The General (1926)

One of the most revered comedies of the silent era….Buster Keaton’s favorite film and masterpiece, The General. Shot on location in Cottage Grove, Oregon in the summer of 1926, The General contains the most expensive stunt ever filmed in the silent era: The iconic shot of a real locomotive crashing off a collapsing bridge and into the ravine below.

THE GENERAL 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.

The late-great Orson Welles gave this review: 

“The greatest comedy ever made, the greatest Civil War film ever made, and perhaps the greatest film ever made”

Organist Dean Lemire will be performing his original score on the Hollywood’s Mighty Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ.

Tickets available at: https://hollywoodtheatre.org/tickets/16511/

Runtime: 75 min

Proof of vaccination or negative COVID test will be required to attend this screening. Learn more here. Most screenings are currently at 75% capacity. Masks are required while in all common areas, including in your seat when not actively eating or drinking.