The General

"Buster drives "The General" to trainload of laughter."

1926 1h 19m EN

🙌

7.9

BANGER

★7.9TMDB · 1,471

ComedyWarRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During America’s Civil War, Union spies steal engineer Johnny Gray's beloved locomotive, 'The General'—with Johnnie's lady love aboard an attached boxcar—and he single-handedly must do all in his power to both get The General back and to rescue Annabelle.

“Buster drives "The General" to trainload of laughter.”

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Cast

Buster Keaton
Johnnie Gray
Marion Mack
Annabelle Lee
Glen Cavender
Captain Anderson
Jim Farley
General Thatcher
Frederick Vroom
A Southern General
Frank Barnes
Annabelle's Brother
Charles Henry Smith
Annabelle's Father
Joe Keaton
Union General

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Clyde Bruckman
Writers: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton
Languages: No Language
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

100 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Clyde Bruckman, shot by Bert Haines. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Buster Keaton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Buster Keaton and Marion Mack and Glen Cavender carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Buster drives "The General" to trainload of laughter.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0017925 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Clyde Bruckman directs. Bert Haines behind the camera. Buster Keaton cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3100 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Clyde Bruckman, shot by Bert Haines. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Buster Keaton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Buster Keaton and Marion Mack and Glen Cavender carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Buster drives "The General" to trainload of laughter.".
8IMDB entry: tt0017925 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 15 themes, including "cannon", "army", "general", "southern usa".
10Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Bert Haines
Editing: Buster Keaton
Makeup / hair: Fred Carlton Ryle
Runtime: 79 min · 1h 19m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $750,000
Box office: $1,000,000
Return: 133% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The General (1926)

Also by

Clyde Bruckman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2016-02-26
★ 10/10
Just amazing. Really, really impressive scenes with the railway engines and a physically incredible Keaton.
CinemaSerf2022-06-06
★ 8/10
There's quite a lot going on here - it is certainly comedic, but there is also plenty of action and even some romance in this American Civil War story. Keaton ("Johnnie") has been deemed more important as a railroad engineer so was rejected as a soldier - but this causes his girlfriend "Annabelle" and her family to think he is yella'! When the Yankees concoct a plan to steal his engine "The General" whilst she is travelling on it; he must use all his wits and guile to get them both back and is soon caught being enemy lines where he learns of their dastardly plan to attack. Can he get back with his gal and tell his confederates of the Unionist plans? There is something about the quality of the images - they are pretty much prefect; even when the train in rattling along a-pace. There are loads of skirmishes supporting a properly constructed, and exciting, story with plenty of drama and sometimes some quite scary bits too, all jammed into just over an hour. The version I saw had been re-scored by Carl Davis and that added immeasurably to the pace and tension - and the romance - and helped create a superb piece of cinema.
James2023-10-28
★ 7/10
This is Keaton’s masterpiece, a flawed one, yes. It’s not funny enough and the story could be developed more. But it is significant, flaws and all. The closest a film will ever get to flawed perfection.