Description

The General is a 1926 American silent film comedy film released by United Artists. Inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase, which happened in 1862, the film stars Buster Keaton who co-directed it with Clyde Bruckman. It was adapted by Al Boasberg, Bruckman, Keaton, Paul Girard Smith (uncredited), and Charles Henry Smith (uncredited) from the memoir The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger (soldier).

At the time of its initial release, The General, an action-adventure-comedy made toward the end of the silent era, wasn’t well received by critics or audiences, resulting in the mediocre box office (about a half million dollars domestically, and approximately one million worldwide). Because of its then-huge budget ($750,000 supplied by Metro chief Joseph Schenck) and failure to turn a significant profit, Keaton lost his independence as a filmmaker and was forced into a restrictive deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1956, the film entered the List of films in the public domain in the United States due to the claimant’s failure to renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.

Cast

• Buster Keaton — Johnnie Gray
• Marion Mack— Annabelle Lee
• Glen Cavender — Captain Anderson
• Jim Farley — General Thatcher
• Frederick Vroom — A Confederate General
• Charles Henry Smith — Annabelle’s Father (as Charles Smith)
• Frank Barnes (actor) — Annabelle’s Brother
• Joe Keaton — Union General
• Mike Donlin — Union General
• Tom Nawn — Union General