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Released in 1925, Seven Chances starts with just over three minutes of very early two-color Technicolor in the opening credits and first four scenes. Jimmie Shannon (Buster Keaton) is trying to work up the courage to tell Mary Jones (Ruth Dwyer) that he loves her. Four successive shots at the same gate in front of her house show the seasons changing through an entire year, but Jimmie still hasn't told Mary that he loves her. The tiny Dalmatian puppy that appears in the opening Summer scene grows progressively through the year, and by the next Spring he is a Great Dane.Bashful Jimmie is spurred by the news that he has inherited $7 million, but only if he is married by 7 p.m. that very day. Botching a proposal to Mary, he embarks on a day of serial proposals, all rebuffed. His business partner puts a large ad in the newspaper, revealing that Jimmie is heir to a fortune, and asks for prospective brides to appear at the church at 5 p.m. Over a hundred appear, and chase the unsuspecting Jimmie down the street, uphill and down dale in one of the most epic chase scenes in film history. Keaton's penchant for dangerous stunts is on prominent display, as he dangles from a railroad crane, vaults chasms, summersaults down steep hillsides, and is pursued by dozens of rolling boulders up to 7 feet in diameter. Yes, they're props, probably made of chicken wire and papier-mâché, but running down a steep hill at risk of being run over by a 7-foot hollow boulder had to be exciting. Meanwhile, Mary has reconsidered her rejection of his proposal, and tries to reach him with a message.Will Mary reach Jimmie with her acceptance of his proposal? Will they beat the 7 p.m. deadline? Will the business partner have a pocket watch that is set three minutes too fast? Don't try to guess, get Seven Chances and find out for yourself by viewing one of Buster Keaton's most fun and frantic movies.Extras on the Kino disc include a commentary with the film, a survey of the locations used in the film, a short documentary on the Technicolor scenes, and a gallery of production stills. Also included are two short films with similar or identical storylines: Edison's 1904 production of "How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the New York Herald Personal Columns", and the 1947 Three Stooges film "A Brideless Groom".(The following is a paragraph of observations about Keaton that I append to all of my reviews of his films, so you might have read it before.) Charlie Chaplin was the graceful mime, Harold Lloyd was the surprisingly athletic everyman, and Buster Keaton was The Great Stone Face. His expression never varied, but his acrobat's body performed the most astounding knockabout comedy and genuinely dangerous stunts in cinema. Other stars had stunt doubles, but Keaton not only performed his own stunts, he sometimes did the stunts for other actors in his films as well. With the advent of sound Keaton's star faded, but has returned to full brilliance since his death, as restored versions of his films have become available for home video. One of Hollywood's true originals and a genius of motion picture inventiveness, Buster Keaton has secured a place of honor in the history of film, and in the hearts of his growing number of fans.