THE GENERAL
1927
Starring Buster Keaton
Produced by Joseph
Schenk
Love, Locomotives, and
Laughs
» A box office disappointment
» Cost 750,000 to make; earned 500,000 in
America and another 1,000,000
worldwide
» Led to Keaton’s loss of independence as
a film maker and a restrictive contract
with MGM
» Meet with criticism (called tedious and
disappointing)
Keaton’s greatest picture
» Arguable one of the best silent
comedies
» Widely considered to be the
greatest train film
» Established comic anticipation
Interesting facts
» Based on a true Civil War story
» Union spies raided and seized a Confederate
train near Atlanta (Marietta).
» They attempted to ride "The General" back
into the Union, meanwhile wrecking
communications, tracks, and bridges along
the return way to Union-occupied
Chattanooga (about 140 miles away).
» Within just 10 miles of safety, the group was
captured and seven of the Raiders were later
hanged as spies
THE COLLAPSING BRIDGE
» In an unbelievable sequence filmed in
long-shot - and most likely the most
expensive sight gag in silent film history
at $42,000 - (it was filmed in a single
take that had to be perfect with an
actual full-scale train - not a miniature,
and a 'dummy' engineer at the controls)
The Collapsing Bridge shot
» filmed the bridge collapse in the conifer
forest around the town of Cottage
Grove, Oregon, using 500 extras from
the Oregon National Guard. They all
dressed up in Union uniforms and were
filmed going left-to-right before
changing into Confederate uniforms and
were filmed going right-to-left.
The Collapsing Bridge cont..
» The production company left the
wreckage in the river bed after the
scene was filmed. The wrecked
locomotive became a minor tourist
attraction for nearly twenty years. The
metal of the train was salvaged for
scrap during World War II.
The Genius of Keaton
» “The Great Stone Face” for his dead
pan, emotionless expressions
» In 1999 ranked the 21st greatest
actor of all time!
» Roger Ebert referring to his output of
films that he directed and starred in
from 1920 - 1929 called him the
greatest actor/director of all time!
The Genuis of Keaton…
» Orson Welles, director of CITIZEN
KANE, has stated that THE GENERAL
is the greatest comedy ever made,
the greatest Civil War film ever
made, and perhaps the greatest
film ever made
The Genius of Keaton
» Performed all of the stunts himself
such as jumping from boxcars, rolling
down hillsides, falling through the
bridge to the water below, and the
most dangerous - sitting on the
coupling rods connecting the
wheels of the train
The Coupling Rod stunt
» In the film the train starts gently and gradually
picks up speed as it enters a shed. The visual
effect of the forlorn Buster as the motion of
the side rod moves him gently up and down is
very poignant. But in real life, it is nearly
impossible for any engineer to start any train
moving this precisely. If he had not
accelerated by exactly the correct amount,
the rods would have moved so fast as to send
Buster flying, certainly injuring or killing him.
The Coupling Rod stunt
» The story goes that it took considerable
persuasion on Keaton’s part to persuade the
engineer to go through with it. (Note: this
effect could have been achieved by having
another locomotive off-camera pushing
Buster's engine, with far less danger to the
actor.)
Keaton’s life
» Father owned a traveling show with
HARRY HOUDINI
» When Keaton was 18 months old,
while Houdini was visiting, he took a
long tumble down a flight of stairs.
When the young toddler got up and
brushed himself off, Houdini
remarked, “That was a real buster!”
» At the age of three, Keaton began performing
with his parents in The Three Keatons, a
comedy sketch. Myra played the saxophone
to one side, while Joe and Buster performed
on center stage. The young Keaton would
goad his father by disobeying him, and the
elder Keaton would respond by throwing him
against the scenery, into the orchestra pit, or
even into the audience. A suitcase handle
was sewn into Keaton's clothing to aid with
the constant tossing.
» The act evolved as Keaton learned to take
trick falls safely; he was rarely injured or
bruised on stage. This knockabout style of
comedy led to accusations of child abuse,
and occasionally, arrest. However Keaton
was always able to show the authorities that
he had no bruises or broken bones. He was
eventually billed as "The Little Boy Who Can't
Be Damaged," with the overall act being
advertised as "'The Roughest Act That Was
Ever in the History of the Stage.
» "The secret is in landing limp and breaking
the fall with a foot or a hand. It's a knack. I
started so young that landing right is second
nature with me. Several times I'd have been
killed if I hadn't been able to land like a cat.
Imitators of our act don't last long, because
they can't stand the treatment.[10]
THE GENERAL
» Known for establishing comic
anticipation
» Note how everything that happens
in the first train chase happens in
reverse in the second train chase
» We know whats coming and it
makes it more funny
Sources of comedy
» stoic, unflappable reactions to fateful
calamities,often with events going his way
without much skill (his sword flying of its
handle and killing a sniper!)
» his ingenious and resourceful uses of
machines and various objects (water tanks, a
large piece of timber, a cowcatcher, a rolling
artillery cannon on wheels, and unattached
railroad cars),
» the unpredictable forces of Nature
Laughs, Locomotives and
Love
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The film has everything in it…
Civil war history
Action
Danger
Humor
Love
Drama