The General (United Artists) (1926)

Advance Or During Run IF I HAD A VACATION By BUSTER KEATON (<Star of “The General at the . Theatre) I’m not going to get a week’s vacation—not the kind of a vacation I mean—so this will be a pipe dream. Vacations are the bunk, anyway. It takes me a month to prepare for a week’s vacation, and a month to rest up after one. Therefore I must have nine weeks—and my wife and children, office boy, cameramen, “gag” men, police dogs and sparring partners say it can’t be done without a permit from a congressional inves¬ tigating committee. But if the millennium arrived and I found myself with a week’s loafing at my disposal, I’d: Start hunting for the bird who first said, “So’s Your Old Man.” After gleefully slaying him I’d: Run amuck until no wise crackers were left to thank you for the buggy ride, and then: Try to find a Russian refugee who held lower rank than general before the revolution, and if I had any time left: Take in a few baseball games and boxing bouts, go to a circus, if there were one in town; ride the roller coaster at the beach, eat hot dogs, peanuts and popcorn until I couldn’t hold any more,— And then go home and sleep until Monday morning rolled around again. BK-3—One Col. Sketches 4 on Mat 10c KEATON FILM BASED ON HISTORICAL FACT “The General,” Buster Keaton’s latest comedy, and the feature attraction next week at the . Theatre, has an authentic Civil War background, be¬ ing based on one of the most thrilling chapters of the struggle between the States—the famous Andrews railroad raid and locomotive chase. Andrews and a score of Union men captured the locomotive, “The General,” at Big Shanty, Georgia, in April, 1862, hoping to make their way to Chatta¬ nooga, burning bridges and destroying the road on their way, thus preventing the Southern army from succoring Chattanooga. The success of this raid might have turned the tide of the war. Buster plays the part of the engineer “The. General.” He is refused ad¬ mission into the Southern army, al¬ though his sweetheart has informed him that unless he puts on the gray of the South she will have nothing further to do with him. The reason for the refusal of h's enlistment is that the military authorises believe him to be of more value to the cause as an engineer. His friends of the South turn against him, thinking it merely a subterfuge to avoid service. His girl turns him down. His only friend is his locomotive. So, when the Andrews raiders steal it, he starts in pursuit, not so much to do his duty to the cause as to res¬ cue his only friend and companion, “The General.” He follows the raid¬ ers so closely that they are prevented from carrying through their bridge burning plans. However, he follows them too closely, and finds himself within the Northern lines, where he •is captured. His sweetheart, who was on the train, is likewise made a captive inadvertently, as she was in the baggage car looking through her trunk when the raid started. She thinks Buster’s appearance on the scene is to rescue her. Buster man¬ ages to escape with the girl, seize “The General” and starts back. He has learned of plans for an attack on the South which he unconsciously man¬ ages to frustrate by accidently block¬ ing the way, and giving warning. He is acclaimed a hero and is permitted to enlist, his sweetheart forgiving him, and the friends who shunned him idolizing him. He is likewise appointed a lieu¬ tenant in the Southern Army. “The General” was produced on a lav¬ ish scale, with thousands in the sup¬ porting cast, and the use of miles of specially built railroad. THREE THOUSAND PEOPLE IN BUSTER KEATON COMEDY < In producing “The General,” the first big Buster Keaton picture for United Artists, at the.Theatre this veek, Joseph M. Schenck provided the frozen-faced star with the largest com¬ pany and the costliest settings and equipment ever assembled for a comedy. As many as three thousand people were on the payroll during the filming of the Civil War laugh feature, a pic¬ ture which treats of the lighter side of the war between the states but which does not in any way burlesque the stir¬ ring events of the sixties. “The General” was in production for more than six months, the Keaton com- oany being forced to travel thousands of miles from Hollywood to find the right locations. At one location in Ore- on, where six cameras were used to “shoot” some of the biggest scenes, Buster and his army of actors and tech¬ nical workers spent ten weeks. Three locomotives and scores of freight cars and passengers, rebuilt into Civil War period rolling stock, were taken to Ore¬ gon from Hollywood and twelve miles >f railroad track leased. Civil War towns were erected along the right of way, modern bridges dis- nantled and wooden trestles, such as vere in use along the Atlantic & West¬ ern line in Tennessee and Georgia in the sixties, substituted. Because of the danger from forest fires caused by sparks from the old vood-burning locomotives which figure in “The General,” special arrangements were made with the state of Oregon to have a small army of fire wardens on duty constantly. Physicians and nurses were on hand all during the filming of ffie picture to care for the casualties in the battle scenes and the spectacular railway wrecks. “The General” is based on the his¬ toric Andrews railroad raid during the war, when a band of northerners stole in engine and penetrated into Confed¬ erate territory, tearing up track, de¬ stroying telegraph wires and burning bridges as they headed for Chattanooga. Keaton, who directed “The General” with Clyde Bruckman, is supported by i big cast of well known principals and thousands of extras. Marian Mack is Buster’s leading lady in the spectacular Civil War comedy. KEATON WORKED SIX MONTHS BEFORE FILM¬ ING ONE SCENE Months of preparation elapsed before a single scene was made in “The Gen¬ eral,” Buster Keaton’s first United Artists Picture which comes to the .Theatre., after being hailed by critics who have seen it as the most elaborate comedy spectacle in the history of the motion picture indus¬ try. Technical and research workers trav¬ eled thousands of miles through the east and south in their quest for data in connection with the Civil War story. Thousands of uniforms had to be spe¬ cially tailored, great quantities of old rifles, pistols, swords, artillery pieces and other relics assembled and tons of properties and acres of sets built. One of the unique features was the purchase of three old locomotives and scores of freight cars and passenger coaches and their reconstruction into railroad rolling stock of the sixties. All this mass of material, destined to play an important part in producing the big laugh feature based on the his¬ toric Andrews railroad raid and loco¬ motive chase in Tennessee and Georgia, was transported by special train to Oregon, where the Keaton company spent several months on location. The spectacle of thousands of actors, garbed as Union and Confederate sol¬ diers, engaged in battle, burning bridges, blowing up trains and dotting the countryside with their war-like camps, attracted throngs to the Keaton location from all parts of the Pacific coast. It was estimated that there were 12,000 people on hand the day Keaton spent $40,000 on a scene that occupies a minute’s time on the screen — the plunge of a real locomotive from a burning trestle into the river below. After completing the spectacular scenes on location, Keaton and his “General” company returned to Holly¬ wood and spent several weeks filming interiors at the frozen-faced star’s big studio. Many more weeks were re¬ quired to edit and cut the mass of film. “The General,” which was produced under the Joseph M. Schenck banner, is Keaton’s first United Artists Picture. Directed by Buster himself and Clyde Bruckman, the historically accurate Civil War comedy boasts a notable sup¬ porting cast, including Marian Mack, the star’s new leading lady. BK-3—One Col. Sketches 4 on Mat 10c “THE GENERAL” MADE SPECTATORS HYSTERICAL Realism in motion pictures: When spectators, watching a scene being “shot,” become hysterical. This actually happened while Buster Keaton was making his latest picture, “The General,” at the.Theatre. And it’s a comedy, too; in fact, the biggest comedy in the history of the cinema industry, costing more to make and taking longer to produce than any previous laugh feature. One scene alone represents an ex¬ penditure of $40,000, and it represents less than a minute’s action on the screen. It is the crash of a real locomotive through a burning trestle into a river hundreds of feet below, and on the day that the wreck was filmed, thousands of spectators were on hand to see the thrill enacted. When the Civil War type railway engine, one of the three especially built for “The General,” fell through the blazing bridge and plunged into the stream with an explosion that could be-, heard over a radius of several miles in Oregon, where the Keaton Company was on location, it was the signal for thousands of Union soldiers to ford the river and pursue the Confederates. The excitement of witnessing a real railroad wreck in such a spectacular setting, followed by the sight of great masses of troops milling around in the water, with numbers of soldiers swim¬ ming for their lives after being thrown from their horses, was too much for many of the women in the great audi¬ ence. Screams from the spectators could be heard above the din. Seemingly the only calm persons among the thousands were Buster him¬ self, directing his own picture, and the dozen cinematographers behind the bat¬ tery of cameras that recorded the $40,- 000 thrill. The doctors who were on hand to care for casualties in the battle scenes were forced to devote some of their time to hysterical spectators. Produced by Joseph M. Schenck, “The General” is Buster’s first United Artists picture. More than 200,000 feet of film was “shot” in making “The General,” Bus¬ ter Keaton’s big comedy spectacle at the . Theatre. From this mass of swift and hilarious action Buster and his staff of editors and cutters selected the 7,000 odd feet in the film.