A silent star for toddlers

I have corroborating evidence that Randy Lewis is absolutely right when he claims that “silents” can be golden for the toddler set (“Can’t Beat Buster, Can’t Top the Tramp,” April 17). One of my 4-year-old twin boys, Dylan, is wild about trains, so I thought I’d see how he reacted to Keaton’s masterpiece, “The General.”

Although its narrative concerns the Civil War and the rewards of valor through persistence -- themes that Dylan is not yet concerned with -- “The General” is filled with wonderful visual humor, and Dylan “got” all of it (and insisted on repeated viewings of the whole film, and continues to ask for it at the video store). And, he wants everyone to know, the General is a steam engine.

Rod Granger

New York