The General
About The General
Western and Atlantic engineer Johnnie Gray is turned away by the Confederate Army, and Annabelle Lee will not speak to him until he wears a uniform. A year later Union spies led by Captain Anderson steal his locomotive, The General, with Annabelle still aboard. Johnnie chases them alone on the engine Texas, then he and Annabelle take The General back as two Union trains follow.
Cast & crew
More about The General
Buster Keaton co-directed with Clyde Bruckman and stars as Johnnie. The catalog lists only Bruckman. Wikipedia's introduction gives a $750,000 budget from Joseph M. Schenck; the production section says Schenck allowed $400,000; Wikidata lists a cost of $415,232.
Themes
Audiences
Wikipedia's introduction says critics and audiences did not take to the film, and that the cost kept it from a significant profit. Keaton then lost his independence and signed a restrictive deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Look
Devereux Jennings and Bert Haines are the cinematographers on Wikidata. Location work was based at Cottage Grove, Oregon.
Technique
A locomotive bought in Oregon was used for the bridge-collapse stunt.
Music
Wikidata lists Carl Davis as composer. The film was silent on first release.
Preservation
The United States copyright was not renewed, and the film entered the public domain in 1954. The Library of Congress placed it on the National Film Registry in 1989.
Notes
- The story comes from William Pittenger's 1889 memoir The Great Locomotive Chase. Keaton flipped the viewpoint so the Confederates were not the villains.
- The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway would not lease the real General, then displayed at Chattanooga Union Station, once it learned the film was a comedy.
- The company reached Cottage Grove, Oregon, on May 27, 1926. A third locomotive was bought there to play the Texas in a bridge-collapse stunt.
- Marion Mack, hired from the Sennett Bathing Beauties, plays Annabelle Lee.
- Wikidata also lists publication dates of December 26, 1926, January 2, 1927, and February 21, 1927.
- Writers on Wikidata are Al Boasberg, Paul Girard Smith, Clyde Bruckman, and Charles Henry Smith.
- United Artists released the film. Devereux Jennings and Bert Haines are the cinematographers on Wikidata.
Scenes
- Union spies take The General while Annabelle is still on the train.
- Johnnie finds he is chasing them alone after the troops are left behind.
Influenced by
- William Pittenger's The Great Locomotive Chase (1889)
- the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862
Also available
- Internet Archive (The_General_Buster_Keaton)
- Wikimedia Commons (The General 1926 720p.webm)
