The General (United Artists) (1926)

A Page of News Features BUSTER KEATON TUMBLED TO FAME EVER RIDE A HIGH¬ WHEELED BICYCLE? ACTOR IN KEATON FILM REMEMBERS ’65 Frederick Vroom, who portrays a Confederate military leader in “The General,” produced by Joseph M. Schenck as Buster Keaton’s first United Artists picture, at the. Theatre, had a notable stage career be¬ fore he cast his lot with motion pic¬ tures. Born in Nova Scotia 69 years ago, Mr. Vroom remembers vividly the shock his family received at the news of Lincoln’s assassination. He moved to Massachusetts as a boy and was vis¬ iting in Philadelphia when he attended a theatre for the first time. The youth had to be coaxed by the friends whom he was visiting to go with them to the theatre. He had refused the invitations several times, but when Edwin Booth came to play a two-week engagement at the old Walnut Street Theatre, the temptation was too much to withstand. The incident changed the motive of the boy’s life entirely. He began im¬ mediately to read Shakespeare and study for the stage. In the spring of 1884 he had graduated from the Lyceum Theatre School of Dramatic Arts— afterwards known as the American Academy of Dramatic Art. Young Vroom had a small part in “Dakolar” and “The Iron Master” at the opening of the New Lyceum The¬ atre, Robert Mantell, John Mason and Sadie Martinot were in the cast. That was in May of 1884. Afterwards he played with Modjeska, Thomas Keene and others until 1900, when he left the stage to go to Alaska during the rush to Nome and did not return to the stage until 1910. Mr. Vroom won instant success when he entered motion pictures several years ago, and has since played in many im¬ portant productions, climaxing his career with his work in “The General.” STAR OF “THE GENERAL” CAME FROM KANSAS Buster Keaton, star and director of “The General,” the feature at the. * . Theatre, was born on Novem¬ ber 4, 1895, at Pickway, Kansas, where Buster’s; father, Joe Keaton, then in partnership with Harry Houdini, was filling a tent show engagement. When the elder Keaton and Houdini dissolved partnership, Buster’s father and mother, Myra Keaton, formed a vaudeville act and Buster joined it at the age of three. From that time till 1916, when Buster entered pictures, the three Keatons toured America and many foreign countries. Buster went to France as a private in 1917 and, returning to Hollywood after the armistice, resumed his affilia¬ tion with the Joseph M. Schenck organ¬ ization. After starring in two-reel com¬ edies, Buster entered the feature field. Some of Buster’s famous comedies are “Three Ages,” “Hospitality,” “Sher¬ lock Junior,” “The Navigator,” “Seven Chances,” “Go West” and “Battling Butler.” “The General,” a historical comedy spectacle, is his first feature for the United Artists. He directs his own starring vehicle. BK-3—Decker Sketches 4 on Mat 10c KEATON KNOCKED DOWN BY EXPLOSION IN FILM Some of the big scenes in “The Gen¬ eral,” the new Buster Keaton comedy which comes to the.Theatre ., nearly ended in tragedy when the picture was being made. Audiences do not know that men are fighting desperately for their lives as some of the action in the big comedy is flashing across the silversheet. One of these scenes is the attempt of the North¬ ern raiders in the Civil War story to swim a rapids to escape their Confed¬ erate pursuers. On the day that this scene was made on the McKenzie River in Oregon, Bus¬ ter, as his own director, kept the cam¬ eras grinding as long as possible, then plunged into the rapids himself and saved two of the supporting players from drowning. The rapids through which the actors swam are so rough that boats are not permitted to descend them. A battery of cameras had been placed on rocks in mid-stream, and during the height of the “shooting” one of them fell into the raging torrent and was demolished. The scene is considered one of the most dangerous ever attempted, both from the standpoint of the actors and the camera men. Another scene that kept the Keaton first-aid stations busy on the day it was made was the blowing up of a dam by Buster while the rajders were under heavy Confederate fire. The dam blew up with a vengeance, showering mem¬ bers of the company with rock and re¬ quiring stitches in several heads. Buster was thrown down by the force of the explosion, but he kept his wits and his frozen-face, and indicated to the cameraman that he wanted the action to continue till the end of the scene. Minor casualties were frequent dur¬ ing the filming of “The General,” which took six months to make. The cast numbers thousands. The equipment in the picture includes three Civil War locomotives and trains, historically ac¬ curate in every detail. Produced by Joseph M. Schenck, “The General” is Keaton’s first United Artists picture and is the costliest com¬ edy ever made. “How does Buster Keaton keep from breaking his neck, or his arms and legs, when he makes those funny falls in his pictures ?” That’s a question which puzzles mil¬ lions of movie fans who are being thrilled by his first United Artists Pic¬ ture, “The General,” at the. Theatre. For years the frozen-faced star has been convulsing and thrilling the pub¬ lic with acrobatic stunts which would land the ordinary mortal in the hospital —or the morgue. The secret of his ability to suddenly stub his toe and fall on his face, or tumble down a flight of stairs without injuring himself, is sim¬ ple : a lifetime of training and constant practice, plus a physique envied by many professional athletes. Buster Keaton has tumbled and slam- banged his way through life. He started his mirth-provoking acrobatics when he was a baby. As most film fans know, the stork arrived with Buster during a Kansas cyclone. The future star’s father and Harry Houdini, world- famous as an escape king and magi¬ cian, were partners in a tent show. The trovpe was touring the Middle West, and on the night that the baby was born_the tent vanished during the height of the twister. Buster’s mother was carried into a church, and it was there the big event took place. The boy’s arrival failed to interfere with the tour. Buster—his name was Joseph at the start—became a trouper from the day of his birth and has been entertaining the public ever since, with the exception of eighteen months spent in the A. E. F. during the World War. Young Keaton began practicing his trick falls at the age of six months. One day, in a hotel, the tot fell all the way downstairs, and seemed to enjoy the experience. “What a buster!” exclaimed Houdini, and the name stuck. A few years later the elder Keaton and Houdini dissolved partnership, and father, mother and Buster became the Three Keatons, who for many years were vaudeville headliners all over America and abroad. Theatregoers will remember how Joe Keaton used to pick little Buster up, as if he were a bag of meal, and hurl the boy around the stage, knocking down scenery and bringing gasps from the audience. In several cities, children’s soceities complained to the authorities that Buster was being mistreated; once the boy was called be¬ fore the Governor of New York and stripped to prove he didn’t have any bruises or broken bones. Buster got as much enjoyment out of diving on his ear and letting his dad use him for a human medicine ball as most American boys do in playing shinny and run-sheep-run. The future movie star would spend hours perfect¬ ing falls which didn’t hurt him, but which looked like real accidents. By the time he was twenty years old, Buster was regarded as one of the greatest stage acrobats, as well as com¬ edians. But he never stopped practis¬ ing, and when he entered pictures, his prowess as an acrobat played a big part in winning him early fame on the screen., Did you ever ride a Civil War bi¬ cycle ? Ask grandad, he knows. Buster Keaton has to master an an¬ cient balky velocipede in “The Gen¬ eral,” his spectacular comedy of the sixties, at the . Theatre, but his mirth-provoking antics astride the machine on the silversheet is only half the story. When the frozen-faced star was film¬ ing his first United Artists feature, h< spent five days learning to conquer a contrivance that would make the most stubborn flivver of 1926 look like an invalid’s wheel chair. Buster took sev¬ eral bad spills before he finally learned the knack of dashing along on the bi¬ cycle’s granddaddy without breaking his neck. Keaton uses many means of locomo¬ tion in “The General,” which is based on the famous Andrews railroad raid and engine chase, a chapter of the Civil War that came near changing history. In his role of a young Confederate fire-eater, Buster pursues the north¬ erners in locomotives, on hand-cars, on horseback and on foot. He and his sweetheart (Marian Mack) flee over burning bridges and through shell-swept battlefields as the picture unfolds its thousand and one laughs and thrills. A real Civil War locomotive, one of several used in com¬ edy, goes through a blazing trestle to furnish a minute’s thrill. This scene alone was made in Oregon at a cost of $40,000 to the Keaton Company. Thousands of characters appear in “The General,” which was produced by Joseph M. Schenck as Buster’s initial contribution to the United Artists offer¬ ing of 1926-7 features. The uniforms, camps, buildings and quantities of Civil War equipment used in the picture are authentic, experts having spent several months in research work before camera activity started. Universally hailed as the costliest comedy ever made, “The General” rep¬ resents a financial outlay exceeded by but few dramatic pictures in the his¬ tory of the cinema industry. SUCH IS FAME! It’s great to be famous. Ask Buster Keaton. Shortly after the frozen-faced com¬ edy . star, completed his first United Artists picture, “The General,” feature photoplay at the ., he made a trip back East. While speeding across the continent Buster planted himself on the observa¬ tion platform of the limited and was enjoying the scenery when a girl began to eye him suspiciously. As Buster tells it: “I was wondering whether to give myself up to the authorities when the young lady suddenly inquired, ‘Aren’t you Buster Keaton?’ “The third degree unnerved me and I confessed. “ ‘Will you do me a favor?’ she asked. “ ‘Yes,’ I heroically exclaimed. Any¬ thing—absolutely anything but diving off the Washington monument. “ ‘Well,’ she giggled, ‘when you get back to Hollywood, see .if you can get an introduction to Constance Talmadge and ask for a picture of herself for me.' ”