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Engine97 β There Were Two Loves In His Life...
Published: 2015-05-22 21:17:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 1703; Favourites: 47; Downloads: 3
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Description
"...His Engine, and [ his lady friend]."A Colorized still of the locomotive prop (which operated) in the 1926 film "The General". Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton) cleans his engine before his run, that would go down in history as "The Great Locomotive Chase".
Colorized by me (Engine97)
Made with DeviantArt muro
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Comments: 31
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It was scrapped for use in the war effort
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Supposedly, they painted large parts of all three locomotives in shades of gray and white. This was to help bring out detail and make the locomotives stand out in the footage.Β
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Sounds like many of the techniques of the day they would have used!
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Me too, a funny and ageless classic.
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I like buster keaton, is the general HIS tough charcater
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He was almost killed in this film, multiple times.
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He did do all his own stunts. But that's why they call him "buster"
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The train that happened to fall with the bridge that collapses is stillΒ rusting in the creek it fell into in.
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Unfortunately, it was scrapped during WW2.
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The General? I'm certain it's still in a Civil War museum. It featured in an episode of Mysteries at the Museum.
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Not the general, the stunt double engine that crashed in the film. The General is still around as you say.
The one falling off the bridge here: engine97.deviantart.com/art/Wrβ¦
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Oh, I see. Makes sense that they wouldn't use the actual thing.
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Silent films are the pure, intentional conveyances of the cinematic art.Β
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A poetic statement that is ever so true, language as the strongest barrier one has in communication.
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Keaton's original intention was to use the actual real General and the Texas during the filming and had actually secured permission to use both of them from their perspective owners at that time. He also was granted access from the Louisville & Nashville Railroad to film the movie on a branchline just outside of Cookeville, Tennessee. The people in the local area were originally receptive to the idea until they found out that Keaton was coming to the area to make a Civil War comedy which did not bode well with locals who had actually taken part in the war (this was 1926 and civil war veterans still lived mind you). The filming was petitioned and the L&N pulled its support.
Filming was then moved to the then narrow gauge Oregon, Pacific & Eastern outside of Cottage Grove, Oregon where Keaton was given permission to use a couple of the railroads 4-4-0's which were on their way to the scrap yard anyway. After some "backdating" of the equipment those engines became the films General, Texas, and Yonah. The pieces of the films "General" survived stuck in the river where the films climatic train wreck takes place until the second World War when they were collected for scrap.
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Don't you mean the "Texas?"
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Yeah you are right, it's the fake Texas that went in the river. I read it like 3 times before I posted it and still never caught it.
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Having an engine that is partly based on the Texas: kendallcollins.deviantart.com/β¦ you learned about some extra details that most may miss.
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Fascinating! That OP&E has seen it's share of films!
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I do too, it's a masterpiece, almost as good as the train.
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Featuring the most expensive silent movie stunt
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...in the history of silent movies!
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They ran a locomotive off a burning bridge into a creek.
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engine97.deviantart.com/art/Wrβ¦
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Nice job on that!
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