#97: Seven Chances
Part of the Top 150 Films series
Seven Chances is a dazzlingly balletic comedy, and the peak of Keaton’s ability to expand the pathos, ingenuity and comedy of his best shorts into a feature-length film. It’s also his funniest film by far. The plot — in which Keaton has a matter of hours to acquire the wife on which a seven million dollar inheritance depends — is the basic framework of a masterstroke of bifurcation. The first half comprises the best small-scale comedy from the silent era, with knowing glances and minor body movements producing howls of laughter. The second half constitutes the fantastically elaborate, gloriously inventive chase sequence, in which Keaton escapes the mob of pursuing admirers and gold-diggers only to find an escalating avalanche of rocks taking over at his heels as he hurtles downhill. The film’s sexual and racial politics keep us on our toes throughout, but this is a fascinating thrill ride of epic proportions.
