At the time of its initial release, The General, an action-adventure-comedy made toward the end of the silent era, wasn't well received by critics and audiences, resulting in mediocre box office returns. Because of its then-huge budget and failure to turn a significant profit, Keaton lost his independence as a filmmaker and was forced into a restrictive deal with MGM. In 1954, the film entered the public domain due to the claimant's failure to renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.
The film has been reevaluated, and is now considered by critics as one of the greatest films ever made. In 2007, The General was ranked #18 by the American Film Institute on their 10th Anniversary list of the 100 best American movies of all time.
The Plot:
Johnnie Gray is an engineer on his train, The General, on the Western and Atlantic railroad. When war is declared between North and South he does his best to sign up with the Confederate army but is refused because he's in a designated occupation. His sweetheart Annabelle and her family don't believe him and she's ashamed, thinking he's shirking his duty.
Meanwhile the Union army hatches a plan to steal the General and when it stops in Big Shanty they snatch it and head north. Annabelle Lee is a passenger on the train and Johnnie goes behind enemy lines to rescue his train and his girl.