CivilWarTalk Throwback Thursday, 11-8-18

Regardless of which movie version you've seen, or historical accuracy, Buster Keaton's The General is well worth watching for its place in film history, and it certainly has plenty of laughs. There are several versions (with different background music) on youtube.

During the silent movie era, theaters hired local pianists to accompany the films. Thus, every performance had different background music. My mother had a job accompanying movies for a while. I have no idea if she ever accompanied The General, though.
 
Regardless of which movie version you've seen, or historical accuracy, Buster Keaton's The General is well worth watching for its place in film history, and it certainly has plenty of laughs. There are several versions (with different background music) on youtube.

During the silent movie era, theaters hired local pianists to accompany the films. Thus, every performance had different background music. My mother had a job accompanying movies for a while. I have no idea if she ever accompanied The General, though.
I once owned a VHS copy of The General but it was completely silent which made watching it a little tedious; my current DVD copy has music but I don't remember anything about it. I understand that some big productions actually had scores written for them and sent out as sheet music to accompany screenings where small orchestras in big cities or piano players like your mother in small towns could play from them. Naturally, most things were accompanied by whatever music the pianist or organist thought appropriate. (William Tell Overture, anyone?)
 
Ah, yes, the theater organ! A marvelous institution! A few still exist, preserved with loving care!

My mother actually lived in Detroit, but generally played in the smaller neighborhood theaters, most of which no longer exist.
 
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