Most Expensive Silent Film Shot Ever: Train Wreck From "The General" (Buster Keaton, 1926) 

Could you imagine the logistics? Yes, sir. We want to build a bridge, and crash a train. How they convinced anyone to pay for it is beyond me.

I've seen still frames of the train falling in the water, but I didn't know it was an actual movie until just now! Mind slightly blown! My gf just randomly showed this to me cause she knows I like trains. Thank you for posting this!!

This movie is essentially Home Alone with trains.

Even more innovative than the stunt is the brilliant deadpan reaction from the colonel! What an inspired comedic choice.

When I saw this film, I assumed (as most people would) that it was a model or something that they crashed I am blown away by the fact that they crashed a REAL TRAIN! Who was in charge of getting the permission to do this stunt!? Whoever it was, I think they deserved a raise 😅

I grew up less than a mile down river from the "wreck"....there are stlll a few pieces of the wreckage to be seen in the river

This is one example of the many impossible stunts/effects from a film that was totally ahead of its time. Many of the things done (like this stunt) would, or could, never be repeated. And to think it was all conceived, written, choreographed, shot, stunted and main acted by one man. Today it would take scores of people-who wouldn’t achieve half the art or technical brilliance, to make this film. Buster was one true genius…

When this film was released the Civil War was as recent as Vietnam is today.

This movie was filmed in Oregon because it was one of the last spots in America to use the old rail system that dated the Civil War. The South did have Pine trees but not this many haha.

Just a reminder that this was shot only 60 years after the Civil War

My hometown Cottage Grove in Oregon is where this was filmed. Also the parade at the end of Animal house was filmed in the same town.

Ah yes. The good old days when you could cause a minor environmental disaster to a river for a single scene in a movie.

Lmao they just left it there

Reading about this in Buster Keaton by James Curtis. They built the bridge to be collapsed. They dammed the river to get the right flow. It was so expensive they could only film it once. And after several false starts, they got it just right. Go Buster.

Rip driver and fireman apparently

It took 4 takes before the bridge went down. Keaton was a genius.

I saw The Gemeral in a film class I took in college. I thought it was a fantastic film. Buster Keeton performed all of his stunts.

Sheldon Cooper watched this video and swore like a sailor. 🤣🤣

This is so much better than the train crash scene in The Lone Ranger

It cost about 43,000 in 1926 dollars for just the collapse scene. That is roughly 500,000 in today's money

Apparently I subscribed to your channel, but couldn’t remember why. Then I see a good presentation like this and, suddenly, I remember. It’s because you upload good, interesting content consistently. Bravo, and thanks!

I love the silent movies and I love you! Thank you! Next I want to watch the whole movie The General on the web.

the beat is fire

Boss music the whole time

The only questions I have: 1. Did they seriously destroy a bridge and an engine? 2. Was there someone in the engine's cab when it crashed?

Cottage Grove Oregon

Assistant director: we should use a model! Director: Nah, why not go for the real thing

I remember seeing this on TV. I didn't know that was going to happen. I didn't think it was a model because there were the men on horseback in the footage. I told my husband and he said it had to be fake. So we watched it again on youtube. Yep: it was real. Wow.

The crash: Date: January 7th 1861 Operator: general Deaths: 4 (all) Injuries: none Train name: troop train No. 53 Cause: bridge fall

"That bridge is not burned enough to stop you." The weight of the train and its cargo begs to differ.

The train didn't crash because of the fire. The place where it fell had the timber framing holding the track up removed by the film crews. Without them holding the track, the train would fall through, fire or no fire.

They used 100% CGI !! On their Windows 1926 Computer with 0,000001 nanobyte ram hahaha 😂😂😂

I played it at 0.25x so they really got their monies worth.

That was expensive

Thee Union commander was with the Army Corps of Engineers I gather? And the look back like, IDK, Who can I blame?

adrien brody would make a great buster keaton in a biopic

"Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning" sent me here (the crew built and crashed an ACTUAL train too)

The amazing thing is everyone in this movie is dead! 🙏⚰RIP

*This was ahead of it's time that's why the movie flopped but became cuIt cIassic later.*

1:39 well...shit!

Great

Sound film came out one year later.

Imagine cameraman forgetting to uncap the lens

Do your research research before making such bold statements, the 1914 silent film A Partner to Providence had two trains with cars colide head on. The movie The General was more expensive not because of this scene but because of the overall large amount of actors and the amount of equipment they had to build and backdate to replicate an antique train.

For their sake I hope no one stayed on the train. That's quite the Stuntman if they did.

How Tragic.

Holy shit.

I wonder what happened to the other two locomotives

so how much did it cost? jeesh!!!!

For accuracy, all that was wrecked was the Locomotive and Tender. A 'TRAIN' consists of other cars, passenger or freight or a mix!

Bro engineer health insurance

Thats a nice cool toy figure 1:19

It’s told he broke all his bones some twice

I don't suppose this was a birthday commemoration for him, was it?

Did the driver survive?

I wonder what they used to make the sound of a explosion, in the 1910's probably a explosion, some guy with a few stick of dynamite a little behind the screen.

Is it true the train was left to be salvaged later? Until WWII

The question is did the driver survive?

Now who's gonna clean up that mess?

The General is still there where it crashed.

Did this inspire Gomez Addams?

Wow! Wonder if that locomotive is still down there?

Train driver white shirt.

1:12

This isn't most expensive silent movie. It is Ben Hur (1925).

WASHINGTON

Tik tok of the early 1900s

We don't need subtitles.

Was the train named Joe Biden by any chance.......

Did anyone die making that stunt?

This scene was financial crash of Keaton

Le mécano de la général était son film préféré du génie buster keaton . Le maître a tout donné pour ce film qui ce passe pendant la guerre de sécession de vêtements aux machines général les meilleurs locomotives de l époque . Dans le film le plan le plus couteu de l histoire du cinéma muet. Il y a eu des incendies et comblé de malchance le film ne sera pas le succè espérer. A partir de la les choses vont ce compliqués. Il n aura plus la confiance de la firme les artistes associées et joseph schkek va arrêté de produire les films our s occuper des affaires financières des artistes associées. Buster sera avec le temp obligé de tourné pour la mgm qui lui propose un pont d or mais ça ne sera pas ce qu' ont lui promet.

Once again we see why CGI is so miserable.

Bulshit claim learn history kid. Before this movie was made Lubin Manufacturing Company staged a train crash in 1914 that cost $25,000 involveing two locomotives hauling cars crashing head on. The General was expensive because they bought an entire railroad, had to extensively modify locomotives to there 1860s appearence as well as build peroide correct rolling stock, and hire large numbers of actors for the battle sceans not because they crashed a locomotive off a bridge.

This was filmed in Oregon. You can still see pieces of it there in Row River. www.offbeatoregon.com/H1002b_TheGeneral.html