Basil Wolverton meets Buster Keaton!

The Current July 2014. Page 3
At Home
Why silent movies?
by Rodney Schroeter
for the Current
by the sounds of explosions, fireballs, and atomic
bombs, then straining to hear the mumbling, muttering, murmuring dialogue... you’re not interacting much with those present.
Now, if actually interacting with—talking
with—your spouse, friends, kids, or other family members is important, if that’s something you
want to do more of, that’s a good enough reason to
watch a good silent movie now and then.
If you’re planning a nice time with the family,
it’s always best that you watch the film first, so
you know what’s coming. You’ll also know that
it’s good, and that will motivate you to make the
viewing of this alien form of entertainment a success for others. I have some examples of that in my
article on The General.
It might be difficult to convince youngsters that
anything old and in black & white can have any
redeeming value whatever. You’ll have to consider
what will work with your family. Make a deal to
watch something of their choice; bribe them with
pizza; whatever works.
And—hardest of all—the family actually has to
watch it. No cell phone distractions. That goes for
you, too, mom and dad.
(Now, just in case there are
some more advanced, coolerthan-average kids reading this,
and you find yourself in the situation where you want mom and
dad to watch silent movies with
you... let’s just say that you can
use some of the above techniques
on them, as well.)
If the kids can’t read, use that
to your advantage. Remember, in
a silent movie, the dialogue appears on-screen. Read it out loud!
Bring out your inner thespian.
Have mom take the main actress’
part; dad, the lead male’s. Now,
that’s family interaction!
I’ll answer the question above immediately:
Because there are silent movies that are every bit
as entertaining as any recent movie that you can
think of.
The catch—you have to know what to look for.
You have to know where to start.
Example: I once asked a manager at an old renovated theater, if they’d ever shown a silent movie.
With a frown, I was told, “Yes, and we had an audience of three. We’ll never do it again!”
I asked what movie they’d shown.
“Metropolis.”
Wrong choice!
OK, Metropolis is a great movie... for a certain audience. Not for a general audience, many of
whom might never before have seen a silent movie.
Totally different example: I once attended the
showing of a silent film at an older theater (also
being renovated). The place was packed. Not with
wizened, bearded historians or academics (though,
Buster Keaton rides the cowcatcher. — From The General (1927).
who knows, there may have been a few). The audience was just plain people.
Many families with kids. (Please
note—with kids.)
I had seen the movie being
shown, so I recommended it to a
friend. He said he was too busy
and couldn’t attend it. I told him
that, just in case he could go,
and just in case he, his wife, and
two kids did not like the movie—heck, if any of them didn’t
like it—I’d pay for all of their
tickets.
Well, whatever important
thing he had on his calendar, he
crossed it off and took the whole
family to that movie.
How did my friend’s family
react? How did the audience in
Quality of the print
Not a toy train! Not a computer graphic! This is a real train, falling through a real burning
general react?
You know why many people
bridge,
all
for
the
sake
of
making
a
movie.
—
From
The
General
(1927).
It’s a good thing it was silent!
think silent movies are primiOh, there was live music. But
tive? Because so many of them
you could never have heard half
exist in dirty, scratchy, blotchy form. The nitrate the
the spoken dialogue, had there
films were printed on was chemically unstable (in
been any, because people were laughing uproariousfact, it burns or even explodes on contact with fire).
ly throughout the film. And out of the hundreds of
Many silent movies we have are badly damaged.
people laughing and cheering during that hour-long
Worse, a large per cent no longer exist—so far as is
film, I could detect the laugh of my friend’s child
known. It was generally believed that the future held
several rows in front of me.
no market for a movie, once it had run in the theater.
I didn’t owe my friend a cent. Of course, I knew I
It would have taken a science-fiction level visionary
wouldn’t. Remember, I had seen this movie. I knew
to foresee the home theater industry.
what to expect.
But some people and companies, whether visionOh, what was the movie? The Navigator, with
ary or just eccentric, or just by accident, took care of
Buster Keaton. 1924. 59 minutes.
their movies. Harold Lloyd (you will hear about him
If it sounds pretty promising, wait. The Buster
in future issues of The Current) could afford to take
Keaton movie I write about elsewhere in this issue,
good care of his films, and we now have clear, sharp
The General, is considered even better than The
copies of his work.
Navigator. Oh, sure, everyone has different ideas on
My point: There are different prints of these films.
which movie is better than another, and I imagine
Some public-domain movies made for home entermany tavern brawls have their beginnings over such
tainment are copies of copies of copies, and when
disagreements. I found a top-10 list of silent movies
you watch them, the images are so dull and fuzzy,
by a writer for The Guardian, and I myself wouldn’t
that no one could enjoy them.
have listed eight out of the ten.
Other copies are from the best prints known to
Very
early
(1917
or
1918?)
photo
of
(l.
to
r.)
Buster
Keaton,
But put it this way. If you and your family see
exist. Film historians sometimes spend years asRoscoe
Arbuckle,
and
Arbuckle’s
nephew,
Al
St.
John.
either The Navigator or The General, I’m betting
sembling and/or restoring a film to present the best
Arbuckle’s very successful film career was well under way
you’ll want to see as many films that Buster Keaton
possible copy. If you’re watching a nice, sharp copy,
when
he
persuaded
Keaton
to
make
movies
with
him.
made as possible. In fact, I want to hear from you,
the image on your screen is like watching pure silKeaton’s
first
movie
was
“The
Butcher
Boy,”
with
Arbuckle
whether I’m right or wrong about this whole silent
ver in motion. The photography is so breathtakingly
and
Keaton,
in
1917.
movie thing. If you
beautiful, that it’s
follow some balike walking into a
sic guidelines, deSwarovski crystal
scribed below, and
store.
you actually watch
When I write
The General, please
about silent films
let me know. E-mail
in this and future
me at the address
issues, I’ll give at
given elsewhere in
least one source for
The Current, and
a nice, clean copy.
indicate if I can use
Silent films. It’s
your name if I print
a whole new, enyour comments.
joyable world. If
it’s a world you’ve
Why silent
not yet discovered,
movies?
start with this issue
I’ll admit it:
of The Current.
Modern
action
movies can be fun.
Shown at left
The over-the-top efare two movie
fects they achieve
posters. The
with
computer
photo at center
graphics are very
is from Sunrise,
impressive.
and shows Janet
But as you’re sitGaynor and
ting there, blasted
George O’Brien.
At Home
The Current July 2014. Page 4
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Wxclus First-e tori
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Clockwise, starting upper
left: Buster Keaton and
film crew; Basil Wolverton; on the set of The
General (note cameramen,
lower right); Keaton. —
Photos on this page courtesy
of Monte Wolverton.
by Rodney Schroeter
for the Current
As far as Your Editor is aware, the photos you see on this page have
never before been published.
That’s amazing, considering their historical significance. They represent a unique meeting of two giants of American popular culture.
In 1926, Buster Keaton was shooting what many would consider to
be his greatest film, The General, on location in Oregon. Aspiring cartoonist
Basil Wolverton, living in Washington state, would have been about 17 at the time.
Whatever the circumstances, Basil knew about production of the movie, traveled to
Oregon to visit the set of The General. What happened during that meeting? How long
did Basil stay on the set? I wish there were a detailed account of that meeting. But even
Monte Wolverton, the son of Basil, knows little about the story behind these photos.
I am extremely pleased to publish these photos, access to which I gratefully acknowledge my friend, Monte Wolverton. For this issue of The Current, I’ve written a little
about Buster Keaton, Basil Wolverton, and silent movies. I hope you find something of
interest in some or all.
The Current July 2014. Page 5
:
eries
s
n
o
t
r
e
G
v
l
o
W
l
i
Bas
ists
t
r
A
mic
o
C
t
rea
by Rodney Schroeter
An enigmatic drawing by
Monte Wolverton. You can
visit Monte’s web site at:
www.wolvertoon.com/ —
Courtesy of Monte Wolverton
Let us know what you think
of The Current! E-mail us at:
TheCurrent@silentreels.com
for the Current
Basil Wolverton (1909 to 1978)
started his career in comic books
not long after comic books, as we
know them, began—in the 1930s.
Basil described himself as a
“Producer of Preposterous Pictures of Peculiar People who
Prowl this Perplexing Planet” (alliteration was a favorite technique
in the comics he wrote).
The two most popular characters he created in the 1940s are
Spacehawk and Powerhouse Pepper. The first was science-fictionadventure; the second, a wacky
humor strip about a good-natured,
super-strong character. Anthologies of both characters have been
published over the years. A thick
book collecting all the Spacehawk
stories, in full color, was published in 2012.
While the comics publishers
were headquartered in New York
City, Basil chose to live in Vancouver, Washington. Timely Com- One of the many caricatures Basil Wolverton did. Who is this?
ics, which would later become The first person to correctly identify the subject of this drawMarvel, ran the Powerhouse Pep- ing will receive a copy of Barflyze, by Basil Wolverton. HINT:
per stories that Basil wrote, drew, He was a regular actor on a TV show several decades ago;
and lettered, as well as other hu- however, most people have heard his voice and never seen
mor stories. Basil was very pro- his face. Send name, mailing address, and whether you want
lific during his cartooning career, your name published if you win, to TheCurrent@silentreels.
working for various comics pub- com — From a private collection
lishers.
In 1946, cartoonist Al Capp ran
a contest in his newspaper strip,
In the 1950s, Basil did stories for SF/horror
Li’l Abner. The world’s ugliest woman, Lena the Hyena,
comics. Also published was a booklet, Common
appeared in the strip—sort of. Every time the character
Types of Barflyze, which contained grotesque
was shown, the big block letters “CENSORED” apdrawings of people who hung around bars too
peared where her face would have been. Supposedly, she
long, drank too much, and showed the effects
was just too ugly for publication in a newspaper.
thereof. Barflyze was reprinted in the 1970s.
But Capp asked readers to submit a drawing of what
Most non-comics-collectors see his work and
they imagined Lena looked like. About half a million enask, “Did he work for Mad magazine?” He did.
tries were sent in, seven of them from Wolverton.
Not as regularly as “The Usual Gang of Idiots,”
Judges Boris Karloff, Salvador Dali, and Frank Sinabut enough that he could be considered a “Mad
tra picked one of Basil’s submissions as the winner. The
artist.”
image of Lena was published not only in the Li’l Abner
In the 1960s, Basil’s work appeared on Fink
strip, but in the October 28, 1946 issue of Life magazine.
buttons, Topps Ugly Stickers, Nutty Initials, and
Life subsequently published a number of caricatures
various novelty items. People growing up at that
drawn by Basil.
time recognize the style, even though they might
not know the name.
In the 1970s, DC Comics introduced Basil’s work to a new
generation of comics reader when
they published his drawings on the
covers of Plop! comics.
All his life, Basil tried but
was unable to break into writing
and drawing a newspaper strip.
Among his many original drawings that exist, and are bought and
sold among collectors at ever-rising prices, there are many sample
strips he did, with the intent of trying to sell a newspaper syndicate
one idea or another. One of the
most amazing examples of this
goal of Basil’s is a set of four daily
strips featuring Mickey Mouse! If
I remember correctly, Walt Disney
studios was looking for the right
artist for a Mickey newspaper strip
in the 1930s. Basil did not get that
See WOLVERTON/12
This original drawing of an
ugly woman sold for a beautiful near-$12K (as in THOUSAND), at a Heritage auction
in 2008. It was drawn for a
late 1960s series called Batty
Book Covers, published by
Topps Chewing Gum. A case
could be made that Lena the
Hyena (not — shudder! —
shown here) was even uglier
than the lady shown above.
— Image courtesy of Heritage
Auctions, HA.com.
At Home
BASIL from 5
The Current July 2014. Page 12
Ba
sil
Wo
lve
r
job. It boggles the comic art historian’s mind to
think what could have been. Instead, the artist hired
to draw Mickey’s adventures was Floyd Gottfredson, who
did such a good job for many decades, that his work is being reprinted today in hardcover.
In the 1970s, I wrote to Basil. His son, Monte, wrote back that his father was
unable to reply to mail as a result of a stroke. I’ve known Monte ever since. He’s a
graphic designer and artist. His work has similarities with his father’s, but Monte has developed his own personal style and gone in his own direction.
Further research (and believe me, this kind of research can be hugely enjoyable):
Google and/or search eBay on: Basil Wolverton (combined with: Plop, Mad, Life, Nutty Initials); Topps
Chewing Gum
From Basil Wolverton’s
booklet, Common Types of
Barflyze, the caption for
this one is, “Bartend-
er!! Water!!”—
to
n
Copyright © and
courtesy of the
Wolverton
estate.
To the left: one of Basil’s
most popular characters
of the 1940s, Powerhouse
Pepper. Surrounded by
mindless mayhem, he insouciently
pontificates,
“Ah! It’s positively pacifying to plant one’s person
by the peaceful Pacific!”
PP’s stories have been reprinted by various publishers. — Copyright © Marvel
Entertainment
This 272-page book collects all of Basil Wolverton’s
Spacehawk stories from the
1940s. If you bought all the
comics that contain these
stories in today’s market (if
you could find them), you’d
spend more than it would
take to get you a decent car.
— Barnes & Noble
Wolverton did many one-page gags like this one from the
1940s. Marvel comics would publish them in romance comics
like Millie the Model, Tessie the Typist, and Nellie the Nurse.
— Copyright © Marvel Entertainment
The Current July 2014. Page 13
At Home
The General, starring Buster Keaton
agents hijack Buster’s train, casually ask no one in
If you have not yet read my article, “Why Silent Movies?”,
particular, “Did you see what just happened there?”
please read that before this one.
If you get any response, you’ve got them hooked.
And now that you have read it, let’s get right to it. The General
“Here, watch,” you say, reversing the video by
with Buster Keaton is one of the greatest movies ever made. Ever.
about 30 seconds to the point where Buster washes
Now, I will admit, if I remain editor of The Current for the next
his hands, looks up, and shows outrage.
ten to fifty years, this is not the only time I’ll say that about a certain
“He loves his train as much as he loves his girlsilent movie. Trust me. Keep track.
friend,” you tell everyone as Buster runs down the
But let’s start with The General. It’s a chase movie, set during
tracks after the receding train. “Even though his girlthe Civil War. The “General” of the title is Buster’s steam locomofriend hates him,” you add casually.
tive. His character is an engineer for the Confederacy (the South).
“Why’s his girlfriend hate him?” you’re asked.
When secret agents from the Union (the North) steal his train, he
“Have to tell you later,” you say tersely. “Too
chases them into Union territory, recaptures his train (and his kidmuch about to happen, right now, to explain what
naped girlfriend), and brings it back to the South, as Union soldiers
you’ve missed.”
chase him in turn.
As Buster looks down at the tracks, you ask,
By the time The General went into production, Keaton had been
“How could he possibly catch his train?”
in the movie business for ten years. He was so hugely popular at that
Above, you see two strategies for engaging othpoint, that he had all the resources and creative control required to
ers in sharing the movie with you, and interacting
perfect this film into a thrilling, action-packed work of art. You can
in a meaningful way: 1) Ask questions about what’s
tell it cost a lot of money to make. You see the real thing here. Boxgoing on, and 2) give information that’s incomplete
cars derailing and rolling off the tracks. Cannon balls exploding.
enough to encourage them to ask questions.
A dam bursting and flooding. A train collapsing through a burning
Spoiler alert! Buster Keaton does not get his head
As the soldiers on the train that Buster chases
bridge.
blown off by this Civil War cannon. — From The General.
throw junk on the track, you ask, “Why does Buster
As mentioned in “Why Silent Movies?”, it’s best if you’re prehave to clear the tracks? Don’t you think the train would just knock that stuff
as everyone continues to visit.
pared, and have already seen this movie before you try sharing it
If people are ignoring it for the away?”
with others. With that preparation, here’s a devious method I’ve had some
Maybe before anyone can respond, the movie itself answers that question.
first ten minutes, that’s OK. Don’t
success with.
Quite dramatically! A loose boxcar hits a beam and derails. As it hits the dirt,
At a family gathering with everyone sitting around talking, plug this mov- panic.
At the point where the Union a big, billowing cloud of dust is raised and expands right toward the camera.
ie into the DVD player. Turn the sound down so it’s barely audible. Let it play
And you know why it’s important to clear the junk off the track. Boy, do you
know why!
Watch for one of the most rewarding responses you’ll get from the rest of
your family. It’s probably the same response you gave when you first saw the
scene: Buster slows his train to run ahead and pick up a railroad tie. But the
train’s still moving. It nudges Buster, who falls back on the cowcatcher, the
beam still in his arms. And the train
RADIO from 8
See GENERAL/14
comes up to another railroad tie in
The magic of radio
sored by cleaning product companies, aired in the late 20s and early
30s. By the 1940s such programs
as “Ma Perkins,” “Just Plain Bill,”
and the “Guiding Light,” the only
radio soap to make the transition
to TV, occupied 90% of the daytime broadcast hours.
But the evening hours that became known as “Prime Time”
were the purview of the mystery
dramas, such as “Inner Sanctum,”
“The Shadow,” and “Lights Out.”
But the night time airwaves carried much more than mystery and
horror. There were the comedians
and the comedy shows. Who could
forget “Amos and Andy,” “Fibber
McGee and Molly,” and “The Jack
Benny Show,” just to mention a
few. Radio in those long past days
presented the listening pubic with
a wide spectrum of entertainment.
Upon the advent of TV in the late
40s many predicted the demise of
radio. To this date, that demise has
not taken place; radio is as alive
and vibrant as ever.
Here in Sheboygan all manner
of radio programming from plays
to a wide variety of musical programs were offered by radio station WHBL from its local studios.
WHBL constantly upgraded its
facilities. In 1963, during one of
these upgrades, an incident took
place that received national attention. The station for many years
had sent its signal out over the airwaves at 1 megawatt. The decision
was made to increase the power of
their equipment to 5 megawatts.
Soon all the necessary equipment
was installed. The day chosen to
bring the new equipment on line
DRAGONFLIES from 7
ing a series of different species.
Most adult dragonflies live only
a few weeks, although some can
live up to a year.
The “spring species” of dragonflies that zoomed over my
head spent last summer as aquatic larvae growing into their final
stage before metamorphosis.
Then they stopped growing, and
overwintered as almost-adults,
was a Sunday morning in November of that year. Chris Bauer, the
station’s Chief Engineer, stood
by at the stations tower, while
Jerry Klabunde, the assistant engineer, was standing by to turn
on the new equipment. The signal was given and the equipment
turned on. At that very time Father Heller was just mounting the
pulpit at Holy Name Church for
his weekly sermon. As the switch
to the new equipment was taking
place WHBL was broadcasting the
Lutheran Hour radio program. As
the good Father was about to begin his sermon, parishioners were
startled to hear “We now present
the Lutheran Hour.” It seems that
the more powerful radio station
had found its way into the church’s
P.A. system. The “bug” was soon
corrected.
Today radio in Sheboygan is as
important as it ever was with seven different radio stations serving
the area.
Today’s Tidbit: The incident at
Holy Name Church was reported
nationwide by both the newscaster
Paul Harvey and Readers Digest
Magazine
Today’s Tidbit: In the early
days of radio station WHBL one
popular radio announcer, Tom
Thomas, received what was then
considered a large salary. He
was paid the exorbitant sum of
…$12.00 per week!
WHBL concert Orchestra in their studio on the second floor of
the Sheboygan Press Building.
ready to emerge when the water
warmed enough.
Now they are fierce aerial
predators, patrolling the skies
with agility and grace. As I happily tend my garden without
long sleeves or bug spray, I don’t
think it’s too much to call them
my angels of mercy. Do you?
For over 45 years, the Cable
Natural History Museum has
served to connect you to the
Northwoods. Come visit us in
Cable, WI! The current exhibit,
“Nature’s Superheroes—Adventures with Adaptations,” opens
in May 2014 and will remain
open until March 2015.
Find us on the web at www.
cablemuseum.org to learn more
about our exhibits and programs. Discover us on Facebook, or at our blogspot, http://
cablemuseumnaturalconnections.blogspot.com
The Current July 2014. Page 14
July: still wood-stove weather
by Mark Walters
for the Current
Mark Walters is a syndicated outdoor
adventure columnist from Necedah, Wis.
He has been writing “An Outdoorsman’s
Journal” since 1989. Often Walters
writes about his daughter, Selina, and
the adventures they share. The Current
will be sharing one of Walters’ pieces
about his daughter each month. This
column is originally from 2012.
Thirty years ago my father, the
late Robert Walters, my brother,
Mike, a family friend, and myself
flew into Shultz Lake (www.chimolodge.com) for the first time.
The fishing for walleye and
northern pike was incredible and
the total getaway even better.
Shultz Lake is 60 miles from Red
Lake, Ontario, Canada, and the
only way you can get to it is by
floatplane.
For seven days each year the
group of family and friends that
that I am with have this entire
Like Father,
Like Daughter
chain of lakes to ourselves
Saturday, June 16
High 66, Low 47
Wood-stove weather, both for
comfort and to dry out cloths,
would best describe this seven-day
adventure. We had the same conditions the last two years and both
years had excellent fishing.
Last year the hot baits were
floating jigs and Red Eyes. Both
baits would be the main part of
my arsenal this year as I began the
trip of trips with my 11-year-old
daughter, Selina, and good friend,
Jeff Moll, and his 16-year-old son,
Nate.
My brother-in-law, Dick Schuster, would be returning to Shultz
Lake after a 21-year hiatus and
his sons, Riley and Trent, would
round out our well-traveled crew.
As is always the case on day
one, the feeling of deep fatigue
from a long road trip, followed
by rain all day long, did its best
to keep us off the water. No rain
could keep this crew, that hunts
and fishes together, off the water.
Tonight Dick Schuster cooked an
excellent meal of walleye fillets
while the rest of us played “pass
the ace” and laughed a lot!
Three days have gone by in a
blink of an eye! Sunday all the
dads fished with their kids on Father’s Day! Jeff and Nate Moll saw
a large cinnamon bear digging up
a stump.
The rains have rarely stopped
coming down and yesterday, while
fishing with Dick Schuster, the
high only reached 49 degrees and
a blustery wind soaked us all to the
bone.
The walleye-size average is
much smaller this year and so far
our biggest walleye is only 19
inches (last year it was 31) and the
hot bait is a night crawler harness
and, of course, the Red Eye.
I forgot my tackle box that contains my main casting lures and
thankfully I have three “Muskie”
Red Eyes. Today, while fishing
with Jeff, I literally threw my
Red Eye on top of a 35-inch gator, the water exploded and a few
moments later I was releasing my
prize.
We fish a lake that is a sevenmile boat ride and requires two
portages to reach. Today, Nate
Moll, and Riley and Trent Schuster took the big trip and had a great
day. Riley caught a 21-inch walleye and several gators between 30
and 37.5 inches were caught and
released, including what is now
the big fish for the week.
Trent had his Red Eye dangling over the side of the boat and
was doing something else, when
what would be the money fish for
the week grabbed the big spoon.
Though an honorable man like my-
self would not count the poor gator
in a big fish bet, I can understand a
“young up-and-comer” like Trent
taking our money, including his
poor little niece, Selina’s!
Later today, Dick, Jeff, Selina
and myself had a shore lunch, took
a snooze and lived the good life
like you can only understand if
you have taken an adventure like
this.
While approaching a narrows
between two lakes I decided to
make one last cast before going
through a stretch of rocks and
logs. What I believe is the biggest
fish I have ever fought in my life
grabbed the Red Eye that I was
tossing and gave me a fight that I
never will forget.
I was using musky tackle and
this fish pulled line off my reel
with complete ease and at breakneck speed. A couple of times, it
got sideways with the current and I
simply could not move it. Just like
this experience began, the gator
of a lifetime headed upstream, my
50-pound test hit a rock and Red
Eye No. 2 (of three) was gone with
my trophy.
I wanted that fish! Congrats
Trent!
Uncle Mark
The General: a masterpiece
GENERAL from 13
the track.
Wow! I hope no one’s sleeping
next door, when everyone sees what
happens.
That is the point where you can
lean back, narrow your eyes, rub
your hands together, and indulge in a
soft, sinister chuckle. You will have
realized your goal. You will have
shown your friends and/or family
that silent movies can be enjoyed.
Setting a context for the movie
Besides pure entertainment, there
is another potential benefit to a film
like The General, if you’re willing to pursue it. There’s a word for
what I’m talking about, but we don’t
want to say it out loud. Let’s just say
it starts with “educa” and ends with
“tional.”
There is a wealth of background
you can bring to a viewing of The
General.
There is, obviously, the Civil War
itself. How much do your kids know
about it? What’s the significance of a
character bursting into the house and
saying, “Fort Sumter has been fired
upon!”?
Then, there are all the fascinating
workings of a steam locomotive.
This can be especially interesting if
your kids have ever seen the Steam
Train. The trains several times stop
at water tanks. Why? What’s the
water used for? Why does Buster’s
girlfriend have to feed the fire?
(Ohhhh—that’s why they call it a
steam locomotive!)
Are there cannon balls that have
an explosive charge? Ask that, when
it happens. (If nobody knows the
answer, no harm done. Leave them
wondering. It will motivate them to
look it up, sometime in their lives.)
For me, The General is like 2001:
A Space Odyssey, in one sense: I lost
track of how many times I’d seen
each, sometime after about the 30th
viewing. I watched The General
again, to prepare this article.
I still enjoy it. And I’ll bet you
will, too. And so will your family.
Even if you have to trick them into
watching it.
Finding this movie on DVD
The General is easily available
on DVD, but be sure you’re getting
a decent, clear copy. Kino Video has
had nicely restored versions of Keaton’s best work available on video
for years. Check out www.kinolorber.com and search on “Keaton.”
You’ll find photos (including one
scene I describe above) and more
information on The General and Keaton’s other work.
And if you do watch The General, I’d like to hear what you think
of it! Pro or con, please write us at:
TheCurrent@silentreels.com