Centennial Film Series: The General (1926)

By Blaise Balas

If you asked a random person on the street if they could name a silent movie star, odds are one of the first they would come up with would be Buster Keaton. And for very good reason; famous for his expressive face, extraordinary physical abilities, and the talent to always do his own stunts — including, but not limited to, the infamous house gag that has been paid homage to countless times since it was first screened — Buster Keaton was truly one of the greatest stars Hollywood ever had.

So it makes perfect sense to screen one of his most renowned films, “The General,” in the Fargo Theatre’s Centennial Film Series. It marks a century of both “The General” and the Fargo Theatre itself. However, despite the recognition “The General” receives today, it was a box office flop when it came out, barely making a profit globally, and not making a profit domestically.

This would be unremarkable if Keaton was simply a genius ahead of his time whose movies only received acclaim decades later, but this was not the case. Audiences had loved Keaton’s earlier work. “One Week” was a smash hit and set the stage for future success. But the same spirit was not brought to “The General” just a few years later, at what could be called the height of Keaton’s career. So what made such a brilliant film so unappealing to its original audiences?

The first thing to keep in mind about “The General” is that, despite being a comedy, it is also a war movie. It follows Johnnie Gray, a man who is charming in a hapless sort of way (and also has the kind of raw athletic ability required to run across the top of a logging car). “The General” consists mostly of ingenious chases, as he attempts to both secure a train stolen from the Confederate Army and rescue his lady love Annabelle Lee (Marion Marck), who has been trapped on it.

The fact of “The General” being a war movie simply cannot be ignored. One of the first title cards declares that Fort Sumter has been fired upon, setting Johnnie Gray up to enlist, only to be turned away. It is important to keep this in mind within the United States release year of 1927, a year in which the American public at large was not particularly inclined to watch a war movie, let alone a comedic one.

In the Roaring 20s, most Americans did not want to be reminded of the Great War. They wanted to party, smoke, bootleg and revel in the new era of prosperity the World War I ushered in. The war was in the past, and with few exceptions, people went to see movies to be entertained, not be reminded of the horrific violence of the past decade. That said, they didn’t want to see war of any kind being poked fun at, either.

As a war/comedy mash-up, “The General” is full of hijinks and mishaps. In many ways, it is truly critical of war, highlighting the ridiculousness of spying and espionage and making war seem childish and frivolous. And the one thing a country trying to put a war behind them wants less than being reminded of war is being reminded that war is pointless.

American audiences found Keaton’s satirical examination of war to be irreverent. What we now call brilliant writing, directing and acting within the context of one of the most consequential wars in American history, audiences in the 20s likely thought of as…well, rather tasteless. One did not go to a Buster Keaton film for social commentary. They went to watch a man narrowly avoid being crushed by the front of a DIY house. And “The General” stung all the more for being played from the perspective of one of the most infamous losing sides in history.

It is almost immediately established that Johnnie Gray is a Southerner. He is trying to enlist in the Confederate Army. After being turned away the second time, he says “Don’t blame me if you lose this war.” To modern viewers, this moment is truly hilarious under the knowledge that the South did, indeed, lose the war. To viewers then, it hit a little too close to home, serving as a reminder that the country celebrating such prosperity had been so relatively recently divided, and just eight years prior, left others to suffer their own losses of defeat. Johnnie Gray’s position as an aspiring Confederate soldier rings a note of bitter irony throughout the film’s slapstick physical comedy.

In the year 2026, we recognize Buster Keaton’s “The General” as one of the greatest silent films ever made. It is a hilariously satirical war movie, pointing out the flaws and frivolities of war while making the audience root for its hero. By making several of the greatest physical comedy moments ever put to screen a large part of the movie, “The General” makes war into theater, full of train robberies and overheard plans and the outcome of battles decided by which direction a train goes on a diverging track.

Oftentimes, however, that kind of commentary is simply not well received in the era upon which it is commenting. To quote Marty McFly, “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it.”

“The General” became a classic decades after its release. It takes a very special kind of movie to flop as hard as “The General” did and then be recognized as a classic as far as a hundred years in the future. “The General” is exactly that kind of special.

Tickets for “The General,” screening with a live pipe organ score at the Fargo Theatre on Tuesday, May 12th as part of the Centennial Film Series, are on sale at the box office and will also be available at the door.