A Major Disappointment

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Buster Keaton plays the lead in this silent era masterpiece that takes its inspiration from the Great Locomotive Chase, which in turn was a real event during the American Civil War in which a train was stolen by the North and sped over the lines in preparation for the coming offense.The General has some definitive upsides working in its favour. Buster Keaton is an amazingly versatile performer, able to go from clownish jokester to a saddened victim of war and poor circumstances in a heartbeat. The film is also really ambitious in scope. Keaton performs all of his stunts, most of them hair-raisingly dangerous and completely unimaginable nowadays. Plus, very little money is spared and the film famously has some of the most expensive set pieces and stunts of the silent era.The plot of the film is also a lot more cohesive than say in the films made by Charlie Chaplin in the same decade. Chaplin's films usually contain segments that have little to do with anything except the need for funny situations. The General is also a comedy, but with a clear, clean story arc.On the other hand, I didn't find the humour or the characters as captivating. They're okay, but in this regard the decades of cultural development between the film and yours truly work against the film. I just didn't find the slapstick all that funny.Still, The General is a great watch for all interested in early cinema or really involved physical humour.

Western & Atlantic Railroad train engineer Johnnie Gray (Keaton) is in Marietta, Georgia to see one of the two loves of his life, his fiancée Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack)—the other being his locomotive, The General— when the American Civil War breaks out. He hurries to be first in line to sign up with the Confederate Army, but is rejected because he is too valuable in his present job; unfortunately, Johnnie is not told this reason and is forcibly ejected from the office when he tries to enlist surreptitiously. On leaving, he runs into Annabelle's father and brother, who beckon to him to join them in line, but he sadly walks away, giving them the impression that he does not want to enlist. Annabelle coldly informs Johnnie that she will not speak to him again until he is in uniform.

"The General" is arguably Buster Keaton's greatest film. It is certainly a silent screen classic and was reportedly Keaton's personal favorite of all his films.In a nutshell, the story takes place during the American Civil War beginning in 1861. Johnny Gray (Keaton), an engineer for the Western & Atlantic Rail Road has two loves in his life: his engine named "General" and his lady love Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack). The General is stolen by union spies led by Captain Anderson (Glen Cavender) with Annabelle aboard.Johnny gives chase by foot, hand car, bicycle and train. He rescues Annabelle, steals back "The General" and flees the union encampment after learning of their plans, in order to warn the south. A large battle ensues and..................................Being a Keaton movie, there are several memorable moments:the crashing of the engine into the river;the scene where Buster is sitting on the side of his engine when it starts up;two instances at the water tower where just about everyone gets soaked;the scene where the box car Buster has been towing and placed on a siding, rolls down the siding and appears in front of him;the sequence with that sawed off cannon;the picking up of extra firewood sequence;removing rail ties from the track in front of the moving engine;the scene where the engine is spinning its wheels and how Buster deals with it;the unseen passing of the retreating southern army and the advancing northern army while stoking the fire in the engine;the Rock River Bridge sequence; Buster's broken saber as he "directs" the battle; andthe blowing up of the dam.There are also many funny pratfalls and other comedic situations too numerous to mention.Also appearing are Jim Farley as General Thatcher, Frederick Vroon as the Southern General, Charles Smith as Annabelle's father, Frank Barnes as her brother and Joe Keaton (Buster's father) as a Northern General.It's interesting that Keaton chose to have Marion Mack play her part as a bumbling helper in their escape. Witness the scene where she and Buster are putting wood on the fire. As she throws in a couple of splinters he playfully "strangles" her and then gives her a kiss.It is also interesting to note the various running times attributed to the film. IMDb lists five different running times ranging from 67 to 80 minutes. The version restored and released in KINO's "The Art of Buster Keaton" box set and upon which this review is based,is 75 minutes."The General" remains a classic of the silent or any other era. Keaton was never better.

Enjoyed "The General" and it was a quick 70 minutes. Buster Keaton, of course, is from another era, when motion pictures were more visual (before sound). They relied on sight gags and optical wizardry and "The General" succeeds in spades.Haven't really seen much of Buster Keaton but his stunt work was impressive, even if his deadpan brand of humor is an acquired taste. The film is very good but I would stop short of calling it one of the all-time greats, as the TCM host claimed. But the story moved at a good pace and was interesting and absorbing. Can't ask for more than that, can you?