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The General

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

1926-12-25 Comedy 1hr 19m

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.

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The General
Amazon Prime Video

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Storyline

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.

  • Released
    1926-12-25
  • Revenue
    $1,000,000
  • Budget
    $750,000
  • Runtime
    1hr 19m
  • Genre
    Comedy, Action, Adventure, War
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    No Language
  • imdb-logo
    8.1
  • Production
    Joseph M. Schenck Productions, Buster Keaton Productions

Crew

Clyde Bruckman
Director
Clyde Bruckman
Screenplay
Buster Keaton
Producer
Keywords:
cannon army general southern usa spy fiancé bridge engineer attack black and white train silent film behind enemy lines american civil war

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Cast

Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton
Johnnie Gray
Marion Mack

Marion Mack
Annabelle Lee
Glen Cavender

Glen Cavender
Captain Anderson
Jim Farley

Jim Farley
General Thatcher
Frederick Vroom

Frederick Vroom
A Southern General
Frank Barnes

Frank Barnes
Annabelle's Brother
Charles Henry Smith

Charles Henry Smith
Annabelle's Father
Joe Keaton

Joe Keaton
Union General
Mike Donlin

Mike Donlin
Union General
Tom Nawn

Tom Nawn
Union General
Henry Baird

Henry Baird
Soldier (uncredited)
Joe Bricher

Joe Bricher
Soldier (uncredited)
Jimmy Bryant

Jimmy Bryant
Raider (uncredited)
Sergeant Bukowski

Sergeant Bukowski
Officer (uncredited)
C.C. Cruson

C.C. Cruson
Officer (uncredited)
Jack Dempster

Jack Dempster
Raider (uncredited)
Keith Fennell

Keith Fennell
Soldier (uncredited)
Budd Fine

Budd Fine
Raider (uncredited)
Eddie Foster

Eddie Foster
Union Railroad Fireman (uncredited)
Ronald Gilstrap

Ronald Gilstrap
Union Soldier (uncredited)
Frank Hagney

Frank Hagney
Confederate Recruiter (uncredited)
Ray Hanford

Ray Hanford
Raider (uncredited)
Jack Hanlon

Jack Hanlon
Bit Part (uncredited)
Al Hanson

Al Hanson
Raider (uncredited)
Anthony Harvey

Anthony Harvey
Raider (uncredited)
Edward Hearn

Edward Hearn
Union Officer (uncredited)
Hilliard Karr

Hilliard Karr
Soldier (uncredited)
Elgin Lessley

Elgin Lessley
Union General Who Gives Command to Cross Bridge (uncredited)
Louis Lewyn

Louis Lewyn
Soldier (uncredited)
Jackie Lowe

Jackie Lowe
Boy Who Follows Johnny (uncredited)
Billy Lynn

Billy Lynn
Soldier (uncredited)
Ross McCutcheon

Ross McCutcheon
Raider (uncredited)
Tom Moran

Tom Moran
Raider (uncredited)
Charles Phillips

Charles Phillips
Raider (uncredited)
Red Rial

Red Rial
Raider (uncredited)
Al St. John

Al St. John
Officer on Horseback (uncredited)
Harold Terry

Harold Terry
Union Soldier (uncredited)
Ray Thomas

Ray Thomas
Raider (uncredited)
Red Thompson

Red Thompson
Raider (uncredited)
James Walsh

James Walsh
Soldier (uncredited)
Kenneth Hawley Ward

Kenneth Hawley Ward
Soldier (uncredited)
John Wilson

John Wilson
Union Soldier (uncredited)
Jean Woodward

Jean Woodward
(uncredited)

Videos and Photos

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Movie Reviews

Reviews for The General
reviewer avatar

A Review by tanty 10

Written by tanty on 2016-02-26

Just amazing. Really, really impressive scenes with the railway engines and a physically incredible Keaton.... read more

Just amazing. Really, really impressive scenes with the railway engines and a physically incredible Keaton.

reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 8

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2022-06-06

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... read more

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.

reviewer avatar

A Review by JN2012 7

Written by JN2012 on 2023-10-28

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 a... read more

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.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by Andres Gomez

Just amazing. Really, really impressive scenes with the railway engines and a physically incredible Keaton....

reviewer avatar

A Review by tanty 10

Written by tanty on 2016-02-26

Just amazing. Really, really impressive scenes with the railway engines and a physically incredible Keaton....

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 8

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2022-06-06

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 importan...

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by JN2012 7

Written by JN2012 on 2023-10-28

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 perfectio...

read more