The most expensive scene in the history of silent films

This train crash from Buster Keaton’s 1926 movie “The General” cost more than any other silent-movie scene…

(The clip is cued to start at the right time.)

From Artifacting

It was filmed in a single take with a real train and a ‘dummy’ engineer (notice the white arm hanging out the conductors window). It looked so realistic that the townspeople who had come to watch screamed in horror…

The scene was filmed in a conifer forest near the town of Cottage Grove, Oregon. The production company left the wreckage in the river bed after the scene was filmed and the wrecked locomotive became a minor tourist attraction for nearly twenty years. The metal of the train was salvaged for scrap during World War II.

And here’s the scene as a series of images…

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Category: Arts & Culture, Craziness, History

4 Responses

  1. 1
    Paul Huxley says:

    My favourite film as a young boy. The whole film is well worth your time, with Buster Keaton performing some genuinely dangerous train-related stunts with no regard for safety.

  2. 2
    Caleb says:

    Take note, Michael Bay.

  3. 3
    Tristan says:

    Unfortunately this movie back then was a major box office flop. It lost tremendous amounts of money. The budget for the film was $750 000. It cost Keaton his independence in film making which forced him into a restrictive deal with MGM. He considered it his best of all his movies. Later, many would agree with him and it is now considered one of the classic greats.

  4. 4
    Q says:

    Anyone notice at 1:23 – 1:25, the train is still seen in the background?

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