Seven Chances

Plot synopsis:
Jimmy Shannon (Buster Keaton) is the junior partner in the brokerage firm of Meekin and Shannon, which is on the brink of financial ruin. A lawyer (whom they dodged, mistakenly believing he was trying to add to their woes) finally manages to inform Jimmy of the terms of his grandfather's will. He will inherit seven million dollars if he is married by 7:00 p.m. on his 27th birthday, which happens to be that same day.
Shannon immediately seeks out his sweetheart, Mary Jones, who readily accepts his proposal. However, when he clumsily explains why they have to get married that day, she breaks up with him.
He returns to the country club to break the news to his partner and the lawyer. Though Jimmy's heart is set on Mary, Meekin persuades him to try proposing to other women to save them both from ruin or even possibly jail. He has Jimmy look in the club's dining room; Jimmy knows seven women there (the chances of the title). Each turns him down. In desperation, Jimmy asks any woman he comes across. Even the hat check girl rejects him. He finally finds one who agrees, but it turns out she is underage when her mother spots her and takes her away.
Meanwhile, Mary's mother persuades her to reconsider. She writes a note agreeing to marry Jimmy and sends the hired hand to deliver it.
Unaware of this, Meekin has his partner's predicament (and potential inheritance) printed in the newspaper, asking would-be brides to go to the Broad Street Church at 5 p.m. Hordes of veiled women descend on the place. When they spot Jimmy (who had fallen asleep on a pew), they begin to fight over him. Then the clergyman appears and announces he believes it all to be a practical joke. Infuriated, the women chase after Jimmy. While hiding, he gets Mary's note. He races to Mary's house, pursued by furious females. Along the way, he accidentally starts an avalanche, which drives away the mob.
When he gets to Mary's home, Meekin shows him his watch; he is minutes too late. Mary still wants to marry him, money or no, but he refuses to let her share his impending disgrace. Fortunately, when he leaves, he sees by the church clock that Meekin's watch is fast. He and Mary wed just in time.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
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.
"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.
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.
Buster Keaton stands to inherit a fortune providing he marries before time expires.
Poor Buster quickly strikes out on all seven of those.Then - and here is where the real fun starts - his business partner puts a story in that day's newspaper saying his buddy is looking to marry a woman and collect $7 million.
It is hilarious little moments like this that make Buster Keaton's silent comedies such a joy to watch, and 'Seven Chances' is certainly one of the funniest I've seen, brimming with the talented actor's trademark deadpan humour.The premise on which the story is based is singularly ridiculous, and so this allows Keaton to have a great deal of fun, placing his character in appropriately bizarre situations.
Young Jimmy Shannon (Keaton) loves his sweetheart Mary Jones (Ruth Dwyer), but can never quite muster up the courage to tell her, and most certainly could never take that plunge into marriage.
The first half of the film is admittedly light on Keaton's patented stunt-work, but it remains a clever and witty situation comedy, with poor Jimmy suffering the laughter of onlookers as he moves from one girl to the next, tentatively asking for their hands in marriage.When all this fails, an advertisement in the afternoon-edition newspaper brings hundreds of women to Jimmy's side, but by now he's realised that Mary is the only girl he could ever marry.
The paper-mâché rocks look quite convincing, and I was pretty much fooled into thinking that Keaten was really dodging the real thing (until I noticed him get bowled over by one of the boulders, without any apparent ill-effects!) 'Seven Chances' moves by at such a frenetic pace that there isn't a moment that could be trimmed.
Buster Keaton's comic genius makes "Seven Chances" a wildly entertaining film.
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.
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.
Seven Chances is one of Buster Keaton's comedic masterpieces from the mid-1920's.
The second half of the film is Buster's brainchild entirely, and will have you laughing non-stop, as Jimmie escapes the wrath of an entire city of thwarted brides, who all wanted a shot at his 7 million and were denied.
The most famous shots are the running-down-the-mountains-with-the-boulders-chasing-you scenes, invented by Buster, but there are many other deliciously funny moments as well, and a suitable, happy ending, complete with a Dalmation's kisses.See Seven Chances before you pass on.
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.
Seven Chances completely capitalizes on its comic potential, and Buster offers up another unbelievable tour de force of superb movie making..
The second brilliant thing about the film is the fact that Keaton hired hundreds (if not over a thousand) women to chase him when they discover he will inherit millions.
This stunt leads to the third masterpiece of this film and that's the final twenty minutes where these hundreds of women chase Keaton either trying to marry him or kill him.
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.
After a misunderstanding with girlfriend Ruth Dwyer (as Mary Jones), Keaton gets "Seven Chances" to propose, but each woman turns him down.
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.
Silent clown Buster Keaton was working from someone else's (contrived) idea, originally a failed Broadway play, and despite the exquisite timing to some of the gags the source material never measured up to Keaton's usual high standards of comedy (even his character is atypically bland: a wealthy, conventional role better suited to Harold Lloyd).
Only after he wakes up in a chapel surrounded by a bloodthirsty mob of would-be wives do Keaton's unerring comic instincts kick in, and the rousing climactic chase down a hillside strewn with falling boulders would have to rank among the funniest sequences he ever devised; never has one man's instinctive, unconscious dread of matrimony been so hilariously exposed.Note: before the advent of DVD technology the film was rarely revived (surviving prints included an odd, tinted prologue subtitled in French), but even minor Keaton is in a class all its own..
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.
Buster Keaton's films were usually a mix of misunderstandings, stunts, and convoluted plots, and 'Seven Chances' is no exception.
Our hero is the partner in a failing company heading for financial ruin and disgrace, but there may be a way out if he can marry before 7pm on his 27th birthday - the trouble is, that's today ...Cue some attempts to entice a variety of ladies into matrimony (the 'seven chances' of the title), as well as a lovely sequence in a church which slowly fills with brides in various types of dresses and veils.
The chase which ensues involves Buster running away from rocks rolling down a hill in a race to reach his true love's door in time - but will he make it?
Played very well and extremely clever in the way the stunts are carried out and filmed (no regard for health and safety here!), 'Seven Chances' has a lot to recommend it.
Schenck, Buster Keaton regarded Seven Chances as his least favourite of his films, so much so that he tried to prevent a restoration from the one known copy.
The basic story of a young man who must get married by seven o'clock that afternoon in order to inherit a vast fortune left to him by his deceased grandfather, becomes a setup, as Keaton tries his luck proposing to "anything that wears a skirt, including a Scotchman", for a huge uproarious chase scene in the second half on roads, mountains, land and water.
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!
Buster Keaton stars in one of his best silent features as a businessman who must marry by 7 PM to inherit $7M.
At the bottom of the hill awaits a pack of brides but they are chased off by the boulders.Buster finally makes it to Dwyer's house but the time seems to be up.....Hilarious film and one of my favorite silent comedies.
"Seven Chances" is by far Buster 'Stoneface' Keaton's greatest film in a whole bunch of very funny films he acted and directed in the silent era.
By the time Buster gets to the church early, till when he falls asleep, then wakes up to discover the church overflowing with womenwanting to marry him, and the chase that follows (with all these women in their bridal dresses), is THE funniest sequence ever put to film.
Seven Chances is a true testament to the genuis of Buster Keaton.
The image from this film that will stay with you forever is Buster Keaton being chased through the streets by a large angry mob of brides.
Although Charlie Chaplin seems to have been hailed as the silent comedy king, I always liked Buster Keaton a tad bit more.
Silent comedians may be most well known for their slapstick, but they were also masters of visual, situational comedy, as is evident in much of this movie's running time.If you're ready for an insane, laugh out loud ride, you cannot go much better than this hilarious, and only 50 minute long Keaton classic!.
There is a long, complex chase scene with lots of great visual gags and Keaton hurling himself from one attempt at escape to another.
By far the best Buster Keaton movie I have seen.
True love takes a lot of work - but this is ridiculous!Jimmie Shannon (Buster Keaton) is a partner in a brokerage who can't quite bring himself to propose to Mary (Ruth Dwyer), the only woman he loves.
Will love prevail?The film is an odd one for Keaton, starting off with a brief color sequence (in 1925) and moving quite slowly for Buster through the first third.
The story was one Keaton had handed to him, rather than one he worked on himself, and feels at times like a "ladies' picture," focusing as it does on Jimmie's frustrated feelings and Mary's unhappiness.For a while, Buster's not even the main laugh-getter in the film.
Buster still pines for Mary, saying he can love no other woman (which she happens to hear over a telephone connection, changing her mind), but agrees to bring to bring a woman to church before the deadline out of loyalty to his partner."In case two show up, I'll marry the other," Snitz declares.There are other oddities about "Seven Chances," like racial humor (Jimmie almost proposes to a black woman; a blackface actor plays a thick-headed hired hand) and the "Saphead"-style character Buster plays.
Just as you begin to settle in to "Seven Chances" tea-cozy aesthetic, it ramps things up for one of the great double-rally endings in movie history.There's also a charming sequence where Jimmie tries to find a bride among a list of female members of his country club, the "seven chances" of the film's title.
One clever shot, of Buster finding a turtle attached to his tie, apparently employs a treadmill in order to achieve an overhead camera angle.The gags here keep coming, and give "Seven Chances" the feel of a classic Keaton short.
It's a classic demonstration of Keaton's ingenuity - even if he didn't have a hand in the film's conception or writing he directed it, and it shows - as well as his ability to find as many ways of making you laugh in as little time as possible..
Seven Chances is a lovely reminder of just how larger than life the silent film era's productions could be, and while this particular example of star Buster Keaton is not without it's limitations as direct from the technology at the time, the film still holds up well eighty years on.
The last third is a familiar chase sequence, totally out of character with the rest of the movie and below Keaton's standards.However, what's worth seeing is one of two shorts tacked on the end of the DVD, "Neighbors." A character-based comedy (Buster's in love with the girl across the city fence; their parents try to keep them apart), it's sidesplitting and brilliant.
In Seven Chances, Buster Keaton stands to inherit seven million dollars, but only if he gets married by the time he's twenty-seven.
After all, there's only two movies you can rent to watch a man get chased down the street by hundreds of brides: The Bachelor and Seven Chances.
SEVEN CHANCES (1925) is a Buster Keaton vehicle, wherein a young man receives an inheritance from his grandfather – with the condition that he marry on his 27th birthday.
Directed by Buster Keaton.This film takes some time to really develop its comic potential to the full.
Even into his old age, Buster Keaton was not fond of Seven Chances (1925).
The story slow builds, becoming funnier and funnier until we get to that explosive climax where Buster is chased down by hundreds of murderous brides and then nature itself in the form of a rock avalanche.It's not the ideal or most timeless of Keaton's films, but it has more merit than its creator ever realized..
The last third is a familiar chase sequence, totally out of character with the rest of the movie and below Keaton's standards.However, what's worth seeing is one of two shorts tacked on the end of the DVD, "Neighbors." A character-based comedy (Buster's in love with the girl across the city fence; their parents try to keep them apart).
The stuntwork in this film is utterly astonishing, as the director/star risks life and limb to create another comedic masterpiece.Flawlessly paced, and mixing farce and stuntwork as adeptly as ever, Buster Keaton's Seven Chances is a joy to behold..
Great how all those boulders chased off the rabid pack of brides, too - I'll bet even "Jimmie" the groom had to laugh to himself about that.
Each of them gets a proposal from Buster Keaton, about to inherit a huge fortune, as long as he is married by seven that night.
"Seven Chances" contains one of the best and funniest chase sequences ever filmed.
All the scenes are filmed at seasonal intervals where Buster Keaton is shown with his leading lady Ruth Dwyer in front of her house, afraid to express his love for her.
The early part of the film kind of drags as Buster learns of his inheritance and begins his search for a bride.The story has Financial broker James Shannon (Keaton) and his partner (T.
Next the trio (Keaton, Barnes and Edwards) visit their country club where they draft a list of seven (i.e. chances) women that Shannon could ask to marry.
"This man has some kind of a legal paper with him!" "Maybe it's a summons!" On the morning of his twenty seventh birthday, Jimmie (Buster Keaton) learns that his grandfather has left him seven million dollars, providing he is married by seven o'clock on the evening of his twenty seventh birthday.
"He said he must wed someone, and it might as well be me!" In a panic, he pops the question to every girl in town and demonstrates why falling asleep in church is always a bad idea.Beginning with a Technicolor surprise, Keaton's Seven Chances includes the most outrageous chase ever filmed on the streets of Los Angeles, with a heart stopping leap across Beale's Cut. Keep an eye out for Jean Arthur's wedding ring!.
Our Hospitality was good comedy fun, The General was a great comedy adventure, and Sherlock Junior is a superb silent comedy film, and this was the fourth Buster Keaton I would see featured in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book.
The film opens with young James 'Jimmie' Shannon (Keaton, also directing) trying for all the seasons of a year to tell Mary Jones (Ruth Dwyer) that he loves her, but he keeps failing miserably.
Roy Barnes) know that their company is due to face bankruptcy unless they can get a big wad of cash, and then in comes Jimmie's Attorney/Lawyer (Snitz Edwards) telling him that he is to inherit a seven million dollar fortune from his grandfather.
But there is a catch, he has to marry before seven o'clock on the day of his twenty-seventh birthday, which happens to be today, and Jimmie can only think of one girl to ask and may agree to it.
So Jimmie's Lawyer and Billy are determined to help him find a wife quickly before time runs out and he loses the chance to inherit the money.
The hundreds of brides chase Jimmie all over the place, including through building sites, on a train line and finally down a hill that starts a rock slide, one of the films most iconic scenes.
This is a charming comedy directed by and starring Buster Keaton.
Suddenly a lawyer turns up and says Buster will inherit $7,000,000 if he's married by 7:00 PM that day.