The General (United Artists) (1926)

Newspapers Like Biographies BUSTER’S LEADING LADY SMALL TOWN GIRL DEAF—BUT HEARD DINNER BELL By BUSTER KEATON (Star of u The General at the . Theatre) “’Twas a long way to Tipperary for the Tommies during the late unpleasantness, but a darn sight longer way back to Hollywood for a certain Yank. How he foiled the European chapter of the Amalgamated Order of Conquering Cooties and got back to the land of Moonlight and Roses—and Cafeterias—proves that turning points in careers are like hairpin turns— you have to slow down while making ’em. Came the day—as the title writers don’t say any more—when an actor whom we will refer to in these confessions as “Frozen-Face,” landed in New York after an engagement abroad, said engagement officially terminat¬ ing in November, 1918, on the occasion of Young Peace Dove knocking Kid Mars for a loop. But, on account of traffic jams on the Atlantic Ocean and other unavoidable delays, the foreign time act ran unofficially until 1919. The early months of that year found Frozen-Face doing a stretch on a cot in a New York hospital—taking the rest cure, as it were, and renew¬ ing acquaintance with white sheets. The worst part of the whole deal was that he couldn’t hear—not even the dinner bell, which was particularly tough. Hollywood then seemed as far away as the South Pole. Frozen-Face had left the Kleig Light Capital in 1917. He was playing in two-reel comedies when he exchanged his pancake hat for a style of chapeau that suddenly became extremely popular all over the United States. The only way you could acquire one of the aforesaid bonnets was to learn the combination of a piece of tinware called a mess kit. This entitled you to the pass-word, “Come and get it.” Anyway, on a certain day in 1919, Frozen-Face was reclining on his downy couch, reading something—it either was “The History of the Honey Bee,” or “The Battles of John L. Sullivan,” the actor forgets which, and listening to the woodpeckers at work on a nearby building. As a matter of fact, steel riveters were doing their stuff on a New York skyscraper, but they sounded like woodpeckers to Frozen-Face. A visitor was announced. Our subject didn’t hear any announcement; sounds nicer, though, to always speak of them as being announced. It was Joe Schenck—Joseph M. Schenck. Now, Mr. Schenck was the man behind the pictures in which Frozen-Face had appeared. The producer talked, and Frozen-Face nodded his head and said “Sure” and “Certainly”-— just as if he knew what Mr. Schenck was talking about. Finally Frozen-Face, fearing that his boss would think he was con¬ versing with a goofy individual, asked Mr. Schenck to write it out. The producer did, and he said, in effect, that Frozen-Face had a job waiting for him in Hollywood, and was going to get the chance to be a full-fledged comedy star. Talk about the thrill that comes once in a lifetime? That was Frozen- Face’s. “California, Here I Come,” hadn’t been written yet, but if it had, the woodpeckers would have been playing it! That was the turning point in B. K.’s career. The woodpeckers don’t peck any more—at least, they’re real birds, not steel workers, if they do. And the perpetrator of this sketch can now hear any kind of a dinner bell perfectly. Marian Mack, a dashing little bru¬ nette, plays opposite Buster Keaton in “The General,” the costliest comedy spectacle in the history of pictures, and the frozen-faced star’s first feature for United Artists, at the.Theatre. Miss Mack’s work in “The General” has been hailed by critics as a revela¬ tion, as it was not long ago that the little leading lady was a motion picture bathing beauty. In the Keaton comedy, which has an authentic and historically accurate background, Marian proves that she is a real actress and one wor¬ thy of stardom. In her role of a Southern belle of crinoline days and the idol of the Confederate soldiers, she shines both as a comedienne and as a dramatic actress. Yes, Marian is Buster’s sweetheart in “The General,” and chief cause of most of his adventures. Keaton, portraying a young Confederate patriot who is re¬ fused for service in the army because of his value to the cause as a locomo¬ tive engineer, goes through all kinds of laughable and thrilling adventures to prove to his sweetheart and her family that he is not a slacker. Miss Mack is modest. On the set or in her various social activities, she has a good word for everyone. She has none of what writers are pleased to term temperament. Miss Mack is proud of the fact that she came from a small town. It was about three years ago that a little Eureka, Utah, schoolgirl dreamed the dream of millions of other girls in all parts of the world. But she did more than dream; she told herself that she could make good in Hollywood if she had the opportunity, and she determined to create the opportunity. She wrote a letter to one of the world’s fore¬ most producers of comedies, explain¬ ing her ambitions. Fate must have been in league with the girl, for some¬ thing . happened that happens very sel¬ dom in real or reel life. She received a reply from the producer, inviting her and her mother to come to Hollywood for an interview. She came, and saw, and conquered. And within a few months she was playing featured roles in two-reel comedies. But a two-reel comedienne and bathing beauty was not her goal. Then, as now, she preferred comedy to anything else and she had her eyes on the feature field, so when the opportunity came to appear in longer pictures she made good with a vengeance. Everyone was talking about her cameo-like beauty and acting ability when Keaton launched plans for his most ambitious picture. He chose Miss Mack from among a score of fem¬ inine stars and leading ladies, practi¬ cally all of them of much wider ex¬ perience than the former Utah girl. Perhaps because she is a “small town” girl Miss Mack prefers home life to anything else, even in Holly¬ wood. When the work at the studio is over for the day she finds her recrea¬ tion in her artistic Spanish style resi¬ dence in the hills overlooking the mo¬ tion picture capital. She is a great reader and an accomplished musician. Others may have their golf and ten¬ nis and swimming and horseback riding to keep in condition, but Miss Mack’s favorite exercise is bicycle riding. Al¬ though she is an all-round sportswoman she peddles her way to physical fitness along secluded paths in the vicinity of her home. “POWDER MAN” HAS NO EASY JOB ON KEATON FILM His name is Jack Little. But his job is a big one. He looks after the powder during filming of pictures. When Buster Keaton wanted somebody to take care of all the dynamite and powder to be used in “The General,” his comedy spectacle at the ... Theatre, he found Little. Fifteen years ago the unusual “pow¬ der man” got interested in pictures. He has been injured four times and he was nearly blown to the heaven of all good picture folk during the filming of “The General” in Oregon. When the soldiers were trooping across the fields in “The Big Parade,” Little kept the powder under surveillance. Naturally, there¬ fore Buster picked the same powder man to do the honors for the ammuni¬ tion employed by the Southerners and Northerners in the Keaton film. These Southerners and Northerners, by the way, battled all day long and then drew pay checks from the same paymaster, ate in the same mess hall and talked about the same favorite comedian. The people of Cottage Grove, Oregon, where much of “The General” was made, shared the enthu¬ siasm of the “warriors” for Buster, since Cottage Grove was one of the first towns in America to exhibit “The General” in film form. CLEARED THE TRACK FOR “THE GENERAL” They, cleared the track for “The General” up in Oregon, where Buster Keaton’s puffing iron horse chugged its way to a cinematic triumph, as visitors to the . Theatre this week will testify. Railroads in the Pacific Northwest are nothing if not accom¬ modating, so they changed schedules on a branch line for three months in order to let “The General” charge along a twelve-mile stretch of track all by itself. When Buster had chosen the rough country in the vicinity of Cottage Grove, Oregon, as the district which today most resembles the railroad coun¬ try of Tennessee and Georgia in the sixties, it became necessary for some railroad to set aside certain tracks then in use for the exclusive travels of KEATON PICKED SOLDIERS FOR SOLDIER PARTS When Buster Keaton cast the prin¬ cipals in “The General,” his million dollar comedy of the Civil War, which is the feature at the.Theatre, he chose, so far as possible, actors who had served in the military forces of the United States. Keaton himself served for eighteen months overseas during the World War, and dozens of others in the huge United Artists laugh feature, produced by Joseph M. Schenck, are veterans of the irmy and navy. One of these support¬ ing players, who was personally selected by Buster because of his army record and his wide experience in motion pic¬ tures, is Glen Cavender. There are few men in pictures who have had more colorful careers than Cavender has participated in several wars, and he holds many medals, among them the Congressional Medal, Amer¬ ica’s highest military decoration. More than a quarter of a century ago, when he was a member of the Sixth U. S. Cavalry, Cavender won the Con¬ gressional Medal, the Medal for Valor and the Medal for Conspicuous Brav¬ ery Under Fire for his feats during the Philippine campaign and in the Chinese Boxer expedition. He was decorated by France with the medal of a Chevalier Legion d’Honour for conspicuous brav¬ ery at Peking when he saved the life of a French marshal. Cavender retired from the army in 1907 and pioneered in motion pictures, both as a director and as a featured player. The World War found the retired army man back in the thick of the fighting. As a major in the Officers’ Reserve Corps, Cavender was called to the colors and served in the intelligence department. One of his feats during the World War was to capture, single- handed, two high officers of the Ger¬ man army and bring them through the American lines. For this service he was again decorated by the United States and French Governments and also by Italy. Cavender was a personal friend of the late Theodore Roosevelt, and served on the future President’s staff during the Spanish-American War. He was chosen by President Roosevelt as the army officer to serve as Alice Roose¬ velt’s personal bodyguard when the ex¬ ecutive’s daughter visited the Philip¬ pines. Directed by the comedy star himself, “The General,” his first United Artists picture, employs the services of thou¬ sands of people and introduces great masses of Civil War equipment, such as three authentic locomotives and scores of 1861 passenger coaches and freight cars. One of the engines plunges through a burning trestle to furnish a $40,000 one-minute’s thrill. Marian Mack, who plays the role of a Confederate belle, is Buster’s new leading lady. “The General.” It was done in the very best tradition of the Northwest. Schedules were changed and Buster’s engines allowed to roam at will during the best sunlit hours. At night the regular, traffic passed over the tracks. It was not unusual for passengers along the line to wait patiently for late trains while the Keaton company held up traffic to burn bridges, tear up track and destroy locomotives and cars, all for the entertainment of . audiences who see “The General.”