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Following the wild success of our post on the incomparable Buster Keaton, we knew we had to revisit his legacy in a different way. Out of the multitude of his films, one in particular stood out to us – and we hope it does to you, too! Presenting the movie surrounding... a train. No, it was two trains – and then three - but it appeared as one train throughout, which was known as the “General”. Even though it wasn’t “THE” General...
In 1926, an affiliate of Buster’s suggested a book that could be turned into a film, “The Great Locomotive Chase” by William Pittenger. This was a true story of Union soldiers who stole a passenger train in Georgia. SPOILER ALERT: they were eventually captured. Buster was a train enthusiast and had already read the book, but was unsure if audiences would approve of the Confederates being “the bad guys”. Obviously, a lot has changed since 1926! In order to appease audiences, Buster changed the story to make the hero (and thus, his character) a Confederate soldier. He also streamlined the story to a simpler, comedy-friendly narrative that would fit his usual antics much better!
Buster wanted to shoot the film in the actual location that the events took place (Georgia) with the actual train, called the General. At that time, the General was on display at Chattanooga Union Station, and Buster requested to use it for his film. As soon as the railway discovered that he wanted to use the train for a comedy film (for shame!), his request was denied. No, Buster, you may not make people laugh with OUR train, get outta town.
Well, the original location in Georgia had changed too much to represent the Civil War era, so Buster’s location manager found a more authentic (and closer) setting – an area in Oregon with old-fashioned railroads left over from the lumber boom! With $400,000 USD to work with (the blessing of his producer, Joseph Schenck), Buster set to work on preparations, including growing out his hair for the role. Actress Marion Mack (a former Bathing Beauty!) was cast as the female lead, and pretty soon the entire cast and crew (allegedly 3,000 people on the payroll, according to a press release) was off to Cottage Grove, Oregon. In tow were 18 freight cars of Civil War cannons, passenger cars, stagecoaches, the works. Many residents were extras, and members of the Oregon National Guard were recruited to play the soldiers in the battle scenes. Buster, the multitalented person that he was, learned to drive the train himself – and before long, he reportedly could stop the train “on a dime”!
Dangerous stunts aplenty in this film, as always.
If there’s one thing we hope to impress upon our readers, it’s that making a movie in the silent movie days was often dangerous at best, and downright deadly at worst. And the making of “The General” was no exception! The trade papers of the time reported Buster being knocked unconscious, an assistant director being shot IN THE FACE with a blank cartridge, a train wheel running over someone’s foot (resulting in a lawsuit) and numerous fires due to the wood-burning engine of the train. Additionally, Buster seems to have gotten a bit wild with his budget, what with having real bridges built and dams constructed and all – according to the trade papers, the budget jumped to anywhere between $500,000 and $1M pretty fast. Sounds like a good time all around...
The prankster and the prank-ee
In spite of the mishaps and setbacks, there were some (real) good times. Every Sunday, cast and crew (including Buster himself) played baseball with the local residents. By their account, Buster could have been a professional baseball player! He unfortunately started off on the wrong foot with his co-star Marion: at first he ignored her!
"Buster just stuck to the job and to his little clique, and that was all"
Well, it may have started off rocky, but things smoothed out and the two got along well after a while. Eventually Buster resorted to targeting her in his favorite on-set activity; pulling pranks! Ah, Buster... And then – it was time to shoot “the” scene....
In the film, a train is crossing a bridge. It stalls, the lead characters on board flee and burn the bridge (to deter their pursuers), causing the train to fall into the water below. No special effects, just Buster’s wild ideas, a third train (purchased specifically for this purpose) and six cameras. The shot took place four hours late and cost about $42,000 – the most expensive single shot in silent film history! The local community was so excited to see this monumental accomplishment that 3,000 – 4,000 people showed up to watch the train wreck being shot. THEY LEFT THE TRAIN IN THE RIVERBED. YES, THEY DID. It became a sort of “tourist attraction” until it was finally salvaged for scrap metal during World War 2.
Only Buster would....ONLY. BUSTER. WOULD.
Not long after, another fire broke out and it was so severe that Buster and his crew were forced to head back to Los Angeles until the smoke had cleared – costing the production an additional $50,000 and several weeks of downtime. Heavy rain eventually did clear the smoke, and everyone went back to Oregon to finish shooting. Editing began soon thereafter, as Buster had shot roughly 200,000 feet (60,960m) of film! Interesting to note: in the credits, Buster intentionally listed himself and his character last. What a guy!
On December 31st, 1926, “The General” premiered in 2 small theaters....in Japan?! Yes, Japan. The film was originally scheduled to release in the U.S., at the prestigious Capitol Theater in New York City. What happened? The U.S. debut was heavily delayed because of the racy smash hit, “Flesh and the Devil” (starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert) which was playing at the Capitol and being held over for several weeks. Finally, in February of the following year, “The General” premiered at the Capitol, complete with a lobby display of the bell from the actual “General” train. So....they couldn’t use the real train but they COULD use the real bell. Oh gee gosh golly, how generous of the railway to approve the use of their BELL...
“The General” did average business at the box office, but because of the enormous budget ($750,000 in total), the film lost money in the long run. And the reviews were far from complimentary. “Variety”, still singing the praises of “Flesh and the Devil”, was not a fan, even going so far as to say “The General” was “far from funny” and a “flop”. The “Los Angeles Times” said the film was "neither straight comedy nor is it altogether thrilling drama" and "drags terribly with a long and tiresome chase of one engine by another". The “New York Herald Tribune” said it was "long and tedious—the least-funny thing Buster Keaton has ever done." And the fades just kept coming...
In spite of the negative vibes coming from well, pretty much all of the critics, Buster considered it his best work, saying in 1963:
"I was more proud of that picture than any I ever made. Because I took an actual happening out of the... history books, and I told the story in detail too"
Later audiences and critics agreed, and today “The General” is considered among the classics of the silent era.
Buster would be proud. Have a look at the film below!
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