shot to another.
- The plot operates with clockwork precision where one action always leads to another (i.e.: the theft of a train results in the stolen object’s pursuit; or, the engineer character Keaton plays jerks on the throttle too quickly, and his passengers fall over). The gags and stunts took a great amount of preparation, and a lot of them were extremely dangerous, especially the following mentioned below.
- An especially noteworthy and satisfying gag is one of the film’s purest. A railroad tie had been balanced on a track to derail Keaton’s oncoming train. He sits on the cowcatcher holding another tie, unable to scramble back to the cab in time to stop the collision. But, he can drop one tie onto the other, using the principle of the lever to get rid of both impediments.
