San Francisco Symphony presents Buster Keaton’s The General (1926) — featuring original musical accompaniment by Cameron Carpenter
Davies Symphony Hall
201 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
3:00 PM, Sunday, March 27, 2022

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Keaton polishing the General

[3:00 PM] {lights down, announcements}
[3:01 PM] {CC out}

1. [3:01 PM] Opening Title & credits
2. [3:02 PM] Prologue: “The Western and Atlantic Flyer speeding into Marietta, GA, in the Spring of 1861.”
3. [3:04 PM] A Visit with Annabelle Lee
4. [3:07 PM] At the recruiting office in downtown Marietta, GA
5. [3:11 PM] Back at the Lee house
6. [3:12 PM] Annabelle confronts Johnny and spurns him
7. [3:13 PM] The Main Story, 1862: In a Union encampment just North of Chattanooga, TN
8. [3:15 PM] Back at the Marietta, Georgia train station: Annabelle snubs Johnny again
9. [3:16 PM] Stop at the Big Shanty, GA, train station: the General is hijacked!
10. [3:18 PM] Handcar chase
11. [3:19 PM] Bicycle chase
12. [3:20 PM] At Kingston, TN, train station: Johnny takes the Texas locomotive
13. [3:21 PM] Johnny acquires a rail-car howitzer
14. [3:21 PM] Watertower stop
15. [3:22 PM] Johnny fires on the union men
16. [3:25 PM] Boxcar blockade & derailment
17. [3:n PM] Sidetracked and stuck at the switch
18. [3:29 PM] Burning Boxcar
19. [3:31 PM] Subtitle: The Southern army facing Chattanooga is ordered to retreat.
20. [3:32 PM] Subtitle: General Parker's victorious Northern army advancing.
21. [3:33 PM] The Trestle Bridge
22. [3:34 PM] Johnny in the woods; rain storm
23. [3:35 PM] Subtitle: In the enemy's country
24. [3:35 PM] Johnny learns of the Northern attack plan & spies Annabelle
25. [3:40 PM] Johnny rescues Annabelle
26. [3:42 PM] Caught in a bear trap!
27. [3:44 PM] Johnny steals back the General
28. [3:49 PM] Johnny cuts the telegraph
29. [3:50 PM] Johnny recovers Annabelle from the baggage car
30. [3:52 PM] Firewood stop; Annabelle lays a trap
31. [3:54 PM] The Texas is arrested by the trap
32. [3:56 PM] Watertower gag reprise
33. [3:58 PM] Stoking the tender with a toothpick
34. [3:59 PM] the Texas overtakes the General; the Columbia rear-ends the Texas
35. [4:00 PM] Johnny sabotages a switch; Annabelle leaves him behind
36. [4:01 PM] A Three-train collision is narrowly averted
37. [4:02 PM] Johnny builds a pyre on the Rock River Bridge
38. [4:05 PM] Johnny changes back into Confederate grey
39. [4:06 PM] Johnny rallies the South at Divisional Headquarters
40. [4:07 PM] Annabelle reunites with her dad
41. [4:08 PM] The Union engineer finally fixes the switch
42. [4:09 PM] General Parker orders Captain Anderson and The Texas to cross the fire-damaged bridge
43. [4:10 PM] Battle at the river between the North and South
44. [4:11 PM] Johnny and the artillery team
45. [4:14 PM] Johnny blows up the up-river dam; the flood sweeps away the Union troops
46. [4:15 PM] Johnny captures Union General Thatcher
47. [4:19 PM] Finale: Johnny & Annabelle reunited while troops parade by
    [4:20 PM] {the film ends; CC makes 3 curtain calls to bow and accept cheers; no Encore today}

• Cameron Carpenter: organ.

What a funny film! I think the last time I saw it the accompanist was Marc Ribot, but strangely, no evidence for that memory appears in my show-going history. Cameron's musical choices this afternoon seemed to me to be like musical wallpaper: effective for setting a scene, but not particularly something meant for more active listening: I wonder if he's ever talked about that issue. Anyways, I heard lots of hints of old tunes: Yankee Doodle, Stephen Foster compositions, et cetera.

I pulled the long list of scenes/cues noted above from the extensive synopsis posted at the Filmsite Movie Review… following that list as the movie ran was slightly distracting, but it also helped me keep track of the overall proceedings, and reading the synopsis helped prepare me spot many details I probably would have overlooked while watching the film. Speaking of which, the version shown seems ripe for a 4K restoration; hopefully the next time I see it the film will be presented in better repair!

Program Notes or program notes

No photo gallery today: ol' squinty just can't handle the responsibility!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2022 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2022 event list! ☸ On to the next event!