USA 75m Dir: Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton Key Cast: Buster Keaton
Based on: The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger (Memoir)
The General was one of the first silent films I ever watched having only seen a few Charlie Chaplin films prior to and was therefore my first exposure to Buster Keaton.
I was expecting a Chaplin-esque film here but this is of a very different style. Most of Chaplin's films are essentially a series of sketches linked by a theme whereas The General has a very clear plot. It actually depicts a real event of the American Civil War, the great locomotive chase. Train engineer Johnnie Gray (Keaton) makes chase when Union spies steal his engine The General and he works to return the train and stop the spies from preventing supplies reaching the confederate army. Gray finds he must also rescue the love of his life Annabelle (Marion Mack) who has been taken prisoner by the spies.
I didn't find this anywhere near as funny as Chaplin's films but then again I don't think it's intended to be. It's certainly light-hearted in it's approach but this is an action-adventure film first and foremost and shares the same DNA as films like Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's a fun, escapist adventure rather than a laugh a minute comedy.
By focusing on narrative, the film doesn't really have any depth to it's characters. I suppose that's one of the biggest disadvantages of silent films in that it's really hard to flesh out a character without inserting endless title cards with dialogue in. Gray is defined as having two loves- The General and Annabelle and I think it's fair to say that every single decision he makes is about saving the train or saving/impressing Annabelle. His actions do expand his character a little- he's quite clumsy, a characteristic which I think was probably mandatory for silent comedy leads, but he's also clever, using his engineering skills to work out how best to foil the union spies.
Keaton's stunt work here is incredible. He repeatedly moves himself along a moving train, clambering over piles of wood and clinging onto the side of the engine. Perhaps most impressive is a moment when he sits on the cowcatcher at the front of the engine and knocks away a piece of wood lying ahead on the tracks- one mistake and the train would have derailed with Keaton in a precarious position. These days every action franchise has a hero clinging on to the roof and/or side of a train and that tradition can be traced all the way back to here.
As good as the stunts were, the train stuff does begin to drag after a while. I mean, I love trains but the majority of this film is one train chasing another train and that does begin to become tiresome after a while. At least there's a gap in the middle and switching who is chasing who freshens things a little.
A fun early action-adventure film with some really excellent stunt work.
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