| The General | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:The_General_(1926)_-_Movie_Poster_2.png) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Buster Keaton Clyde Bruckman |
| Screenplay by | Al Boasberg Clyde Bruckman Buster Keaton Charles Smith |
| Based on | The Great Locomotive Chase 1863 memoir Union soldier by William Pittenger |
| Produced by | Joseph Schenck Buster Keaton |
| Starring | Buster Keaton Marion Mack |
| Cinematography | Devereaux Jennings Bert Haines |
| Edited by | Buster Keaton Sherman Kell |
| Music by | William P. Perry (1970)[a] |
Production companies | Buster Keaton Productions Joseph M. Schenck Productions |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 79 minutes (8 reels) (times vary with different versions) |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
| Budget | $750,000 |
| Box office | $1 million |
The General is a 1926 American silent film released by United Artists. It was inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase, a true story of an event that occurred during the American Civil War. The story was adapted from the 1889 memoir The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger. The film stars Buster Keaton, who also co-directed it along with Clyde Bruckman.
At the time of its initial release, The General, an action comedy film made toward the end of the silent era, was not well received by critics and audiences, resulting in mediocre box office returns (about half a million dollars domestically, and approximately one million worldwide). Because of its huge budget ($750,000 supplied by Metro chief Joseph Schenck) and failure to turn a significant profit, Keaton lost his independence as a film maker and was forced into a restrictive deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
In 1954, the film entered the public domain in the United States because its claimant did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.[2] In 1989, the film was selected by the Library of Congress to be included in the first class of films for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
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- ^ "BFI: The General". bfi.org. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
- ^ Fishman, Stephen (2010). The Public Domain: How to Find & Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More (5th ed.). Nolo (retrieved via Internet Archive). p. [1]. ISBN 9781413312058. Retrieved October 31, 2010.