though it run only seventy five minute and it still seem remarkable that buster keaton fertile imagination be build upon short and quick gag that pas by quickly so quickly that it stagger the mind that anyone could come up with enough to flesh out seventy five minute . the gags themselves be gracefully athletic and consistently come unexpectedly and give keaton slight build and feature that make him look old beyond his year . he play a train engineer whose attempt to join the confederate army be rebuff ( a be the affection of his beloved and believe him to be a coward ) but who almost single handedly manage to win a major battle by use his train to confound the union army . there great attention pay to detail quite a bit be happen both in the foreground and the background of the frame and the joke be both laugh out loud funny and amusingly ironic while but keaton genius be his ability to isolate the individual within the crowd and draw out that individual endear strengths his connection with each member of the audience be subtle but sublime .