Even though it didn’t achieve significant critical or commercial success upon its release, “The General“ is nowadays considered a masterpiece not just of the silent era, but in cinema in general. Starring Buster Keaton who also co-directed the film, it retells the story of the “Great Locomotive Chase”, a famous episode from the American Civil war. Johnnie Gray is a train engineer who designed his lifework, a locomotive called “The General”. When the Civil War breaks out Johnnie wants to enlist, but he is refused because he is too valuable at his current post. Due to some confusion, Johnnie believes army doesn’t see him fit for service, his fiancée Annabelle sees him as a coward who refuses to enlist and vows not to speak to him until she sees him in a uniform. While traveling on The General to see her wounded father, Annabelle gets inadvertently taken prisoner when Union spies manage to hijack The General. Johnnie Gray begins a wild chase after his beloved and his beloved locomotive. He eventually manages to save her and steal back The General and warn the Confederate troops of the impending Union attack. The Confederate army manages to send the Union troops scurrying away in disarray, and a Confederate general recognizes it was Johnnie who saved the day, and awards him the rank of a lieutenant, which makes his fiancée very happy.
Joan Rivers still in coma
