The General (United Artists) (1926)

Good Ones Before Opening MY IDEA OF THE IDEAL GIRL By BUSTER KEATON (Star of “The General at the . Theatre) Close your eyes and watch me closely, folks. I have nothing concealed up my sleeve, and if you know lip reading, it should be easy to say the titles out loud without disturbing your neighbor. I agree perfectly with the late Mons. Munchausen that the first perquisite of the ideal tribute payer to the bobber is that she is able to play pinochle. This insures fiances and husbands against getting pneumonia and hoof and mouth complaint when they are forced to leave the fireside on rainy nights to attend business conferences downtown. The “I’ll Deal” girl also keeps the game speeded up and prevents the heavy winner from suddenly remembering that he promised to be home in time to prepare the police dog’s breakfast. My I. of the I. G. always insists on the rugs being sprinkled with cigar, cigarette and pipe ashes. In fact, she would be expected to tip over a few ash trays in order to make the boy friends feel at ease. She also: Reads the right-hand side of Jesse James cafe menus before ordering from the left-hand side. Doesn’t drag her spouse or sweetheart to recitals given by infant prodigies. Calls the police the minute any of her guests begin reciting “The Shooting of Dan McGrew.” Waives all rights to the radio during jazz music programs and lets hubby tune in on the fight-by-rounds. Also agrees that the sport page is as important as the fashion page in the newspapers, and acts accordingly. Demands that her handsome matte fire his hoipiely stenographer and hire a pretty one. Admits that the reason why she goes to Grand Opera is to see what the other women are wearing, not because she likes the show. Has her nose all powdered, her coiffure all coiffed and her gown all gowned at the exact hour she said she would be ready for the ball, the theatre or the visit to the friends’ house. Refrains from asking foolish questions at the baseball game. Ditto— football game, boxing match and horse race. Doesn’t use expressions such as “Too bee-u-ti-ful for words!”, “So dee- lish-ous, it melts in your mouth!”, “Darlingest thing in the world!” Refuses to agree with ultra-flappers that Mons. Marcel is a greater man than the inventor of the sewing machine; or that the discoverer of radium was a poor prune compared to the bird who thought up the double chocolate pecan sundae. Disclaims having certain relatives who are handsomer than John Barrymore, prettier than Mary Pickford, more athletic than Doug Fairbanks and funnier than Charles Chaplin—needing only the chance in the movies to make the afore¬ said stars lose their jobs. I can tell you where the ideal girl lives. It’s in the town where the dodo birds come from; gasoline sells for five cents a gallon; talking in -picture shows is punishable by boiling in oil; you always get the right number on the telephone; all trains arrive on time; and waiters and hat checkers refuse to be tipped. Try and find it! BU5TUi KeAToN /Vi'TmE: G&NERAL" BK-6—One Col. Scene Cut 30c; Mat 5c KEATON’S LAUGH FEAST COMING TO A thousand and one laughs, plus a hundred and one thrills, plus one-mile- a-minute love affair, equals . . . “The General,” the next attraction at the.Theatre. Buster Keaton is responsible for the biggest comedy spectacle ever brought to the screen, a humorous story of the Civil War that took nearly a year to make, cost a fortune, utilized the ser¬ vices of thousands of people and neces¬ sitated the purchase of three locomo¬ tives and scores of cars for conversion into ante-bellum railroad equipment. The huge laugh opus deals with the lighter chapters of the struggle between the States. Buster, who directed his first United Artists feature, which was produced by Joseph M. Schenck, is a young South¬ erner who pilots one of the crack trains running through Tennessee and Georgia during the early sixties. The outbreak of hostilities finds him anxious to leave civil life and,join the Confederates at the front, but the mili¬ tary leaders secretly decree otherwise and decide he is of more value to the cause as an engineer. This brings com¬ plications, for his sweetheart, her fam¬ ily and the rest of the Southerners brand him as a slacker. The youth gets his chance to prove he is made of heroic stuff when a band of Northerners steal “The General” and dash through Tennessee and Georgia with the wood-burning locomotive, de¬ stroying track, bridges and telegraph wires. Buster chases them, repairing the damage as he goes. How he finally foils the enemy by plunging a locomo¬ tive from a burning bridge into a river and giving warning to the Confederates in time to avert a military disaster forms a climax that is as thrilling as it is mirth-provoking. Keaton’s big supporting cast in “The General” is headed by Marian Mack, one of Hollywood’s best known leading ladies, who has the role of a Confed¬ erate belle. BUSTER KEATON NOT “THE GENERAL” AFTER ALL For the first time in motion picture history, a star allows another character to play the title role in his own pro¬ duction, in Buster Keaton’s “The Gen¬ eral,” which comes to the. Theatre. An iron horse of the crinoline days is “The General.” In April of 1862 the famous An¬ drews railroad raid took place at Big Shanty, Ga., and much of the fun in Keaton’s new comedy centers upon that basic incident. It was fashionable in the days when skirts were skirts and America didn’t need a good five cent cigar to christen your pet locomotive with a symbolic name. So the crack railway snorter of Big Shanty was baptized “The General.” Buster plays the part of the young engineer, an actual character in history, who was so attached to his iron friend and companion, “The General,” that he chased a score of Union daredevils over burning bridges and torn-up tracks, even inside the Federal lines. “The General” is the costliest com¬ edy spectacle ever made and is Keaton’s first picture for United' Artists. Di¬ rected by Buster himself, the comedy was produced by Joseph M. Schenck. “BIOGRAPH BABY” BACK IN FILMS WITH KEATON Ross McCutcheon, who portrays one of the northern raiders in Buster Kea¬ ton’s Civil War comedy spectacle, “The General,” at the .Theatre, was the original “Biograph Baby” in the early days of motion pictures. Young McCutcheon played in the fa¬ mous company which gave present day notables such as D. W. Griffith and Mack Sennett their starts. McCutcheon left* the Biograph Com¬ pany to appear on the legitimate stage with Willie Collier, Sr. He served during the World War and spent five years on the stage after the end of hostilities before again en¬ tering motion pictures. McCutcheon narrowly escaped death when he swam a rapids during the film¬ ing of a spectacular scene in “The General,” which was produced by Jos¬ eph M. Schenck as Keaton’s first pic¬ ture for United Artists. Buster Keaton had a double respon¬ sibility in making “The General,” for he directed his own most ambitious starring vehicle. BUSTER KEATON’S NEW FILM COMING TO The biggest comedy in the history of the motion picture industry is coming to the.Theatre.! It is “The General,” Buster Keaton’s first United Artists starring vehicle. Combining thrills which have never been equaled in the dramatic field with the most laughs of Keaton’s career, “The General” is said to sound a new, dominant note in the comedy world. Produced by Joseph M. Schenck, chair¬ man of the board of directors of the United Artists Corporation, the huge fun film is acknowledged to be the cost¬ liest comedy ever made. Thousands appear in the supporting cast, which is ; headed by Marian Mack, a young actress who temporarily aban¬ doned a starring career in dramatic pictures to become Buster’s leading lady. Miss Mack contends that a leading role in a Keaton United Artists production gives her comedy experience necessary for permanent stardom. “The General” is one picture in which historical accuracy has been pre¬ served without sacrificing laughs. Based on the famous Andrews rail¬ road raid and locomotive chase during the Civil War, the comedy treats the lighter side of the struggle between the States without burlesquing any of the historical episodes. Several battles are re-enacted on the screen in unfolding the story of a young Confederate dare¬ devil who at the start of the war is refused enlistment in the Southern army because of his value to the cause as a railroad engineer. When a band of Northern raiders steal a train and attempt to penetrate into Confederate territory, tearing up track and destroying lines of communi¬ cation, Buster, fearing for the safety of his beloved locomotive, “The General,” and to rescue his sweetheart, a prisoner of the foe, pursues them. One of the sensational scenes in the case is the plunge of a locomotive from a burning trestle into a river. This one thrill alone cost $40,000 to make. As an illustration of the magnitude of the production of “The General” it might be mentioned that the Keaton company purchased three locomotives and dozens of coaches, converted them into Civil War period equipment, and leased several miles of track in the Pacific Northwest. Actual camera work on “The Gen¬ eral” required more than six months. PRIVATE IN SPANISH WAR; GENERAL ON SCREEN One of the interesting personalities in Buster Keaton’s supporting cast in “The General,” the frozen-faced com¬ edy star’s first picture for United Artists and the costliest laugh feature ever maule under the Joseph M. Schenck »anner, is James Farley. Farley, a veteran of the silver sheet, has the role of a Northern General in he spectacular Civil War comedy at he.Theatre. Born at Waldron, Arkansas, on Jan¬ uary 8, 1883, Farley went on the stage at the age of twelve. A few years later, yearning for adventure, he joined the United States army in time to fight in the Philippine rebellion. Farley left the service in 1901 and took a position in the United States Treasury Department. He played in his first motion picture in 1912 and since then has enacted hundreds of roles in films.