Seven Chances

This film might seem familiar, as it has been remade several times--the last time just a few years ago. Buster Keaton stands to inherit a fortune providing he marries before time expires. But, he has no prospects and time is running out--what to do, what to do? Well, he tries again and again and again with no luck. That is until the ladies find out about the fortune that awaits them as his bride. Then, EVERYONE under the sun comes out of the woodwork--all ages, races and sizes. And, because so much money is involved, it goes from being a cute comedy to complete pandemonium! These women WON'T take no for an answer and they are super-dooper aggressive--and Buster runs for his life! Well, the ladies aren't about to let their fortune get away and hundreds of maniacal brides-to-be (all in white) give chase--resulting in one of the funniest chases in film history. What happens next is for you to see for yourself. It's funny, well-made and fast paced fun.

Contrary to what you may have read, "Seven Chances" (1925) was made before Buster Keaton signed with MGM and relinquished artistic control over his own films. His gifts of extraordinary agility, timing, and visualizing the comic potential in the most mundane situations are everywhere in evidence.

The plot of "Seven Chances" is ancient. A young bachelor stands to inherit millions if he can find a bride by a certain day and marry at a certain hour. The date is invariably the same as the day the will is read, and in the hands of Keaton, his writers and cast, the comic possibilities are brilliantly exploited. The same premise was the basis for at least three other films before Keaton's, and was remade (abysmally -- from what I've read) as "The Bachelor" with Chris O'Donnell in 1999. The chain of events that flows from news of the inheritance just builds and builds over the course of the film, the gags growing increasingly clever as time grows shorter. "Seven Chances" clocks in at less than an hour, but the final 15 minutes (which Buster Keaton reportedly reworked several times) are among the most hilarious in all of silent film, perhaps in the history of screen comedy.

Initially, only Buster, his business partner (T. Ray Brown) and the lawyer (Snitz Edwards, who was so terribly homely he was cute) are aware of the dilemma. After Buster botches a proposal to his longtime girlfriend, (Ruth Dwyer), he pops the question to several more female acquaintances, with predictably embarrassing results. It is then that Brown and Edwards (unbeknownst to Buster) decide to place a newspaper announcement advertising his plight.

Once the newspapers hit the streets, the chase is on. Keaton is pursued through 1920s Los Angeles by dozens, then scores, then seemingly hundreds of would-be brides. They come in all ages, shapes and sizes, makeshift veils trailing after them. No obstacle is too great in their pursuit to beat out each other for the prize of marriage to a man they don't even know, and Buster throws out plenty of roadblocks in his wake.

In 1979, Walter Kerr wrote the definitive book on silent comedies, "The Silent Clowns." One of the jacket blurbs reads, "I found myself laughing out loud at routines from movies I have never seen." I don't have Kerr's gift, but I can tell you that "Seven Chances" is the most consistently funny movie Buster Keaton ever made. All of his movies include inventive sight gags, but "Seven Chances," more than most of Buster's movies, relies on character comedy as well as situational comedy for its humor. And it scores a bull's eye on both. A sheer delight.

I'm sorry to hear that Keaton didn't care for this film, because it was a truncated version of this film that introduced me to Buster Keaton when I was about six.

When the film gets going, it really takes off and I mean off the ground. The big chase in this film is a joy to see.

This is a must see Keaton film.

Jimmie Shannon (Buster Keaton) is a broker in need of money. When a lawyer comes to tell him he has inherited a certain sum, Jimmie avoids him thinking he may be bringing a summons. And then when he does hear the good news, there's a catch...

Directed by and starring Buster Keaton, this film portrays his particular brand of physical comedy, though perhaps not with as much danger as "The General" or as many tricks as "Sherlock Jr." The music of Robert Israel really carries this film. Not just because it's a silent film, but because it's great music -- moving, light and comedic. And there is an implied racial tone... Jimmie passes on proposing to both a Jew and a black woman.

I literally "laughed out loud" at this film! It is a shame Keaton considered it his worst film. Who knew it was so hard to get someone to marry you for $7,000,000 (in 1925 money, no less)?

I love Seven Chances as much if not more than any of Keaton's other features, even if it does not enjoy the same reputation as The General or Sherlock, Jr. Using the sure-fire concept of a man who must take a wife or lose a fortune, Buster builds and executes one of his greatest extended gag sequences -- the chase of the reluctant groom by the army of brides. The first sections of the film detail Buster's inability to get anyone to take his proposal of marriage seriously, and then Buster pulls out all the stops on the famine to feast prospect once scores of women of all shapes and sizes begin to hunt down our hero while dressed in their wedding gowns. Seven Chances completely capitalizes on its comic potential, and Buster offers up another unbelievable tour de force of superb movie making.