It's no wonder she didn't make another movie until 1940, the way Keaton trampled all over her. Did she ever talk about this film in an interview?
Google's cache of her imdb page says: "9 April 1902 Mammoth, Utah, USA - 1 May 1989 Costa Mesa, California, USA." but that information is no longer here for some reason.
I recall in the Brownlow and Gill documentary, she talked about the scene where the water tank pipe was aimed so it knocked her over with water. She said she had not been told Keaton was going to do that in advance, which is why you see her start slapping him in rage after this happens. She was actually angry!
shareThat is pretty dangerous, there is a lot of force behind that water - especially when you don't expect it. I believe an accident like that happened on the set of 'Once Upon a time in the West' (or one of the other spaghetti westerns) when an actor got surprised by water coming down from a railroad watertank so fast he was knocked down and hit his head on the rails.
shareI am of the impression women (his fellow actresses) often came to grief with Buster Keaton. I mean, if HE was an acrobat, it still rarely came to his mind to spare them of the physical inconvenience. it's enough to recall "incidents" from "The Navigator", or "The Boat" to get the idea. poor lasses! :-D (but it did give a kick to their scenes!)
shareThat happened to Keaton, and left him with a broken neck, not diagnosed at the time!
shareMarion Mack did speak about the making of The General, not only in the Brownlow & Gill documentary but in an interview conducted by Raymond Rohauer in conjunction with a screening of The General in Toronto in 1972. She said that although she was initially angry about the practical jokes Keaton played on her, they became friends and she saw that his intentions were never malicious. She probably did have some bruises, but this was pretty commonplace in the silent era: many more actors did their own stunts (though Buster Keaton did more dangerous stunts than anyone) and suffered through extreme temperatures and rough locations. It was just considered part of the job. In interviews, Marion Mack spoke about how Keaton would improvise in front of the camera, and how pleased he was when she added her own improvisations. For instance the whole sequence in which she’s supposed to be stoking the engine and she puts in a tiny stick, then an even tinier one, and Buster starts to choke her, then kisses her, was completely ad-libbed.
shareYeah, what was the deal with him choking her? Not funny. At another point, he threw something at her while they were on the train. Also not funny.
I actually thought the strangle-kiss scene was funny. It happened right after she tossed the tiny sticks into the fire and it was a perfect "I wanma kill ya but I love you too much" moment.
Well played I thought.
What are you some kind of feminist? It was hilarious! These were different times. That stuff was acceptable and funny back then. Besides, she was a shady broad and she deserved a beating for the way she turned on Buster and called him a liar when he told her they wouldn't let him enlist. Then he saved her life, and she still looked at him as a low life just because he wasn't an official soldier. It wasn't until he was made a lieutenant that she finally showed him some real respect and gave him the goods.
shareYeah, I thought throwing the firewood (?) at her (because she gave him a piece he considered inferior?) was a bit rough, but that whole deal of him testing how small a splinter she would open the firebox for, letting out far more heat than such a stick would provide, and strangling her when it got small enough, was really funny.
In many of his films Buster had a bit of a "caveman" instinct towards women--ya know, drag 'em around to see how much they can take--but he can also be very tender and romantic. With this scene you get both in a few seconds.
Edited to add: I've just seen his episode of "This is Your Life" and when his sister Louise comes out, Buster does the same thing to her! Strangles, and then gives her affection, for her part in setting him up. The way he play-strangled Louise showed their family's dynamic--pretend roughness without meanness.
I wonder who came up with the idea for Marion Mack to sweep the floor of the locomotive cab. Keaton looks at her with astonishment that anyone would do that at such a time. Since there was already a broom there, it must have been planned in advance.
Stupid!?! I never called you stupid! To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people!
Re: How many bruises did Marion Mack have?Great post, thanks for including it. I thought Marion Mack and Buster Keaton had good timing and chemistry during the entire train scene.
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by imogensara_smith » Wed May 24 2006 11:24:13
IMDb member since May 2005
Marion Mack did speak about the making of The General, not only in the Brownlow & Gill documentary but in an interview conducted by Raymond Rohauer in conjunction with a screening of The General in Toronto in 1972. She said that although she was initially angry about the practical jokes Keaton played on her, they became friends and she saw that his intentions were never malicious. She probably did have some bruises, but this was pretty commonplace in the silent era: many more actors did their own stunts (though Buster Keaton did more dangerous stunts than anyone) and suffered through extreme temperatures and rough locations. It was just considered part of the job. In interviews, Marion Mack spoke about how Keaton would improvise in front of the camera, and how pleased he was when she added her own improvisations. For instance the whole sequence in which she’s supposed to be stoking the engine and she puts in a tiny stick, then an even tinier one, and Buster starts to choke her, then kisses her, was completely ad-libbed.
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summershare