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.

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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


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Quotes from

No Quote for this film.

Facts about

The first try at getting the cannonball to shoot out of the cannon into the cab caused the ball to shoot with too much force. To cause the cannonball to shoot into the cab of the engine correctly, Keaton had to count out the grains of gunpowder with tweezers.
Buster Keaton shot most of this film outdoors in Oregon because the narrow-gauge railroad tracks that could accommodate antique locomotives were still in use at the time.
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.
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National Film Registry

The General

Released 1926
Inducted 1989
(Silent)




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Also directed by Clyde Bruckman




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Also produced by Buster Keaton




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Also released in 1926




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