Seven Chances gave Keaton one of his most famous chases: a man who must marry by seven o’clock, pursued by hundreds of would-be brides.
Seven Chances was released in 1925, based on a stage play by Roi Cooper Megrue. Keaton played Jimmie Shannon, a stockbroker who learned that he would inherit seven million dollars if he married by seven o’clock that evening. His own girlfriend, Mary, played by Ruth Dwyer, refused him, not knowing about the inheritance, so Jimmie placed a newspaper advertisement and was pursued by hundreds of women in wedding veils.
The film’s climax was a chase down a hillside, in which Jimmie was pursued by the brides and by falling rocks, which he dodged with perfect timing. The rock sequence, using real boulders and careful staging, became one of Keaton’s most famous set pieces.
Seven Chances showed Keaton’s ability to build a whole film around a deadline and a chase. It was a popular success, and its final chase remains a model of how silent comedy could turn a simple idea into a thrilling, funny spectacle.