The General

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 co-directed it with Clyde Bruckman.

The film is about Jonathan "Johnny", the driver of an engine called "The General" faced with a big war striking his town. He must run with his train to survive this disaster and goes on a huge ancient great action-packed slapstick train locomotive railway adventure comedy with train chases, bridge collapses and more.

It is considered as the best silent film ever made in the world. It is also famous for one of the most expensive scenes in the films. The train crash scene was only made with the budget of $42,000. In this film, there was a largely allotted budget used and which raised its whole budget as well. This entire budget is according to that time that is now in millions because of change in currency values.

Detailed information:

Directed by: Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman

Starring: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender

Release date: Dec 31, 1926

Budget: $42,000 of one scene

Box office: $1 Million