Feature | |
| Screening date: | September, 2006 |
| Director: | Clyde Bruckman |
| A classic comedy made in
1927 and considered one of the all-time funniest films ever made. The hero Johnnie loves his train ("The General") and Annabelle Lee. When the Civil War begins, he is turned down for service because he's more valuable as an engineer. Annabelle thinks it's because he's a coward. Union spies capture The General with Annabelle on board. Johnny must rescue both his loves. Matt, age 16 :THE GENERAL has started, the girl is kidnapped by some Union raiders on Keaton's train, and so begins the greatest (and funniest) chase ever filmed. For the next 75 minutes, the viewer is in Keaton's world. His gags, routines, and amazing slapstick serve to make this the greatest screen comedy ever filmed.Stars BUSTER KEATON and MARION MACK | |
It was wonderful to sit with a audience to view this very funny, innovative, old, and problematic film. The problematic part has to do with the plot choice — Buster Keaton and his girl are fighting for the Confederacy and all their heroics, including killing Union soldiers in a “funny” way go to aid the Confederate cause.
In another non-politically correct scene, Keaton and the girl are in a train, urging it forward ahead of the Union train. During a lull in the action, rather than continue to throw wood into the boiler, the girl picks up a broom and futilely sweeps the floor. Keaton sees her doing this, smacks her, grabs the broom, throws it into the boiler, then kisses her (for the first time in the movie, I think.)
Not what today’s Sensitive Male would do. But, sometimes, one does get so frustrated with one’s love, that smacking does come to seem like a viable alternative.
And the scene rings so true that many in the audience laughed when the smack occurred.
Anyway, this film is 81 years old. Thanks to the Programming Committee of the Coastside Film Society for exposing us to both some of the latest and most innovative and some of the oldest and most innovative films out there!
– Emily