It is quite evident that Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman tried to make a comedy about an actual event that happened during a dark time in our country’s history. And I believe that these men, especially Keaton succeeded admirably in undertaking this difficult and risky task.
Keaton’s strong acting and amazing acrobatic stunts were on full display in “The General.” I believe that he took his natural abilities to the next level when making “The General.” It is even more impressive because he did these stunts without the help of special effects or stunt men. This movie is a testament to Keaton’s hard work and dedication to his body of work and I can only imagine the heartbreak and the utter disappointment he went through when the movie was shunned by audiences and critics around the country.
The movie follows the story of Johnnie Gray, Southerner who is working as a train engineer at the outbreak of the Civil War. Despite his attempts to enlist in the Confederate Army he is turned away. Unbeknownst to Johnnie the military personnel enlisting the men cited that Johnnie would be more valuable to the South as an engineer rather than a soldier. Keaton opens his comedy to routine when Gray can not understand why he was turned away from being a soldier. Gray decides to disguise himself with various props and costumes in order to fight for the Confederates. He cuts people in line, takes their hats and does numerous stunts in an effort to fight for the cause of the South. However the military personnel saw right through his disguises and Gray is sent home disappointed.
When Gray arrives home, the love of his life, Annabelle, is utterly disappointed that he did not join the Confederate Army. She gives him an ultimatum, either to join the Confederates or to find someone else to be with. She realizes that Johnnie is a coward and leaves him all alone as her brother and father join the war effort.
Johnnie continues his life as normal as the war rages on manning “The General”, until it is stolen from him by Union soldiers. Not only is his beloved train stolen from him, but his love Annabelle was also on the stolen train.
Johnnie found out that Annabelle was on the train and Union’s plans with the train while he was sitting under a table eavesdropping on the Union officers who took “The General.” When a Union officer’s cigar burns a hole through the table cloth, Johnnie is able to see his love again through the little hole in the table cloth. The camerawork used to show Annabelle through the little hole was tremendous. Annabelle’s figure took up the whole screen, giving Johnnie hope and determination to get her and his train back.
After Johnnie rescues Annabelle on a daring mission behind enemy lines, he goes on a wild train chase with the Union officers chasing him. The chase culminates with one of the trains falling off a bridge giving the Confederates the victory in the battle. When Johnny arrives at the Confederate’s camp, his bravery and victory is noticed by the Confederate superiors who promote him from being a civilian to a lieutenant; much to the delight of Annabelle and her father. It was a happy ending for an entertaining movie, which made the picture even more delightful.
I can understand why “The General” garnered so many negative reviews upon its release. The art of cinema and the motion picture was new and people did not have as much experience and knowledge interpreting it. People in the silent era came from the sheltered dialogue and premises of the theatre and were not able to handle something as controversial as “The General” was. Never before had a movie made such a mockery out of such a serious event.
I believe if a movie mocked the War in Iraq or the Vietnam War came out today, a similar but more sedated outrage could be felt among the citizens who either lost relatives or have relatives fighting in the war. War is a tough subject to make a comedy about and although I believe that Keaton succeeded admirably in undertaking this task; I believe that their timing was off for a picture like this because I feel that America wasn’t ready. It was too big of a risk to undertake especially when one movie can make or break you in the business.
At first Keaton must have thought that the risk was not worth it, the movie pretty much destroyed his career. But Keaton received redemption when the movie was discovered and given the respect that it greatly deserved.
I also think that people in this day and age are more immune to criticisms of the government especially with the advent of cable television and unrated movies. I also believe that a movie like “MASH” truly opened the door for a movie like “The General” to be acknowledged. Both these movies went against everything America stands for when at war time, which truly shows the risks the writers to make this movie.
Many critics bashed “The General”, one these critics was Mordaunt Hall, a critic for the New York Times. Hall stated in his review, “This is by no means so good as Mr. Keaton’s previous efforts. Here he is more than an acrobat than the clown…” I completely disagree with the statement by Hall; at times I was more impressed with Keaton’s acting than his impressive acrobatics. His dead pan expression is an ultimate testament to his acting, showing that he can keep his trademark expression under any circumstances.
I also disagree with Hall on the premise that Keaton was more the acrobat than the clown. He was able to his acrobatics was sense of ease and humor. An acrobat is someone who is able to undergo a difficult task and make it look easy. A clown is someone who is able to undergo a difficult task and make it look funny. And I truly believe that Keaton made it look both funny and easy.
Variety’s article also discounted the movie as well. The critic stated, “The General is far from funny. Its principal comedy scene is built on an elementary bit…” I also disagree with this critic because I believe that there is no one principal comedy scene in the movie, every one of Keaton’s movements and expressions is utter brilliance in comedy. I believe that if the critic did not notice this, he really missed the main point of the movie. The movie was not meant to be a drama with people crying, it was supposed to be a comedy about hope and realization of your dreams.
Contrary to popular belief not all reviews of The General were negative. Mae Tinee who wrote for the Chicago Daily Tribune actually enjoyed her screening of “The General.” She stated, “Besides its good comedy numbers of which there are quite a few, “The General” registers as a whacking good little war picture.” Mae Tinee made a point that no many people were willing to make in when the movie was released. She applauded Keaton’s acting, but also noted that this was not one of his best works.
Two scenes in this movie really struck me when I was screening it. The first scene was when Johnnie saw Annabelle through the little cigar hole in the table cloth. I was particularly struck by Johnnie’s expression when he first set eyes on his former love. For Johnnie it was a chance for redemption, a chance to be a hero the Confederates never thought he could be. The true jubilation portrayed by Keaton was heart warming and inspiring.
The second scene that also struck me during the screening was the expression of the Union officer when the train fell off the bridge. His reaction was absolutely priceless, it was pure and total shock. I read up that Keaton did not tell the actor that the train was going to fall off the bridge thus capturing the total moment of surprise on the actor’s face.
During the screening I also noticed how expensive it would have been to put a film of this caliber together especially with the numerous train scenes culminating with the climax of the train falling off the bridge. I can only imagine how disappointed the studios and the producers were when this film failed at the box office.
All in all, I believe that “The General” is a great America film and great introduction to silent films. The movie had so many components going on without dialogue. Keaton’s performance was tremendous and in my opinion one of the best of all time. Not many, if any, actors would risk their lives scene after scene jumping over a train. This shows how committed Keaton was to creating this picture and I am truly happy for him that this film got the recognition that it deserved.
