Note: This is #3 of my 52 Classic Movies in 52 Weeks challenge for 2009.
Another silent comedy, but this week it’s from Buster Keaton, who was Charlie Chaplin’s contemporary and I can only assume box office rival. I imagine that “Chaplin vs. Keaton” debates are all the rage among movie critics and aspiring film students desparate to show their sophistication, so I’ll just say that based on my extensive viewing of one movie by each, Keaton is no Chaplin.
The plot of The General is pretty straight forward and, oddly enough, based on actual events. Keaton plays Johnnie Gray, an engineer for a Confederate railroad during the U.S. Civil War. In order to woo his sweetheart, Gray tries to enlist in the military, but is rejected. Heartbroken, Gray returns to his life as the engineer for his engine, The General, until it is hijacked by Union spies intent on blazing a trail for a Northern army to strike at the heart of the South. From there, hijinks ensue as Gray steals the train back, flees from the Union soldiers, and tries to protect his sweetheart (who just happened to be on The General when it was hijacked).
There were definitely some funny and impressive gags in The General, and a lot of credit has to be given to Keaton. The protracted railroad chase scene is surprisingly inventive and amusing, with Keaton coming up with an amazing number of stunts in order to elude and slow down his pursuers. This is all the more impressive for the lack of special effects and the fact that Keaton did all his own acrobatics.
In contrast to Chaplin’s brand of smooth, precise, and charming physical comedy, though, Keaton is all about big movements and stunts. He’s chopping through wood with an axe, hurling boxes off moving boxcars, hefting firewood around, clobbering people with rifle butts, scrambling over moving train engines, tossing rail road ties into each other, and more. The athleticism and daring on display is impressive, and while it’s very different from Chaplin, it’s often used to get some good laughs or surprised grunts.
What bugged me about Keaton, though, is throughout almost the entire movie he wore a still mask almost completely devoid of expression. It was like a clown and a mime fell in love and Keaton was the result. It robbed the movie of any human element or warmth that it might have had, since Keaton didn’t really seem like he was there during any of the parts that didn’t involve slapstick action.
Still, amusing enough and worth it for all the railway shenanigans.
Others doing the 52-in-52 thing this week:
- Jeremy reviews Slumdog Millionaire
It kind of sounds like a 1920s send up of the current day comic action hero dude (a la Bruce Willis with a touch more Stephen Segal for the extra wooden non-expressive-acting bits).
Kind of, except Keaton isn’t particularly masculine.