Buster Keaton’s masterful silent comedy is based on a real incident in the Civil War (the so-called "Great Locomotive Chase"), so Keaton’s strategy is to adhere to a genuine historic look. There are moments in the film where the story seems to step out of Matthew Brady photographs. Slowly, slowly, Keaton turns versimilitude into hysterical comedy, as his runaway train (Keaton’s character is on the Southern side) is chased by hoards of Unionists. Trying to impress his curly-haired girl (Mack), Keaton does all his own stunts, and these are unbelievable.