The General (1926) Review

Is The General worth watching?

Yes — The General is worth watching, with a 93% Critic Score and 91% Audience Score on Celluloid. It earns a 90% Celluloid Score across critic reviews, audience polls, Metascore (97), Letterboxd (4.3/5), and IMDb (8.1/10).

Directed by Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton, The General runs 79 minutes in English. On Celluloid we index it for “The General review”, “is The General worth watching”, and related discovery queries from United States.

What is The General about?

During America’s Civil War, Union spies steal engineer Johnny Gray’s beloved locomotive, ‘The General’—with Johnnie’s lady love aboard an attached boxcar—and he single-handedly must do all in his power to both get The General back and to rescue Annabelle.

Critics consensus: Buster Keaton’s Civil War chase comedy is the silent era’s great action picture — every gag engineered, performed and paid off in a single unbroken piece of craft. The film stars Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley, Frederick Vroom, and others.

Should you watch The General tonight?

Yes — prioritize The General tonight if you want a proven comedy with lasting rewatch value. At 79 minutes, it fits a single sitting — and the five-source score breakdown on the movie page shows where critics and audiences agree.

Where can I watch The General?

Streaming availability varies by region — check Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and local OTT platforms, or theatrical revivals. The General (1926) is indexed on CelluloidScore.com with cast, scores, and IMDb tt0017925. Explore more from United States on our country hub or browse comedy films.