Regarded by many as Keaton’s peak achievement, and reportedly his own personal favorite, The General - based on a real-life Civil War incident - is equal parts thrill ride and comedy. When his pride-and-joy locomotive The General is hijacked with on-again/off-again girlfriend Marion Mack trapped on board, Keaton - aptly casting himself as an engineer - gives chase in another train, The Texas, amidst spectacular (Oregon) scenery and (one-take-or-bust) action.
The General is the # 1 comedy in the British Film Institute (BFI) journal, Sight & Sound’s 2012 international critics poll of the greatest films of all time.