Listed amongst the most revered comedies of the silent era, the film follows Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Keaton), who must pursue Union soldiers after his train — and his beloved Annabelle Lee — are taken during the Civil War, leading to a series of inventive and daring comedic set pieces. The screening will be accompanied by a live performance from The Anvil Orchestra, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience the film as it was originally intended.

SPECIAL MUSICAL GUESTS:
Anvil Orchestra

Not Rated
79min





EBERTFEST 2026 "THE LAST DANCE" is presented by:




Roger Ebert’s Film Festival celebrates films, genres, and formats that have been overlooked by distributors, audiences, and/or critics. These include independent, international, and studio films that did not win wide audiences; overlooked formats such as 70mm; and overlooked genres such as documentaries and musicals.

The festival screens one film at a time – so that everyone sees the same films – promoting a strong sense of community among audience members, filmmakers, guests, students, and scholars.

Ebertfest was founded in 1999 by Roger and Chaz Ebert, with Professor Nathaniel Kohn as Festival Director. Roger was an Urbana native, U of I Journalism graduate, and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times.

For a complete list of the films, visit this page.

For more, visit www.ebertfest.com