Hey, how do you cock this thing anyways?
The General (1926) is the story of a railroad engineer in the American Confederacy, transparently named Johnnie Gray, and his travails during the American Civil War. His attempt to enlist in a Confederate regiment has been rejected without a reason being given when the War begins, and he is shamed in front of his fiancee by her father and brother for his failure.
A year or two later, Union forces are knocking at the door to the South, and Annabelle’s father has been wounded in the fighting. She chooses to go to the front to care for him, and travels on Gray’s train, the engine of which is named The General. Stopping for a meal in a small town, the crew and passengers disembark, but Annabelle stays behind. This small decision leads to potential disaster as Union raiders, disguised as Confederates, steal the train and whisk Annabelle off to captivity.
Or so they think, but this is Gray’s former and, he hopes, future fiancee, and he’s off like a shot in pursuit, by foot and handcar and anything else he can lay his hands on, up to and including, eventually, the engine Texas. Shots are exchanged when the pursuit is discovered, including employment of one bloody large cannon, but the shots are more customary than effective.
When night comes, the Union soldiers believe themselves safe and stop to rendezvous with Union commanders, but Gray is sneakier and not only frees Annabelle, but hears the plans of the Union commanders. With morning comes his recapture of The General and a harried return to Confederate lines, bearing a warning to the Confederate generals. Will the notoriously incompetent Confederate generals deal with an imminent Union surprise attack properly? Will Gray retain command of The General?
And has Annabelle given her virtue to someone else already, much like the South gave it away in its thirst for prosperity for some, but not all? This is one aspect of the greater context given absolutely no attention at all. It’s a tricky question, of course: assuming the audience knows the context of the American Civil War when revisionism was running rampant in the 1920s. The movie gives no hint of the War’s underpinnings of racism and the injustice of slavery, leaving this to be an action-adventure tale for which the greater moral context is completely neglected.
This is one of the best silent movies that I’ve seen, with lovely cinematography, a good, tight story, and excellent acting. The only other annoying problem is the occasional bit of slapstick, probably thrown in as the lead actor, Buster Keaton, was known for his slapstick. But, overall, it all works quite well.
Recommended for anyone interested in film history, silent movies, or just a well thought out story.
