How Buster Keaton made The General

#BusterKeaton had the time of his life filming The General on location in Cottage Grove Oregon during the summer of 1926. He’d been a feature film star for years, was at the top of his game, and was just 30 years old. He spent that summer doing what he loved best; fishing, playing baseball, riding trains, and making movies. This video shows where and how The General was made.
Read more at silentlocation...
Special thanks to Lloyd Williams, both now, and when I first researched The General for my book Silent Echoes.
Photos courtesy John S. Wilson Sr., the Cottage Grove Museum, the Cottage Grove Historical Society, Lloyd Williams, Ian Leach, Lindsey Rallo, and June Russell-Chamberlin.
Kevin Brownlow shares stories about The General • Summer of Silents: Kev...
My 2011 talk at AMPAS about The General • Summer of Silents: Fil...
score Paddlewheel Rag by John Bengtson © 1975 performed by MuseScore • Paddlewheel Rag by Joh...

[@bbb103]

It's amazing how much information you can convey in a seven minute video. Well done.

[@Moosetta]

Superb (as always)

[@davidcantrell6536]

Fascinating. I"m a huge Buster Keaton fan. Thank you for all the great research and information you provide! Here's the "high sign."

[@curtandoscar]

Wow ! This was such a great video! Absolutely love seeing all the then-and-now shots, including some houses/buildings still standing! Thank you! Just love The General to pieces.

[@NancyLea28]

This is brilliant and I need to watch it a few more times. Thank you so much for this!!

[@brucebengtson847]

Well done! Great editing/techniques/effects to convey the story.

[@bonovoz71]

Thank you for creating this video.

[@SamanthaN92]

Thank you for sharing ❤

[@dianeo]

Endlessly fascinating. My #1 favorite film of all time. If I lived out west I would be visiting all these locations and soaking it all in 😊 Thank you!

[@rodneysauer]

Nicely done, John!

[@buh2001j]

Very well put together. Everything I could ask for and more, thank you for your efforts!

[@marcdelente2456]

Un des chefs d oeuvres du génie Buster keaton et sont film préféré. Pourtant le film ne sera pas succè qu' il espérait ainsi que la production qui s'en souviendra . Au fur et à mesure pour Buster Keaton l étau va se resserrer surtout quand il va se retrouver à la MGM .

[@peztopher7297]

I'm confused about the river photos starting at 5:50. Why is the horizon in the modern shots so much lower? It seems like the scene would have taken place further upriver.

[@SilentLocationsbyJohnBengtson]

The color photos were taken 20 years apart at the approximate spot - tree ridgelines change over time. Confirmed by other 1926 photos, at the time it was just east of where Culp Creek entered the Row River

[@rogerlollar4325]

What happened to all the locomotives and Rolling Stock after the movie was filmed

[@lawrencebishton9071]

he was a breaze