THE GENERAL (1926) ***

Buster Keaton stars as a man who tries to enlist in the Confederate Army and is denied because his services as a train engineer are considered too valuable to let him go to war.  When his best girl (Marion Mack) is kidnapped by Yankee spies, he hops in his train and tries to get her back.  He succeeds, and together, they head for home in his trusty locomotive with the Northern Army breathing down his neck.

I’m familiar with the works of silent comedy legends Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, but somehow, I haven’t seen any of Buster Keaton’s films.  I had always heard The General was a great movie, and yet I just never got around to seeing it.  I thought I’d rectify that, seeing as I really could use a good laugh these days.  Even though I had always wanted to see the flick, I didn’t really know much about the plot.  I was a little taken aback by the Confederacy angle, especially given the current circumstances.  I guess it’s just a case of poor timing. 

I know there are probably many people out there who won’t watch this because the hero is Confederate, and that is okay.   Then again, there are probably just as many people who won’t watch it just because it’s a silent movie.  That’s unfortunate too, because while I didn’t like it quite as much as some of Chaplin and Lloyd’s stuff, it’s full of laughs, terrific stunt work, and some amazing set pieces. 

You can see The General’s influence throughout cinema history.  Keaton performs some leaps and bounds here that probably inspired Jackie Chan.  The scene where he narrowly avoids the shit thrown at him by the villains is very much like a Looney Tunes cartoon.  It’s also easy to imagine George Miller taking notes while watching this as the action in both Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Mad Max:  Fury Road owe a huge debt to this film. 

The train chase scenes occur at a breathless pace.  What makes them particularly noteworthy is that most of the action takes place on a speeding train as it’s barreling down a set of railroad tracks.  It’s ingenious how the film piles up the peril and Keaton is somehow always able to slip out of danger. 

The General is not a perfect movie though.  Even at 78 minutes, it feels much too long.  The final battle sequence between the North and South was superfluous and pales next to the railroad chase scenes.  However, the exploding bridge scene is a jaw-dropper.  I mean, they really blew up a bridge while a speeding train was on the tracks, and it is nothing short of spectacular.  Seriously, fuck CGI.