The Buster Keaton film "The General" is stupid and boring

[phroso]

I don't think THE GENERAL is boring or stupid, but I'm a little flummoxed whenever I see Buster Keaton fans taking cheap shots at Charlie Chaplin, or ignoring Harold Lloyd's career altogether. They were all great, but I would honestly rate Keaton as the third-funniest silent comedian.

[clearskies]

I agree, the original post is very contentious. "The General" may be boring to some but certainly not a stupid film, especially to those in the know.

[scottman1932]

> {quote:title=musicalnovelty wrote:}{quote}

> > {quote:title=Scottman wrote:}{quote}

> > Have you seen any of the shorts he made at Columbia? Are they any good?

> >

> Yes, I've seen most of them. Sorry to report that the Columbia shorts are among the offenders that mis-used El Brendel's talents and usually had him running around doing what any other comic could (and did) do in typical Columbia shorts. Many of his Columbia shorts were remakes of earlier shorts. And further demonstrating how they really didn't know what to do with him, they tried teaming him up with various partners, usually with unimpressive results.

> Some of the Columbia shorts are okay, and I would still recommend checking them out if you can find them. Then you can decide if you want to see more.

> But just bear in mind that if they seem lame and silly (or absolutely awful), don't necessarily blame Brendel. He would rather have been doing the kind of comedy he did best, such as his vaudeville act, but in most films, especially the Columbia shorts his talents were wasted.

 

Sorry to hear it, but that does seem to be the case with many other comedians at Columbia.

I've seen the Keaton Columbia shorts, and there are a couple of real gems, but by and large they're not all that funny. Some of the Charley Chase Columbia shorts that I've seen are pretty good but most are nowhere near as good as his work at Roach

[ValentineXavier]

> {quote:title=phroso wrote:}{quote}

> I don't think THE GENERAL is boring or stupid, but I'm a little flummoxed whenever I see Buster Keaton fans taking cheap shots at Charlie Chaplin, or ignoring Harold Lloyd's career altogether. They were all great, but I would honestly rate Keaton as the third-funniest silent comedian.

 

I prefer Keaton, but respect Chaplin and Lloyd. I think it's just a matter of personal taste, as to which you enjoy most.