The General
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.
Director(s)
Buster Keaton
Louis Lewyn
Clyde Bruckman
Where to watch
Plex
Free
JustWatch TV
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Plex Channel
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Artiflix
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Plex
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Cast & Crew
Details
Reviews
Andres Gomez
Just amazing. Really, really impressive scenes with the railway engines and a physically incredible Keaton.
CinemaSerf
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.
James
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.
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The General FAQs
The directors of The General are Buster Keaton, Louis Lewyn, and Clyde Bruckman.
The cast of The General includes Buster Keaton as Johnnie Gray, Jim Farley as General Thatcher, Frank Hagney as Confederate Recruiter (uncredited), Eddie Foster as Union Railroad Fireman (uncredited), Marion Mack as Annabelle Lee, Glen Cavender as Captain Anderson, Frederick Vroom as A Southern General, Frank Barnes as Annabelle's Brother, Charles Henry Smith as Annabelle's Father, Joe Keaton as Union General, Mike Donlin as Union General, Tom Nawn as Union General, and more.
The duration of The General is 1h 19 mins.
Yes. The General has 3 trailers on Fanbiz, including Masters of Cinema 100th Anniversary Trailer. Watch them on this page.
You can watch The General on Plex (Free), JustWatch TV (Free), Plex Channel (Free), Artiflix (Free), and Plex (Ads). Check this Fanbiz page for the latest platforms.
The General was released on 25 Dec 1926.
The General is listed under Action, Adventure, Comedy, War, Romance, and Drama on Fanbiz.
The General has 3 reviews on Fanziz, with an average rating of 8.3/10. One reviewer wrote: "Just amazing. Really, really impressive scenes with the railway engines and a physically incredible Keaton."
