Buster Keaton Destroyed a Locomotive in the Silent Film The General
Most contemporary viewers do not always think of the silent film era as being jam-packed with high-end stunts, but that is not always the case. Buster Keaton was a man who aspired to leave a mark on the screen, and he succeeded in doing so with the 1926 picture The General.
In the picture, director and star Keaton dazzled viewers with the priciest stunt ever pulled off in a silent film. A train would run into a blazing bridge and plunge through it directly into the river below. These days, railway disasters can be seen in a variety of films, including Wanted, The Fugitive, and others. Keaton simply crashed a genuine locomotive in 1926 because he didn't have access to the fancy effects used in those movies from the present day.
The train was reasonably priced at the time, $42,000. Inflation-adjusted, that amounts to a $682,000 prank. It also had to be done correctly because it is something you can only accomplish once. He only gave in to his wife's request that he not travel the train himself as a safety measure.
- Cost: $42,000( at that time)~ $682,000( now)
