Classic Cinemas

Buster drives "The General" to a trainload of laughter.

"An epic of silent comedy" – Roger Ebert

Buster Keaton's Civil War farce is today considered one of the greatest films ever made. Truly epic in scale, and one of the most expensive films of its day, it contains one of Keaton's most iconic (and dangerous) stunts: a death-defying ride on the front of a train car.

The General (1926) finds hapless Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny's fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton's boundless wit and dexterity.

Screens with Cops (1922), one of Keaton's most iconic shorts which features an extended and brilliantly inventive chase sequence.