The General
“Buster drives "The General" to trainload of laughter.”
During America’s Civil War, Union spies steal engineer Johnnie Gray's beloved locomotive, 'The General'—with Johnnie's lady love aboard an attached boxcar—and he single-handedly must do all in his power to both get The General back and to rescue Annabelle.
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Cast
43 people
Buster Keaton
Johnnie Gray
Known for
Sherlock Jr.
The Cameraman
Marion Mack
Annabelle Lee
Also in
Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow
Mary of the Movies
Glen Cavender
Captain Anderson
Known for
The New Janitor
The Rough House
Jim Farley
General Thatcher
Also in
Westward Ho
Midnight Phantom
Frederick Vroom
A Southern General
Known for
The Navigator
Frank Barnes
Annabelle's Brother
Charles Henry Smith
Annabelle's Father
Joe Keaton
Union General
Known for
Sherlock Jr.
Our Hospitality
Mike Donlin
Union General
Known for
Spite Marriage
Tom Nawn
Union General
Also in
Keep Moving
Henry Baird
Soldier (uncredited)
Joe Bricher
Soldier (uncredited)
Buster Keaton Director · Clyde Bruckman Director William Pittenger Author
Worldwide gross $1M · Budget $750K · United States release December 25, 1926
Box office
Budget
$750,000
Worldwide gross
$1,000,000
Gross vs. budget
1.3×
Production
Joseph M. Schenck Productions
Production
Buster Keaton Productions
Production
United Artists Pictures
Studio
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
No dialogue
Release dates
Canada · December 25, 1926
Theatrical
United States · December 25, 1926
Limited theatrical · El Paso, TX
United States
December 26, 1926 · Limited theatrical · Bridgeport, CT
January 15, 1927 · Limited theatrical · Portland, OR
Australia
October 26, 1984 · Physical
Austria
May 20, 2005 · Digital
Brazil
December 25, 1927 · Theatrical
April 20, 2016 · Physical · DVD
March 25, 2025 · Limited theatrical · CCSP (Mostra "100 Anos de Filme")
China
November 14, 2026 · Premiere · Golden Rooster & Hundred Flowers Film Festival
Denmark
December 25, 1926 · Theatrical
Finland
December 25, 1926 · Theatrical
France
February 23, 1927 · Theatrical
September 15, 2004 · Theatrical · Restoration, rerelease
October 18, 2026 · Digital · France.tv
October 18, 2026 · TV · France 3
Germany
April 3, 1927 · Theatrical
Italy
December 29, 2025 · TV · 2019 4k restoration
Japan
December 31, 1926 · Theatrical
Netherlands
April 5, 2012 · Physical · DVD
September 1, 2016 · Theatrical · Re-release
Norway
December 25, 1926 · Theatrical
Poland
December 9, 2011 · Digital
Portugal
December 25, 1926 · Limited theatrical
Sweden
February 27, 1927 · Theatrical
United Kingdom
January 16, 1927 · Theatrical
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Some details come from TheTVDB.