AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
A hundred years ago, silent film legend Buster Keaton shot his most ambitious and expensive movie in the city of Cottage Grove, Oregon. The film was called "The General." Legions of Keaton's fans gathered in Cottage Grove recently to celebrate the movie's centennial, a proud legacy for locals. Brian Bull of member station KLCC reports.
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BRIAN BULL, BYLINE: Inside a historic building on Main Street, dozens of people dressed in 1920s attire dance to live jazz. Flapper dresses mix with vests and straw hats. Arriving outside, 21-year-old Chloe Fadem of Chicago is dressed to the nines.
CHLOE FADEM: I got a suit. And I picked up a little rainbow bow tie that is not on-era branding for the outfit, but I love it, and a pork pie hat that I wear very proudly in honor of Keaton.
BULL: And for the Buster Keaton look-alike contest held that same night.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Why don't we have the Busters proceed past the venue and...
BULL: With a fake mustache and magnifying glass, 37-year-old Liz Bartholomew of Portland won for portraying Keaton from his 1924 movie "Sherlock Jr."
LIZ BARTHOLOMEW: Thank you so much. Thank you.
BULL: Bartholomew confesses she's not a huge Keaton fan like others, but her 71-year-old mom, Kate, is.
BARTHOLOMEW: And she flew from out of town to come to this festival. So to me, Buster Keaton means a way to get closer to my mom and something for us to bond over.
BULL: There's much to bond over for everyone in the International Buster Keaton Society, or, as they call themselves, Damfinos. Legend says the term comes from whenever Keaton was pressed for an answer he didn't know right away, he'd reply, damfino - shorthand for damned if I know.
LLOYD WILLIAMS: The Damfinos always say that it's like a family reunion when they get together, but this is a family reunion where people actually like each other (laughter).
BULL: Lloyd Williams of the Cottage Grove Historical Society is the head organizer for "The General" centennial celebration. Keaton shot his Civil War train chase saga here in the summer of 1926. More than 1,500 locals and 500 National Guardsmen were in the cast and crew. "The General's" budget came to $750,000, or $14 million today. This included a deliberate train crash at a local creek on July 23, 1926. Businesses closed, and some kids were allowed to skip school to watch the spectacle. Altogether, more than 4,000 people came to watch. And at $42,000, it became what many believed to be the most costly single shot in silent film history.
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BULL: Eighty Damfinos are here at the site, some as far away as Virginia - or, in 13-year-old Aden Blatchford's case, Ontario, Canada. He's dressed as Keaton for three consecutive Halloweens - and for some photos his dad will take here, at the very shooting location of the famed train crash.
ADEN BLATCHFORD: He shot the main scene here. This is the biggest scene he's ever shot. This is the biggest highlight for me on the trip.
BULL: Chloe Fadem is also dazzled to be standing where Keaton directed the epic shot. She and others are reviewing black-and-white movie stills to get perspective.
FADEM: It's kind of full circle. You see it kind of 2D in the movie, but now you see it really 3D - holding the photo up and comparing the rocks and the water and the trees and seeing where everything was and where that bridge would have been and where the train would have been.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Come on, people.
BULL: For his fans, this two-day event is also a chance to meet some of Keaton's relatives. His granddaughter, 77-year-old Melissa Talmadge Cox, says talking to Damfinos gives her a deeper understanding of his cinematic work.
MELISSA TALMADGE COX: Because there were no silent films available in the '50s and '60s. I saw one when I was in college, and I just could not believe that this man was the grandfather that I'd known my whole life. I didn't see any until after he passed away, and I didn't have time to ask him a lot of questions that I would do today.
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BULL: The events wrapped up at Cottage Theater, which showed a restored version of "The General." The big train crash drew the most applause.
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BULL: And the next big event is just a month away. A few days before Keaton's 131st birthday, Muskegon, Michigan, is hosting its annual International Buster Keaton Society Convention.
For NPR News, I'm Brian Bull in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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