The General (1926)

The General (1926)

6/10

Starring

Buster Keaton

Directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman

In what is considered Buster Keaton’s best film and one of the highest-rated comedies, The General is a classic movie that didn’t get the critical reception Buster expected when it was released. The movie is a silent film from 1926, and it’s funny, with juicy scenes and stunts that are a joy to watch.

Buster was at his creative peak when he made this movie, but the problem was that his creativity was well ahead of its time. When the film came out, it was both a critical and commercial flop.

The movie also cost Buster a lot. Even though he stood by his production, calling it the best film he ever made, its commercial failure led to him losing total creative control over his next set of productions. Eventually, when sound films took over, Keaton was swept aside.

I’m not much of a fan of silent films, but this one is worth seeing. Ranked 18th in both AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs and 100 Years… 100 Movies, this film is guaranteed to leave you smiling by the time the credits roll.

Now, to be honest, I feel Charlie Chaplin had it better, and between the two, I believe Chaplin ranks higher. But that doesn’t take anything away from Keaton, who is undoubtedly a brilliant comedian.

The General is based on The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger, a soldier who was part of the Andrews' Raid, also known as the Great Locomotive Chase.

The movie starts with Buster’s character, Johnnie, trying to enlist in the army to impress his girlfriend. He’s turned down because his occupation is deemed too important, and the South can’t afford to lose him during the ongoing American Civil War. Hell-bent on joining, he pulls every trick in the book but fails and loses his girl’s respect.

A year later, his girlfriend receives word that her father is wounded and travels to see him. Her train, named The General, is driven by her ex, Johnnie. During the journey, the train makes a pit stop so passengers can eat. The Yankees (the North) seize this opportunity to capture the train, which still has Johnnie’s girl on board.

Johnnie begins a chase, unaware that his girl is on the train. He’s determined to get his train back, and the whole journey leads him to discover her in the enemy’s camp. Now, Johnnie has to save her and also carry critical information about the North’s plans—information he overheard while hiding under a table as they spoke.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

7/10

Starring

Warren Beatty

Faye Dunaway

Directed by Arthur Penn

Bonnie and Clyde is a wonderful adaptation of the two armed robbers who terrorized America in the early 1930s. The movie starts with a fantastic acting pair in Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway—their performances alone did it for me. But another memorable person in the movie is Buck’s wife, Blanche, played by Estelle Parsons.

Her portrayal was awesome, to be honest. Her acting trumps the rest. She was the character you want to hate just for being there, and she played that part so well that she won an Academy Award for her troubles—and it was well deserved.

The movie was a landmark at the time of its release due to its sexual content and graphic violence. If you compare it to what we see today, the content in the film might seem almost nonexistent. But in 1967, the implied sexual act of Bonnie on Clyde was frowned upon. Another thing that wasn’t well received was the glorification of the characters as anti-heroes when, in reality, they were criminals.

The movie tells the tale of Bonnie and Clyde, two strangers who meet and begin a life of crime after their first heist together gives them a rush.

They continue terrorizing and driving around America, but when they notice that getting away after every robbery is becoming difficult, they recruit a new member to be their getaway driver. After a rough start, the trio starts doing well and is eventually joined by Clyde’s brother and his wife.

The five of them keep getting involved in shootouts and robberies, and as a viewer, nothing seems clearer than expecting the movie to end the way it does.

The movie’s production had some serious setbacks. Warren Beatty bought the film rights and tried producing it after all previous attempts had failed. He had the script rewritten and began shooting after convincing Arthur Penn to direct. Upon completion, Beatty faced another problem: Warner Bros. refused to give the film a wide release, fearing bad reception due to its sexual content and graphic violence. After Warren threatened to sue, it got a wide release, and the 2.5millionproductionrakedin2.5millionproductionrakedin70 million at the box office.

Now, the movie isn’t entirely honest to the real Bonnie and Clyde story. They made some changes to the characters just to add drama. The whole talk of Clyde’s sexual problem portrayed in the movie is fictional, as is the humiliation of the Texas Ranger. C.W. Moss never existed but was introduced as a merger of two other characters in the gang.

The movie wasn’t a total rollercoaster ride—there were moments when things went smoothly and easily. But there’s nothing like the awesome ending; the cinematic conclusion is a classic. This is one of the good movies from the old days that’s worth watching anytime.

The Producers (1968)

The Producers (1968)

7/10

Starring

Zero Mostel

Gene Wilder

Directed by Mel Brooks

The first 14 minutes of this film are total rubbish—in fact, they might discourage you from watching the rest of the movie (1 hour and 29 minutes). But the moment Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) acts out when Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) touches his blue blanket, I sat back down and focused to see what makes this 1968 film a comedy classic.

Rated 11th in AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs, this comedy masterpiece wasn’t well received during its initial release and was itself a flop—ironically, just like the plot of the movie. The film is about making a Broadway production for $1 million that’s designed to be a financial flop.

Now, ironically this movie (The Producers) production budget was 941,000—almost a million.

This movie was written and directed by Mel Brooks, marking his directorial debut. He later won an Academy Award that same year for Best Original Screenplay.

I’m more familiar with Wilder from his later movies, but this was my first time seeing Zero Mostel on screen. While he was good, Wilder seemed to outshine him in his role.

The movie starts by introducing Mr. Bialystock, a flimsy womanizer who sleeps with elderly women to raise funds for his plays. He’s visited in his office by an accountant named Leo Bloom, who discovers that Bialystock had produced a failed play but still pocketed $2,000.

While going through Max’s books and trying to help him hide the $2,000 he stole from his investors (after Max begged and convinced him to), Bloom thinks out loud about a scheme that could make millions. The plan is to raise $1 million for a $60,000 play without letting any of the investors know about the others. They’d sell shares to each of them, and when the play inevitably flops, the investors would get nothing.

Max hears this scheme and convinces Leo they can pull it off, even after Leo warns that it could backfire and send them to jail for fraud.

Bialystock and Bloom start a production company, pick the worst script they can find (written by a mentally unstable man), hire the worst director possible, and cast the worst actors available.

They sell shares of the play’s profits to investors—some 100%, some 50%, and the rest 25%, totaling a sale of 25,000% of what should only be 100%.

Now that they’ve done everything wrong, they’re confident nothing could go right with the play to make it a hit.

This movie is indeed very funny, and the music is exceptional. I’ll definitely keep this in my archive, and I think you should too.