The General
Director: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton
Writer: Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman, Al Boasberg, Charles Henry Smith
Based on: William Pittenger‘s memoirs
Cast: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley, Frederick Vroom, Frank Barnes, Charles Henry Smith
Seen on: 1.9.2024

Content Note: misogyny, ignoring the politics of the Civil War

Plot:
Johnnie (Buster Keaton) is a railroad engineer, running The General, a steam-powered locomotive. He is in love with Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack) but she currently doesn’t want anything to do with him because he is not fighting in the Civil War. But when the Union army steals his General, and by chance kidnaps Annabelle Lee while they do it, Johnnie takes up the chase and proves his bravery.

I haven’t seen many Buster Keaton movies, but I loved Cops and The Cameraman. Since The General is arguably his most famous work, my expectations were high, but unfortunately they were disappointed. The General did not work for me.

We all know scenes from The General, and the special effects and stunt work are still pretty flawless. There is definitely a reason this movie has stuck around. But where I was laughing my ass off with the other two films I mentioned, The General rarely got more than a little tired chuckle from me. Maybe because I didn’t watch it in a crowd (comedy is a social phenomenon in many ways), but even so, I usually find things funny at home as well, even if I might not laugh as uproariously as in the cinema.

The first thing that really bothered me was the fact that Johnnie is from the South. Not that the politics of the Civil War were ever actually considered (there are no Black people here, slavery might as well be non-existant). I mean, shouldn’t we be rooting against Johnnie here? It all reminded me very much of this analysis by Princess Weekes.

The second thing that really bothered me was the depiction of Annabelle Lee. She is shown as the classic damsel in distress at first, bound tight and devoid of agency. But then things get worse: after Johnnie frees her and they are on the run together, she takes an active part in their flight. Hooray! Only that Johnnie constantly berates her for everything she does. And that’s our romantic hero? It would have been better if she had just remained passive, if you ask me. Or, best case, if he hadn’t been a complete ass.

This definitely soured my enjoyment of the film, and in the end, derailed (haha) it completely. The stunts are not so good that they make up for all of that.

Summarizing: I’d rather watch other Keaton movies.