GAUGE THE ISSUE: Salute The General!

DISCLAIMER:
Any views or opinions expressed in this video are those of Chris Eden-Green and are made without intention of offending anyone.
Buster Keaton's The General is in the Public Domain.
'Allo Allo' is owned by the BBC.
Most of the images are from Wikipedia and licensed under Creative Commons 2.0 and 3.0, OR are in the Public Domain. All Third Party content is referenced under the US Copyright Act within Section 107's "fair use" guidelines.
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[@guillermocruz2440]

"It aged like fine wine" I would say

[@vincentberkan605]

Today, the real General is on display at the Civil War Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. The Texas, the other locomotive involved in the chase, is currently under restoration at the Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina. The Yonah (another locomotive involved in the chase) was sadly scrapped in 1878.

[@bluefoxy6478]

At lest theres a model of it in the museum were the general is. Though, i wish both of these civil war engines would run again. Im also sure that replica of yonah would be built from scratch to join the 2 at some point, heck maybe the entire line which the chase happened should be rebuilt as a heritage line.

[@robertlucido3686]

Don't forget the William R. Smith

[@TheSudrianStoryteller]

At 6:04, I remember seeing that scene in the 2011 movie adaption: Hugo.

[@steam-powered-cyborg]

This does sound like an interesting movie. I'm now tempted to check out this movie.

[@peterbenham2340]

"The General" likely came out too soon following WWI. So, to be showing war time battle casualties in what was thought to be a disrespectful way was behind a lot of the criticism of the film. The New York Herald Tribune's panning can also be traced to Keaton's pro- Confederate plot line.

[@compagejohn]

Nicely done Chris. Given the amount of work you have put into this you deserve to succeed.

[@ChristheXelent]

You're very kind John.

[@BramGroatFilms]

I saw this five years ago in a Film History class. I had no idea when it started that it was about trains. I was then very delighted by the sight of a train appearing on the screen, and then at the sight that the film was about trains. This became one of my two favorite films I saw in that class. (The other being A Matter of Life and Death.)

[@Coalsmoke]

This is one of my favourite motion pictures. Buster Keaton was a true comedic genius and his mastery of comedy is evident in this film. He knew how to play the "Gag" to perfection and his skill at timing everything perfectly was unmatched in Hollywood, then and now. Let's not forget that Keaton was Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Actor and Stuntman on this film just like all the other films he made. And that scene where he was picking a sleeper out from between the rails as the locomotive creeps up behind him... It was him, and the cameraman on a flat car ahead of the train that caught all the action. Nobody was driving the locomotive. There's not a film studio anywhere on earth that would allow that scene to be done today. It's simply too dangerous. If he slipped up in that scene and caught his foot on the track, or if he slid off the pilot while filming, there would have been an movie of his death. The cameraman was not allowed to stop filming, no matter what, until Buster yelled "Cut"

[@Dallas-Nyberg]

You are right Chris.... I have this movie on DVD...a couple of years ago, my 12 yo daughter decided to watch it... I could hear her chuckling away at Buster's antics and she was totally immersed in the story. She became oblivious to the fact that it was a silent movie. It is now one of favourite movies. Once she had seen an "olden day" movie, she asked if I had any more.... I gave her my boxed set of Ma & Pa Kettle movies to watch... she loved them... Cheers

[@LNER4771]

Just as I commented last video. Thanks for taking a look at this wonderful piece of art.

[@TheGWR0-4-0]

I found and watched Buster Keatons The General when i was six on KZbin and i loved it!!

[@alexpaumen3937]

Ever since I first saw that scene where Keaton pushes that railroad sleeper out of the way. I had been hooked on The General ever since.

[@ericpierre53]

Great Video Chris. Right after Watching that, I was feeling the urge to watch it, but wasn't sure how. Then, I turned my head to my DVD collection and remembered: "Oh Yeah, My Parents bought a Buster Keaton collection a while back." I'll be sure to watch this in the near future.

[@ZekPatterson]

Finally got around to catching this flick, I loved every second of it!

[@ThatCoalSoul]

1:02 Nice CinemaSins reference!

[@Willowfs4472]

Fantastic Chris I have seen shorts of those clips but didn't know who it was,I'm going to have a look out for them now .

[@maple1232]

Hi Chris, Thanks for putting me on to this film. Mr Keaton was some stunt man eh? Silent films with trains are my new obsession!!

[@engineer6325]

This was the film Keaton gave his famous production order: "Do not stop filming until either one of two things happen.....One, we get the shot...Or two, I'm killed instantly." I ADORE this film....I used to watch it religiously as a kid....

[@Jaidencharlotte]

I found the full film on KZbin while I was at school It was a very enjoyable free period

[@zoombini1831]

i used to go to the museum where the general is with my grandma when i was little. The loud whistle always scared me

[@TheSteamdriver]

saw it as a child on video and loved it

[@stratagama]

I watched this film in high school and I think you hit the nail on the head. Buster had a stereotypical roll and this broke the mold. That and how things like using death as a gag made it to advanced for the audience it was intended for. I actually have this movie on Blu Ray now because of it

[@themidlandcompoundarchive9430]

what a great video and what a great film

[@nicklehne7486]

I dig these new videos! and you gave me a new film the check out!

[@Ethan-ey4jx]

Great video, I like the video of the American 4-4-0 General as a kid

[@TrevorPalVA]

Interesting viewpoints on this film Chris! I can see how this film has its praises and its faults. It's certainly a great silent film and a presentable adaptation of The Great Locomotive Chase in the basic story arc format. It's usually those few historical facts that tend to be a problem for it. Vice versa on Disney's adaptation, following the accounts of one of the surviving Union spies from the event. The movie's focus on who's the good guy/bad guy can feel confusing, but I tend to look at the film as a docudrama. Not so much as it is one, but it can play a bit like one from a certain point of view. Kind of like James Cameron's "Titanic," the love story is interesting even though in the end (which for the disaster, is already given), the tragedy of the romance plays well to it. It is a shame that the film didn't live well when it was released the first time, but you can say it's like wine, when aged just right, it taste wonderful.

[@vincentberkan605]

I watched Allo Allo when I was little, we used to watch it every saturday night on British Comedies.

[@lukenoble3319]

I need to watch this film now! Wish I could give this video 100 thumbs up!

[@thomashambly3718]

It's on KZbin for free. Watch the original music version

[@mortisvult2658]

I can tell you put work and care into this and as an american train fan I love seeing the American type 4-4-0(Its my favorite Loco)

[@ThePhosphater]

A great Film

[@samuelfarris1949]

Your thoughts of this film are my thoughts exactly, Chris. I should also add that The General is a shining example of a plot-line constructed in three acts, which by the standards of silent film-making at the time, where you could just go one way or the other, is an incredible feat. Regards, Samuel Farris.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

Have you thought of doing "Railrodder", Keaton's short swansong? It's only a few minutes long, but it's brilliant!

[@TommyPicklesFan]

There was also a Film that takes place in 1862 which is Disney's The Great Locomotive chase from 1956.

[@andrewboyd8073]

I also liked the one film where hi home-made house was destroyed by a train near the end. I think it was filmed on the Santa Fe if I remember correctly.

[@regent260]

If you're a steam locomotive fan, and have an interest in the era of silent films, i.e. 1920's, you may very well be interested in the theatre or cinema organs that accompanied films of that era. The Wurlitzer Unit orchestra or theatre organ seems to attract many, many steam fans and vice versa. I'm one of them, and have accompanied this film many times at the Wurlitzer console. Look up Richard Hills or Simon Gledhill on KZbin. Thanks for the outstanding videos.

[@99superbot]

Thank you for this recommendation. I have seen the general and I enjoyed it immensely! Now if I can just find a copy of titfield thunderbolt.

[@sjsharpie4573]

liking these new videos Chris

[@bluehairedgirlstudio]

Interesting, I'll give it try. Also, a suggestion for a another episode. Renaming and renumbering locomotives

[@MatecaCorp]

Well if this movie came out today it would have an even worse reception. If 1920s Americans "weren't ready" to accept a confederate hero, modern audiences would literally start riots about it.

[@TERRYBARTLETTRAILMAN28]

nice one Chris I have to say great picture of Andrew Hardy I recognize the photo of the driver in the hat it was definitely him looking forward to more

[@bm6chime]

Great job Chris. I haven’t even seen the movie yet but you make me want to watch it right now! Also, have you heard of the Boston & Maine Railroad P-4 Pacific #3713. It is named “The Constitution”.

[@Thej611]

I have The General on VHS. I always loved his movie!

[@bluefoxy6478]

I would suggest you burn it as a video file in case it does get damage.

[@JohnDavies-cn3ro]

Good to catch up with this, Chris. I love the film. One reason it failed was that audiences were still used to slapstick, Keystone Kops humour, and the fun in the General is much more subtle and low key - Marion Mack, sweeping the cab footplate clean, throwing a baulk over the side because it's got a hole in it and, when Buster sarcastically gives her a splinter, throwing it in the firebox for example. About ten years before this film D W Griffiths had made 'Birth of a Nation', a very biased view of the Civil War, which offended a lot of people, particularly blacks, which had some pretty graphic battle scenes - so did WW1 films such as 'The Big Parade' or 'Wings' and Keaton's own film, "A Southern Yankee". So audiences were getting used to seeing slaughter on screen. And the Confederates could still be seen as romantic, dashing heroes - not so likely now. Much better, though, than 'Birth of a Nation', which glorifies the KKK!

[@johnnyjames7139]

Try to see it with a live musical accompaniment, preferably played on a theatre pipe organ. Theatre organist Gaylord Carter played this picture his entire career.

[@edwardcarlisle1779]

Disney's idea for the Great Locomotive Chase was to show both sides fairly in equal light. It's hard not to root for the Union when their on screen and then the Confederates who's determination is very admirable. At the end of the film Andrews and Fuller shake hands, declaring peace at least between themselves. This scene points out that there really was no bad side of this conflict. North or South, they are all Americans who really want the same thing: peace, and there was great heroism on both sides to achieve that peace.

[@aifrench14]

Good video, I've always loved The General, although recognised The Great Locomotive Chase was more accurate I hadn't realised that it tried to make the bad guys good as it were... An interesting one when it comes to silent film is the original version of The Ghost Train which uses a bizarre mix of Anglo-German cast and crew and gives a very odd feel and 'comedy' and if you think the Arthur Askey version is liberal with Ridley's original this one really does beat the band!

[@rowangwrfan3228]

I've seen the movie

[@MervynPartin]

Very good appraisal of what I believe was a brilliant movie. I would like to suggest that another possible reason for its financial failure when released was that at the time, prospective audiences actually thought that film critics had to be believed- If the critics said that they did not like a movie, then of course, it could not possibly be worth going to see. I am glad that audiences these days make up their own minds and confound the critics. PS. Well done for your series of balanced discussions- I have only recently come across them on KZbin

[@rjbuffalo519]

PART ONE OF THREE Thanks for the video. I would like to make a few points. I have been going through the reviews of the time, and this is what I have found so far. The following reviews of The General ranged from favorable to outright enthusiastic: San Bernardino Daily Sun, 16 Oct 1926 Sunday Oregonian, 14 Nov 1926 Columbus Dispatch, 13 Dec 1926 Corvallis Gazette-Times, 04 Jan 1927 Portland Oregonian, 10 Jan 1927 Tacoma Daily Ledger, 10 Jan 1927 Kansas City Star, 16 Jan 1927 Spokane Spokesman-Review, 16 Jan 1927 Kansas City Times, 17 Jan 1927 Chicago Tribune, 17 Jan 1927 Chicago News, 18 Jan 1927 London Evening Standard, 18 Jan 1927 London Daily Telegraph, 18 Jan 1927 Portland Oregonian, 21 Jan 1927 London Pictorial, 23 Jan 1927 London Observer, 23 Jan 1927 Bioscope, 27 Jan 1927 Chattanooga Times, 31 Jan 1927 Chattanooga News, 31 Jan 1927 Moving Picture World, 02 Feb 1927 Chicago Tribune, 06 Feb 1927 Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 07 Feb 1927 New York Evening Post, 07 Feb 1927 Dayton Herald, 07 Feb 1927 Detroit Free Press, 07 Feb 1927 New York Daily News, 08 Feb 1927 Boston Herald, 08 Feb 1927 New Yorker, 12 Feb 1927 The Los Ángeles Times (first review), 13 Feb 1927 Atlanta Constitution, 15 Feb 1927 The Billboard, 19 Feb 1927 South Bend Tribune, 22 Feb 1927 Knoxville News-Sentinel, 25 Feb 1927 Knoxville Journal, 25 Feb 1927 Syracuse Herald, 27 Feb 1927 Photoplay, Mar 1927 Los Ángeles Record, 12 Mar 1927 Los Ángeles Illustrated Daily News, 12 Mar 1927 Idaho Statesman, 13 Mar 1927 Los Ángeles Times (third review), 13 Mar 1927 Baltimore Sun, 15 Mar 1927 Omaha World-Herald, 26 Mar 1927 Philadelphia Inquirer, 29 Mar 1927 Motion Picture Classic, Apr 1927 Picturegoer, Apr 1927 Kinematograph (a German magazine), 10 Apr 1927 Motion Picture Magazine, May 1927 Photoplay, May 1927 Cincinnati Post, 27 Jun 1927 Evansville Courier, 27 Jun 1927 San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Nov 1927 Oakland Tribune, 02 Jan 1928 To the above, we should perhaps add the following, for, though the reviewer disliked the film, he admitted that the audience loved it and laughed delightedly throughout, and so he concluded that the film was a comedy success: Brooklyn Daily Times, 08 Feb 1927 I have so far been able to locate a few mixed reviews as well: Kinematograph Weekly, 8 Jan 1927 Toledo News-Bee, 31 Jan 1927 Film Daily, 20 Feb 1927 Cleveland Plain Dealer, 21 Feb 1927 Life, 24 Feb 1927 The Los Ángeles Times (second review), 12 Mar 1927 St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 14 Mar 1927 San Francisco Examiner, 28 Nov 1927 I have also managed to locate a few negative reviews: The New York Times, 08 Feb 1927 St. Louis Star, 14 Mar 1927 Picture Play, May 1927 Akron Beacon Journal, 19 Dec 1927 Lastly, we should bring up the one truly hostile review: Variety, 09 Feb 1927 There are other reviews I have not yet been able to dredge up from the microfilms at distant libraries, of course. Nonetheless, we can see from the above list that we do not need to wonder why reviewers were all so dismissive of the film. Clearly they weren’t! As for the reception, urban audiences enjoyed Buster Keaton, just as they enjoyed the other top-flight comics. Most rural audiences, on the other hand, had a strong disliking for straight comedy, as they preferred slapstick. As much as they had enjoyed Buster in short films, they had no use for his features.

[@AlcoLoco251]

Very nice Chris. And may I say thank you for using the actual Confederate flag instead of the battle flag that so many Americans seem to think is the real one.

[@ChristheXelent]

Thanks for your support Sam. I'm glad you approve, I must admit I was bricking it having not been taught that much about such a sensitive subject. Looking back at Tom Petty's use of the flag during his Southern Accents tour in the 80s (which, he respectfully fessed up and apologised for up until his death), I can see the difference now. That could have gone worse than I expected.

[@WasatchGarandMan]

Ive never seen *The General* but good lord what you've shown is hilarious. I gotta see it. Im not gunna lie tho a color version would be kinda neat too

[@maxtivey32]

There is a colourised version around.

[@eliotreader8220]

they don't tell him that he's more use to the south as a locomotive engineer

[@rjbuffalo519]

PART THREE OF THREE Why did Buster lose his independence? There are no records, but we can piece together what must have happened. Buster’s producer, Joseph M. Schenck, had just taken a position with United Artists, which agreed to release The General, but which insisted that it be something special, something “big.” Buster delivered, but United Artists had also demanded a fully written script ahead of time. Someone (perhaps Al Boasberg?) typed up a script vaguely based on story discussions, but Buster had never worked with a script and so he paid it no attention. The UA executives saw that what Buster was shooting was entirely unrelated to what was in the screenplay it had approved. Further, Buster, like Charlie Chaplin, improvised on camera. He would shoot a scene, decide that it wasn’t working, come up with a better idea and shoot that. He would shoot five or more radically different attempts at a scene before he found an idea that was to his satisfaction. So his shooting ratio was not the usual 2:1 or 3:1 (two or three hours of film exposed to create one hour of film seen at the cinema). His shooting ratio was 14:1. UA insisted that in the future Buster be supplied with responsible scenarists who would craft scripts ahead of time, to prevent such improvisations, and it further insisted that he no longer direct, but be supplied with efficient journeymen directors who would do one or two takes and be done with it. When it came time to film College and then Steamboat Bill, Jr., Buster overruled the scripts (or outlines or whatever they were) and continued to improvise, and he overruled the directors and took over their jobs. That is when UA, and hence Joe Schenck and his board of trustees, decided to get rid of Buster and sell his contract to MGM, without even telling him ahead of time. I cannot document this particular story with absolute certainty, as any written evidence that may once have existed has vanished. This paragraph is based on my reading between the lines. There are indications, also, suggesting that UA had agreed with Schenck to take a poor distribution deal. UA seems not to have contributed to the production budgets, and hence earned only nominal fees as distributor. It appears that UA was not satisfied to be a mere distributor but wanted stronger investments. Now, where do we get the idea that The General was a critical and commercial failure? From Louise Brooks. She had conveyed as much to Kevin Brownlow in a letter back in 1968. She repeated that claim to Tom Dardis in the 1970’s. While Louise Brooks was an enchanting performer, she was not a reliable source about anything other than her own direct experiences. She claimed to have been friends with Buster, but at most she may have met him in passing once or twice. Tom Dardis searched about for the reviews of The General, and he excerpted only five, two of which are so obscure that one would need to travel to the New York City libraries to find them. He deliberately ignored the glowing reviews while he chose four negative reviews that he selectively quoted, together with a single positive review that he twisted around. He published his “biography” of Buster in 1979 and there is hardly an accurate statement anywhere in it. Marion Meade followed in Dardis’s footsteps 18 years later. Dardis and Meade didn’t even get the release dates correct, as you can see from the list above. They misreported rentals as grosses. That’s where your $474,000 box-office figure comes from. That was domestic rentals, and not even all them. Rentals are just the downpayments. Cinemas then pay percentages of their income, which could, and did, total in the millions. There was little opposition to the Dardis and Meade books when they came out. After all, in those years research into Buster and his career was in its infancy. Thus did those two books manage to infect nearly all future research. Their claims have by now become so entrenched that refuting them is akin to shoveling water uphill. American audiences were not ready to accept a Confederate hero? What about The Birth of a Nation? What about The Coward? What about Grandma’s Boy? What about Hands Up? American audiences were fully ready to accept Union and Confederate heroes. The war was over and though there were (and still are!) pockets of hatred, in the 1920’s the attitude was that we were all friends now. Pay attention also: There are no villains in The General. The Rebels are hotheads, the Yankees are entirely reasonable, and all the characters, northern and southern, are likeable. That was a deliberate decision, the best way to tell the story, and Buster was careful about that. The story of James Mason’s discovery is fascinating, and I think I have unraveled most of its obscure threads. Mason did not deal with Rohauer. Mason donated the films to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and when Rohauer learned about that a few years later, he spent 16 months devising a way to get access to them. When he got them he copied them for his own use, and he began a worldwide search for the remaining films. Before the end of 1960 he had rounded up a total of 18 short films together with all ten features and arranged for Buster to obtain some of the rights. Buster’s silent movies were pretty much out of circulation and forgotten throughout continental Europe, the Soviet Union, and Japan for some 30 years until KirchMedia contracted with him to reissue his films. The first reissue was in Germany in February 1962, and, at Buster’s request, it was The General. In Germany, the film was a massive success, thanks to one of the cleverest publicity campaigns ever devised. Buster told Patrick McNulty of the Associated Press on 28 February 1962, “We started in Germany by releasing The General and the response was really something. The General opened in Munich and later in 11 other German cities and has been doing business that reminded me of the way the silents were received when they were new and not something you see on the late-late TV show. When I walked out of that theatre in Munich it took me back 40 years. I looked around and half expected to see Mack Sennett, Gloria Swanson, and maybe even Chaplin in the crowd.” To Hedda Hopper in early July 1962 he said, “Nothing could be nicer than taking bows for something you did 36 years ago. The nice part is that the biggest percentage of the audience is made up of school kids.” Buster told UPI in early September 1962 that “The shortest run it had was four weeks.” In France, The General was also a massive hit. Buster toured Europe with the film and he witnessed all the praise in person. He seldom watched the films, but he entered the buildings to appear on stage as the curtain went down and he took his bows to enthusiastic full houses for many weeks. He also received the longest standing ovation in the history of the Venice Film Festival. He knew perfectly well how much audiences enjoyed his films. The film’s reputation has indeed grown, but among certain groups it has diminished, thanks to a plethora of unauthorized copies that are so compromised that they are painful to watch. Those poor copies would leave anyone in the audience wondering what anyone ever saw in the film in the first place. So, in a nutshell, that’s what I wanted to say, to clear up the record.

[@rushs11]

8:04 - I'm going to dispute this claim. It was about 11 years prior to The General's release that The Birth of a Nation was released by D.W. Griffith in 1915 and was a massive commercial success. The film depicted black Union soldiers as the antagonist and the white men, especially in the KKK, as the hero and has, even as a commercial success, the NAACP tried to get it banned and the film remained a KKK recruiting tool until the 1970's. So the confederates being portrayed as the heroes wouldn't be out of tune in some regards as an American film.

[@jacobrobert9561]

6:38 so... A BIG LIPPED ALAGATOR MOMMENT

[@FlyingScott]

I'VE BEEN THE NOSTALGIA- Oops, wrong outro.

[@Flymochairman1]

Chris, have you seen the film Buster Keaton did for the Canadian Film Board? He arrives in Canada, happens upon a 'Speedie' and makes his way across Canada and America(maybe). If you haven't seen it or don'town a copy of it and can't find it, I'll check the 'Favorites folders' and see if I can't retrace the link. Sorry but talking about Buster Keaton brought a recent memory of seeing what is possibly his last movie? Maybe not but it is in colour when I saw it. Worth a watch. Yeah, lucky they weren't all lost in the Big fires in a couple of studio storage Buildings went up in smoke. Good that you could show them. Cheers!

[@JohnDavies-cn3ro]

The film's called 'The Railrodder', and is on KZbin. I believe his very last film was walk on parts in "A Funy Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum', and he died shortly afterwards.

[@kineticrail]

enjoying this new series. will it be a bit of everything i did like the livery debate one, will these subjects still be covered.

[@ChristheXelent]

The idea is to be a bit of everything, from the topical to historical. The regularity might not be that frequent, as they're taking more time to make than I had thought.

[@kineticrail]

i see anything that takes your fancy fair enough to that.

[@eliotreader8220]

the best part in the film is where Johnny chops fire wood for the Texas

[@saucypan-8796]

What happened to the locos? And the railway it was filled on?

[@elsbridgestation3d]

I'm three years late commenting on this video, but I have watched it before, but I have some comments about terminology used and more importantly history and historiography. I just want to establish that I am an American majoring in History with a concentration in US History. In the 1920s, the Lost Cause Myth interpretation of the American Civil War was already a thing and was starting to become really popular. This was the old version, not the current version of the myth. The original version was a bit more historically accurate, but still biased - likely because the events were still in living memory. The original version can best be described as a copping mechanism for White Southerners to come to terms with their lost, while the modern version makes absurd claims that are 100% false and thus I will not spread. This is the most important interpretation to discuss as its the Southern Interpretation which goes well with a film told from the Confederate Point of View. Even in the North, the southern interpretations were fairly common among Whites. But the North also had their own interpretations; namely the South Rebelled, and the North fought to preserve the Union and freed the slaves along the way. And for African Americans, the war was about their Freedom and the End of Slavery. With that sad, The General is told from the POV of the Confederates and they do leave out the uglier aspects of the CSA, including slavery. For any understanding of the Civil War, one must understanding that Slavery is the route cause of the war. States Rights; The state's right to what? A: Slavery (though the South was perfectly fine violating the Northern State's rights and kidnaped escaped slaves that fled North to freedom). I could go on, but I'll leave it at that. However in the 1920s, that understanding of the civil war was cared for mainly by African Americans. The US used to be very racist. With that all established when taking about Civil War movies, I would never use the term "heroes" for the Confederates. A hero should be a character or characters we should look up to and seek inspiration from; the Confederates do not fight the bill for this (even if the historical realities are ignored in the film). I would use the term "protagonist" when we follow a Confederate as a main character. In the case of The General, it may be safer to use hero to describe Buster Keaton's character than any other confederate as his goals is to win the affection of the girl, not to defeat the Union. But The Confederates as a hole, I would not refer to as heroes. In Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase, The Union men are the Heroes (despite loosing) as the are fighting to preserve the Union and to end Slavery. I haven't watch the film (a shame on me really), but by the nature of being Union men this is what the are obligated to fight for, just as by nature of being confederates, confederates are fighting for slavery and for the dissolution of the Union. Typically in history, we actually want to avoid value judgements, but sometimes people are so bad and their actions so harmful, we make an exception. All this to say, when a film is from the Confederate POV, I recommend one uses the term "protagonist" to describe confederate leads.

[@vincentberkan605]

You know, it's ironic cause I live in the Southeastern U.S.A. (Knoxville, Tennessee), I learned from my mother that most of my ancestors fought in the Union.

[@elsbridgestation3d]

Given your from East Tennessee and most of your ancestors likely lived there as well I wouldn't be surprises at all that they fought for the Union. East Tennessee was the most pro-Union part of Tennessee. The people there voted against secession and the only Senator from a Confederate State to remain in his seat and not betray the Union was Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee and he was from East Tennessee. The Representatives of TN's 1st and 2nd Congressional District - which represented East Tennessee - both Stayed in Congress as well. The pro-Union sentiments are so strong in east Tennessee that the Confederates had to occupy it not defend against the Union Army, but to prevent the region from rebelling against the Confederate rebellion.

[@Rubi3874]

Good job

[@NorthwestDaylight]

0:59 technically James j Andrews

[@eliotreader8220]

steam locomotives not steam trains. i guess people can get confused about the motive power and the actual train it pulls

[@callumthornelow2936]

Will this be appearing on The Train Now Starring anytime soon?

[@ChristheXelent]

All in good time. IF TTNS does return

[@callumthornelow2936]

Personally I'd like to see T.T.N.S Season 2 It's an awesome series

[@Rumbletheimp2]

Holy crap I have the Disney movie!

[@robertlucido3686]

In my opinion, Walt Disney's 1956 film, "The Great Locomotive Chase," was a whole lot more accurate to the actual story

[@exveefan]

Interesting review, Have to give it to them back then doing their own stunts with no special effects or such benefits we have now. Actually the fact they actually do it on set makes it better. Glad to see your using the B&W mugshots less, but I still think you'd benefit better with an artist touching them up a bit. If not possible maybe use still images of the real you doing the expressions compared to drawings.

[@ChristheXelent]

Each to their own. I can't help but think you've somewhat missed the point of them, though…

[@exveefan]

Chris Eden-Green Again, it was only a suggestion.

[@josephmarrison4606]

LOL. It does look funny.

[@justin10347]

My favorite version is the Disney

[@jakestrains2646]

Gettysburg

[@jakestrains2646]

I live near there

[@furripupau]

I have to be honest, I greatly prefer the film Our Hospitality. The General has lots of fun parts, but overall it IS a little too long, and does get slow in a few parts. The plot is just barely capable of stringing the jokes and stunts together. That said, from what I have read, it wasn't the yanks who were upset by the northerners getting beat in the film, but southerners who were mad that one of their victories was being turned into a comedy. Keaton supposedly even tried to use the actual General locmotive in the film, but wasn't able to get it because the film was a comedy and confederate sympathizers (then as now) have no sense of humor whatsoever.

[@mikebrown3772]

I think the train scenes in Our Hospitality are absolutely delightful and the whole film is very entertaining

[@thetalyllynman3701]

Haha the Austrian flag with the Europian Union one in it

[@indahdila7669]

Hi bhvvipoj

[@iron1349]

There was the Klu Klux Klan getting a reassurance of popularity in the '20's. I think of the Union spies as being tragic heroes in the tale, like the Disney version. then again, the Confederacy was fighting for its right to keep black people as slaves, so that might keep me from liking the otherwise brilliant film.

[@ThatCoalSoul]

I'll be brutally honest. I prefer TTNS!

[@mariaalatorre7287]

Man, Stop Cussing Like Markiplier.

[@SudrianTales]

My biggest fault with it was the heroine, she was a aristocratic jerk he'd have been better off leaving behind and marry a railwaywoman

[@wondermenel2811]

are you american?

[@ChristheXelent]

If I am then I've lost the accent. No, I'm British

[@wondermenel2811]

@@ChristheXelent thank god

[@wondermenel2811]

@@ChristheXelent sadly im not british im polish

[@HighOutlook]

We ALL wish that we had made up trump.

[@ChristheXelent]

That makes a pleasant change. I'm getting used to people not liking me make fun of him, hence I try not to mention him so much nowadays.

[@TheSteamLocomotive]

Keep politics out of your videos and they would be great.