This Ground-Breaking Pro-Southern Silent Film Broke All Barriers and Records
And It's Probably NOT the One Your Thinking Of
The Most Expensive Shot in Silent Film History
On July 23, 1926, silent film star Buster Keaton crashed a full-sized locomotive into an Oregon river, setting the record for the most expensive shot in silent film history.
The incredible stunt was filmed for The General, one of Keaton’s most memorable comedies. The stunt reportedly cost $42,000, approximately $750,000 in today’s money.
The General is loosely based on a real Civil War incident known as the Great Locomotive Chase and it involves Keaton’s character Johnnie Gray, a Southern railroad engineer, chasing his beloved, stolen train called The General across enemy lines using whatever vehicles he can find, leading to a long, brilliantly choreographed chase filled with physical comedy and large-scale stunts.
Keaton, who co-directed the movie, was given a $400,000 budget and arrived at the filming location in Cottage Grove, Oregon, pulling 18 freight cars full of “Civil War-era cannons, rebuilt passenger cars, stagecoaches, houses, wagons and laborers,” according to Wikipedia.
The collapsing bridge scene is the climax of the movie. Keaton employed six cameras for the scene; curiously only one angle was shown in the final edit. Cottage Grove declared a local holiday so the town could watch the spectacle. A reported 4,000 residents turned up. Coupled with the…
One of my all-time favorite films growing up as a youngster! Buster Keaton was incredible in that film and the story was both funny and excitingly tense at the same time!