Friday, January 13, 2017

Seven Chances (1925)


☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Seven Chances (1925) – B. Keaton

Like many of Buster Keaton’s comedies this one starts off slowly and gradually takes off until it culminates in a frenzy.  Buster finds out that he will inherit 7 million dollars if he is married by 7 PM on the day of his 27th birthday – which is, of course, today.  He offends his true love and thus must find someone else.  His initial efforts fail but when his business associates (who also stand to profit) place a story in the newspaper, all hell breaks loose.  The major set-piece here features Buster being chased by a horde of women dressed in wedding veils, including through the desert and down a mountainside (chased also by boulders).  I didn’t find this as riotously funny or as ingenious as some of Keaton’s other works but there are lots of good moments.  He really was a creative genius when it came to stunts/action/the camera.

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