The General Overview:

The General (1926) was a Silent Films - Romance Film directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman and produced by Buster Keaton and Joseph M. Schenck.

SYNOPSIS

Keaton's greatest achievement grew out of an authentic episode of American history - the theft of a strategically important locomotive during the Civil War. Keaton takes the train, belching smoke, on a single-handed wild ride, shielding his beloved while fending off Union soldiers. The chase sequence culminates in Keaton's grandest stunt as the train crashes into the river.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

.

The General was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1989.

BlogHub Articles:

Silents are Golden: A Closer Look ? The General (1926)

By Lea Stans on Apr 29, 2021 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Silents are Golden: A Closer Look ? The General (1926) Often called one of the finest silent films of all time ? some people even consider it the finest ? Buster Keaton?s masterwork The General (1926) still feels wonderfully fresh nearly 100 years later. Handsomely photographed and proudly recrea... Read full article


Seattle International Film Festival 2016: Buster Keaton on the Big Screen in The General (1926)

By KC on Jun 11, 2016 From Classic Movies

The General (1926) has endured as one of Buster Keaton's greatest features, because it perfectly balances the wit and physical abilities of his stone-faced hero. Today a near capacity crowd enjoyed a 4K restoration at the Egyptian Theater, with a new symphonic score from Studio Ghibli composer Joe H... Read full article


History, Hollywood, and a Famous Train: THE GENERAL and THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE

By Jennifer Garlen on Sep 29, 2014 From Virtual Virago

In The General (1926), Buster Keaton plays a Confederate train engineer who doggedly pursues his beloved locomotive when Yankees make off with it. Thirty years later, The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) tells basically the same story, this time with Jeffrey Hunter as the Southern engineer and Fess Par... Read full article


History, Hollywood, and a Famous Train: THE GENERAL and THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE

By Jennifer Garlen on Sep 29, 2014 From Virtual Virago

In The General (1926), Buster Keaton plays a Confederate train engineer who doggedly pursues his beloved locomotive when Yankees make off with it. Thirty years later, The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) tells basically the same story, this time with Jeffrey Hunter as the Southern engineer and Fess Par... Read full article


History, Hollywood, and a Famous Train: THE GENERAL and THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE

By Jennifer Garlen on Sep 29, 2014 From Virtual Virago

In The General (1926), Buster Keaton plays a Confederate train engineer who doggedly pursues his beloved locomotive when Yankees make off with it. Thirty years later, The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) tells basically the same story, this time with Jeffrey Hunter as the Southern engineer and Fess Par... Read full article


See all The General articles

Quotes from

No Quote for this film.

Facts about

In the scene where Johnnie and Annabelle refill the water reservoir of the train, Marion Mack said in an interview many years later that she had no idea that she was supposed to get drenched. Buster Keaton had not told her what was supposed to happen, so the shock you see is genuine.
In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #18 Greatest Movie of All Time. It was the first inclusion of this film on the list.
Included among the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die', edited by Steven Jay Schneider.
read more facts about The General...
Share this page:
Visit the Classic Movie Hub Blog CMH
National Film Registry

The General

Released 1926
Inducted 1989
(Silent)




See All Films in National Registry >>
Also directed by Clyde Bruckman




More about Clyde Bruckman >>
Also produced by Buster Keaton




More about Buster Keaton >>
Related Lists
Create a list


See All Related Lists >>
Also released in 1926




See All 1926 films >>
More "Romance (Comic)" films



See All "Romance (Comic)" films >>
More "Spies" films



See All "Spies" films >>
More "Civil War" films



See All "Civil War" films >>
More "True Story (based on)" films



See All "True Story (based on)" films >>