The General (1926)

This film is a masterpiece, and one of the best and funniest films I have ever seen.  The General was directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman, and stars Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Joe Keaton (Buster's dad), Glen Cavender, and Jim Farley. From making the viewer empathize with the characters, to the thrilling chase scenes, to the some of the funniest moments ever filmed The General has everything.  Every stunt Keaton performs is better than the one before it, and his fascination with trains is evident and the focal point of the entire feature.  I think the attention to detail as well as the chemistry between the main characters is what makes the film so great.

The story begins at the start of the Civil War.  Johnnie Gray (Keaton) tries to enlist as a soldier in the Confederate army.  He gets turned down but not because the army doesn't want him, but because they think he'll be more valuable to them in his current job as an engineer.  Of course they don't explain this to Johnnie so he, and everyone else including his girl, think he didn't join because he was unfit or that he was a coward.

When Johnnie's train is stolen by Union spies the fun begins as he tries to track down his missing locomotive, and his beloved Annabelle (Mack) who was kidnapped while she just happened to be on the train at the time it was taken.  From this point on the film becomes a showcase for Keaton's many talents whether they are his directorial skills, physical stunts, or his slapstick gags and routines.

Marion Mack is adorable, I would love to have her for a sweetheart, and I think she plays the role of the dizzy girlfriend really well.  I personally think she steals some of Buster's thunder in some of the scenes she shares with him.  One great scene has Johnnie Gray and Annabelle being chased by the Union army. While Johnnie has his hands full trying to stay ahead of the enemy, Annabelle picks up a broom and decides to tidy up the engine a bit.  Keaton's reaction is priceless. 

The stunts are unbelievable.  I imagine the film must have been fairly costly to make due to the lavish scenery, props, and cinematography.

The score by composer Robert Israel does just what it should, it enhances every single scene. Overall, what an incredible film.  I actually ended up watching this a few times over the past couple of days, and to be honest with you, I would have no problem sitting through it again. For anyone who isn't familiar with Keaton's work this is a great film to start out with.  And for Keaton fans, just sit down and enjoy the magic one more time ...

The Haunted House (1921)

The Haunted House is a hilarious short directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, written by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, and produced by Joseph M. Schenck.  The short stars Buster Keaton (of course), Virginia Fox,  and frequent Keaton antagonist "Big" Joe Roberts.  It also costars Edward F. Cline (as one of the bank customers), Dorothy Cassil, and Natalie Talmadge (she's the girl who faints in the bank) who would become Keaton's wife.

A bank teller (Keaton) manages to get out of one sticky situation only to find himself in another as he foils a bank robbery and ends up in a "haunted house" which ends up being the bank robbers hideout.  Keaton, who's now mistaken for one of the bank robbers/counterfeiters, hides out in the house with a troupe of performers (in full costume) who were booed and chased off the stage of a local theater. 

The house is actually rigged with trick gadgets to scare off anyone, especially the police, who happens to stumble upon the hideout.  But Buster doesn't know this and it takes him a little while to catch on.  And when he does he catches the crooks, saves the girl, and saves the day.  He does have a slight problem negotiating a stairway to heaven, but everything turns out okay in the end.  Great two-reeler, and lots of fun.

Eddie Cline started out as one of the Keystone Cops and also directed several W.C. Fields films.  Joseph Schenck was fairly successful in his career producing films and shorts for Keaton and others, as well as his own wife Norma Talmadge (Keaton's sister-in-law).  Virginia Fox appeared in some of Max Sennet's comedy shorts, and Joe Roberts frequently appeared as a villain in other Keaton films.

Check out busterstuff.com for some pretty cool collectibles and stuff.

On Screen -- Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)

I have to say, I think "Steamboat Bill Jr." is one of the funniest films I have ever seen.  Like I've said before, if first impressions of a film mean anything to you then you know you're in for a great one.  Riverboat captain "William Canfield" (Ernest Torrence) is awaiting the arrival of his son "William Canfield Jr. aka Steamboat Bill Jr." (Buster Keaton) whom he hasn't seen since he was a child.  With Keaton's first appearance in the film standing on the wrong side of the train platform while his father is trying to find him, and then his proceeding to go from one stranger to another showing his carnation like an ID badge the laughs are practically nonstop.  He told his father that he would recognise him because he would be wearing a white carnation, but so is everyone else on the train.

  Much to the captain's dismay Bill Jr.'s  arrival is somewhat of a disappointment to him and his crew.  Bill Jr. turns out to be totally unskilled and unmotivated as far as joining his father in the operation of his riverboat business.  As his father tries to whip him into shape by getting him shaved and buying him a new wardrobe, Bill Jr. meets and falls in love with "Kitty" (a petite and perky Marion Byron), who also happens to be the daughter of  Bill Sr.'s business rival.  Anyone who can take the simple task of trying on a hat and turning the action into a comedy masterpiece is a genius.  Despite both men's objections Bill Jr. spends the rest of the film trying to prove himself to Kitty.

The film is chock full of signature Buster Keaton stunts, some so daring it's been said that even some of the camera crew had to "look the other way" while filming some of them, and Keaton executes them with surgical precision.  The special effects and stunts in the storm scene are remarkable given what they had to work with and the technology available to them at that time.  The musical score by the Alloy Orchestra works well with the film but seems a little overpowering at times.  I'd like to try to find a version of the film with the original score and compare the two.

This was the last film by Buster Keaton while working as an independent film producer and was released one year after the first "talkie", The Jazz Singer (1927).  It was really the last film that Keaton would have total control over because he usually financed his films with his own money as an independent filmmaker.  He went on to sign with and work for the MGM film factory, the studio that frequently boasted that they had " more stars than there are in heaven ...", so obviously they couldn't concentrate their attentions on only one performer no matter how popular they were.  Unfortunately the quality of following Keaton films were not up to par with this one due to his limited power.

It's not too often that I actually laugh out loud during a film, but there are a barrel full of laughs here.  For me, Buster Keaton remains one of the undisputed kings of slapstick.  Enjoy ...