Up next: Buster Keaton in 'Seven Chances' (1925) on Saturday, Nov. 15 in Brandon, Vt.

A Swedish poster for Buster Keaton's 'Seven Chances' (1925).

Up next it's Buster Keaton's great comedy 'Seven Chances' (1925), which I'll accompany on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. at Brandon (Vt.) Town Hall.

It's the final screening of this year's silent film series in Brandon. We'll return in May with another schedule of great early cinema with live music. 

So be sure to get your fix this Friday to hold you over the long winter. More details on the screening and the film are in the press release pasted in below.

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Buster surrounded by would-be brides in 'Seven Chances' (1925).

MONDAY, NOV. 10, 2025 / FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Jeff Rapsis • (603) 236-9237 • jeffrapsis@gmail.com

Buster Keaton comedy 'Seven Chances' to screen on Saturday, Nov. 15 at Brandon Town Hall

Silent film with live music; Keaton must get married by 7 p.m. to inherit fortune; movie features uproarious chase climax

BRANDON, Vt.—He never smiled on camera, earning him the nickname of "the Great Stone Face." But Buster Keaton's comedies rocked Hollywood's silent era with laughter.

See for yourself with a screening of 'Seven Chances' (1925), one of Keaton's landmark feature films, on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, Brandon, Vt. 

Admission is free; donations are welcome to help defray expenses.

Live music will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.

Adapted from a stage play, 'Seven Chances' finds Buster learning that he'll inherit $7 million if he's married by 7 p.m. on his 27th birthday—that very day!

Buster's hurried attempts to tie the knot on his own go awry. But then a newspaper story changes the game, creating an avalanche of would-be brides who relentlessly pursue Buster as he searches for his one true love before the deadline.

A still of a scene that's not in the picture: Buster checks a sundial in 'Seven Chances' (1925).

 'Seven Chances' was the first screen adaptation of the now-familiar story, since used in movies ranging from the Three Stooges in 'Brideless Groom' (1947) to Gary Sinyor's 'The Bachelor' (1999), a romantic comedy starring Chris O'Donnell and Renee Zellwinger.

Keaton, along with Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, stands today as one of the silent screen's three great clowns. Some critics regard Keaton as the best of all; Roger Ebert wrote in 2002 that "in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, (Keaton) worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies."

A remarkable pantomime artist, Keaton naturally used his whole body to communicate emotions from sadness to surprise. And in an era with no post-production special effects, Keaton's acrobatic talents enabled him to perform all his own stunts, including some spectacular examples in 'Seven Chances.'

In reviving Keaton's 'Seven Chances,' organizers aim to show silent film as it was meant to be seen—in restored prints, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.

"All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who will accompany the film. "Recreate those conditions, and classics of early Hollywood such as 'Seven Chances' leap back to life in ways that audiences still find entertaining."

Similar to theatre organists from the silent film era, Rapsis improvises the complete score in real time during the screening.

"Creating a movie score on the fly is kind of a high-wire act, but it can often make for more excitement than if everything is planned out in advance," Rapsis said.

Buster Keaton's 'Seven Chances' (1925) will be screened with live music on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, in Brandon, Vt. Admission is free; donations are welcome to help defray expenses. 

 

A posted still from the production of 'Seven Chances' (1925).