The General

Among aficionados of silent film comedy, there are Charlie Chaplin people and Buster Keaton people. Being a contrarian at heart, I find myself somewhere in the middle, admiring both men greatly. I haven't seen all of either's works, but of what I have seen I might come a little closer to Keaton, who, as "The Great Stone Face," wrings out the sentimentality that Chaplin feasts on.

On New Year's Eve, I customarily like to watch comedies. After watching Fargo (see below) I put in The General, widely acclaimed as Keaton's best film and by some as one of the greatest films ever made, of any kind. Upon its release in 1926 it was a box-office flop, though Keaton thought it his best, an opinion that the rest of the world came to over time.

Keaton, who directed along with Clyde Bruckman, plays Johnnie Gray, a railroad engineer in Marietta, Georgia. He has two loves: his girlfriend, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), and his train, which is called The General. In his longish hair and stylish uniform, he cuts quite a figure as the pilots the locomotive, and is esteemed by all in town.

Then the Civil War breaks out. Johnnie tries to enlist, and comically maneuvers his way to first in line. But the recruiting officer refuses him, because he is valuable to the Confederacy as an engineer. In a plot contrivance, no one tells Johnnie this, nor do they tell anybody else, so he is seen as a shirker. Mack tells him she will not speak to him again until he is in uniform.

A year later, he is still running the train. Mack's father is wounded, and she is off to see him, taking The General. But, in a move that has historical background, Union forces steal the train. Johnnie is off in pursuit, though the flatcar full of troops gets separated behind him.

There are a series of brilliantly conceived comic escapades as Keaton doggedly pursues the train thieves, and one marvels today at how it was all done without the help of special effects. Keaton is actually running around on top of that train--there were no stunt men--and at one point climbs onto the cowcatcher holding a railroad tie. He also, earlier in the film and then at the end (with Mack, gamely) sits on top of the coupling ties between the wheels, and as the train moves he moves up and down.

The film works as both a comedy and a pretty good adventure film, with some heart-stopping moments, such as when an actual train crosses a burning bridge and then plummets to the Earth (the remains of the train was a tourist attraction for years). Though Keaton's expression never changes, one can feel the emotion of the moment, as he is both a patriot and a devoted boyfriend, as Mack has been captured by the Union. (Mack didn't make many movies, but she gets involved in some slapstick during their flight from the Union, including getting doused by the water tower).

I've only seen two Keaton features (the other is Steamboat Bill) and am shamed to admit I haven't seen Sherlock Junior. But I have seen some of his shorts--the delightful Cops is included on the DVD I have. That one includes one of the most brilliant comic shots of all time--Keaton, alone, running down a street, pursued by about two-hundred policemen.