Peter Kramer

On its initial release, Buster Keaton’s ‘The General’ (1927) was not a financial or critical success, but is now considered as his finest onscreen achievement. Slapstick Festival is delighted to re-examine the classic comedy more than ninety years after its premiere, and to welcome Peter Kramer, Senior Fellow in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at the University of East Anglia, and author of the BFI classic on ‘The General’. Using illustrative clips from the film, Peter Kramer explores how Keaton chose and realised his most ambitious project.