Seven Chances

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)?

Desperate for money to save his failing business, junior stockbroker Buster Keaton (as James "Jimmie" Shannon) is understandably pleased to learn his recently deceased grandfather has tentatively left him $7 million. In order to inherit the money, Mr. Keaton must get married by 7 pm. After a misunderstanding with girlfriend Ruth Dwyer (as Mary Jones), Keaton gets "Seven Chances" to propose, but each woman turns him down. When a newspaper article reveals Keaton's potential, every woman in the vicinity decides to pursue him. Keaton decides marrying Ms. Dwyer is the correct way to go, if he can get away from a landslide of eager women...

Lost on modern audiences is a moment when Keaton visits a theater to propose marriage to a showgirl, who we're told is Julian Eltinge; filmgoers in 1925 would have known this was a female impersonator. Another of Keaton's prospects in young Jean Arthur (as "Miss Smith"). The colorful opening gives "Seven Chances" a great start, but frequent "ethnic" humor is not funny. It's hard to believe Keaton considered this film substandard. Even before it gets going, it's a top quality production. There are enough chuckles before the famous chase scene, which really begins when Keaton falls asleep in church and the women start rushing to meet him.

******** Seven Chances (3/11/25) Buster Keaton ~ Buster Keaton, Ruth Dwyer, Snitz Edwards, T. Roy Barnes

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.

Buster Keaton's comic genius makes "Seven Chances" a wildly entertaining film. The first half of it is quite good, if imperfect, but the second half is a tour-de-force of sustained humor and creativity. Keaton plays Jimmie Shannon, a young man who learns that he stands to inherit a fortune, but only if he marries by 7 PM that very day. It's the kind of goofy premise that in lesser hands could be a complete flop, but Keaton gets all kinds of possibilities out of it.

For most of the first half of the film, Jimmie is busy racing around proposing to every woman he can find. His true love, Mary, tries to find Jimmie herself, but he is already off on his frantic search for someone to accompany him to the altar. The search is always funny, at times extremely so. This first half has a handful of things that don't quite work, such as the black-faced servant (who was, though, probably intended as a sympathetic character), but if it were not for that and a couple other small details, this would be a nearly perfect film.

In the second half, all of the complications set up a frantic chase sequence, with literally hundreds (at least) of angry women pursuing Jimmie through the city, while he tries to get to Mary. This might be the best comic chase sequence ever filmed. It is hilarious and incredibly inventive, with careful choreography, a great variety of backgrounds, and a huge collection of gags both obvious and subtle. No description could do it justice - it has to be seen at least once to appreciate it.

If you are a fan of Keaton or of silent films in general, make sure to see this one.

This is a really sweet little Buster Keaton movie, with a greatly executed story.

Its story is fun enough to make the movie consistently a fun one. It's the sort of story that has copied a lot in movies ever since but also was used in movies before this one. It's even a popular subject for modern present day comedies. It perhaps makes "Seven Chances" seem less original than it in fact truly is of course.

The movie uses a lot of title cards. I mean, basically every line that gets spoken in the movie gets shown in a title card. It also makes the dialog part of the comedy of the movie. It isn't a much visual comedy, meaning that it doesn't really feature much slapstick or things like that. It's more a movie that relies on its comical situations and of course on the acting comical talent of Buster Keaton. Also the supporting cast is really more than great.

The movie begins a bit standard and perhaps even a bit slow but when the movie its story starts to take form the movie turns into one great laugh fest, with the last 20 minutes or so as the ultimate highlight, when things start to get really crazy and paced and the movie gets turned into one big non-stop comical chase! It's the one great fun moment after the other, with also some great and dangerous stunt work again from Buster Keaton himself!

A great Buster Keaton must-see, from the silent-era!

9/10

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