The General

1/15/19271h 19m

Theatrical (limited) Release (US)

~ Buster drives "The General" to trainload of laughter. ~

Overview:

During America’s Civil War, Union spies steal engineer Johnny Gray's beloved locomotive, 'The General'—with Johnnie's lady love aboard an attached boxcar—and he single-handedly must do all in his power to both get The General back and to rescue Annabelle.

Director:

Clyde Bruckman

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$750,000.00

Revenue:

$1,000,000.00

Key words:

cannon
army
general
southern usa
spy
fiancé
bridge
engineer
attack
black and white
train
silent film
behind enemy lines
american civil war

Cast

Buster Keaton

~ as ~

Johnnie Gray

Marion Mack

~ as ~

Annabelle Lee

Glen Cavender

~ as ~

Captain Anderson

Jim Farley

~ as ~

General Thatcher

Frederick Vroom

~ as ~

A Southern General

Frank Barnes

~ as ~

Annabelle's Brother

Charles Henry Smith

~ as ~

Annabelle's Father

Joe Keaton

~ as ~

Union General

Mike Donlin

~ as ~

Union General

Tom Nawn

~ as ~

Union General

View full cast & crew

Reviews (3)

AG
Andres Gomez
Written 9 year(s) ago
10
Just amazing.

Really, really impressive scenes with the railway engines and a physically incredible Keaton.
CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
8
There's quite a lot going on here - it is certainly comedic, but there is also plenty of action and even some romance in this American Civil War story. Keaton ("Johnnie") has been deemed more important as a railroad engineer so was rejected as a soldier - but this causes his girlfriend "Annabelle" and her family to think he is yella'! When the Yankees concoct a plan to steal his engine "The General" whilst she is travelling on it; he must use all his wits and guile to get them both back and is soon caught being enemy lines where he learns of their dastardly plan to attack. Can he get back with his gal and tell his confederates of the Unionist plans? There is something about the quality of the images - they are pretty much prefect; even when the train in rattling along a-pace. There are loads of skirmishes supporting a properly constructed, and exciting, story with plenty of drama and sometimes some quite scary bits too, all jammed into just over an hour. The version I saw had been re-scored by Carl Davis and that added immeasurably to the pace and tension - and the romance - and helped create a superb piece of cinema.
James
Written 2 year(s) ago
7
This is Keaton’s masterpiece, a flawed one, yes. It’s not funny enough and the story could be developed more. But it is significant, flaws and all. The closest a film will ever get to flawed perfection.