On March 11, 1925, comedian Buster Keaton played the character of a financial broker on the verge of bankruptcy in the “Seven Chances” film, which used Beale’s Cut in the Santa Clarita Valley for certain scenes.

Jimmie Shannon, the soon-to-be-bankrupt financial broker portrayed by Keaton, was presented with a will by his grandfather’s attorney in which Shannon is to inherit $7 million, on the condition that he must marry that same day before 7 p.m.

Consequently, the day he was forced to marry fell on his 27th birthday.

Keaton used Newhall as a background drop for a scene in which he was chased through Beale’s Cut by a group of women intent on marrying his film’s character.

Incidentally, Keaton directed the film while the script was written by David Belasco.

Originally, Keaton didn’t want to make the film at first until one of his frequent producers, Joseph Schenck, convinced him it’d make a good film adaptation since it’d be based on a 1916 stage play, according to a movie crash course on the film.

Ultimately, a test screening of Keaton’s character being chased through Beale’s Cut in Newhall proved to be a success for Keaton, who, in turn, decided to expand the sequence by adding fake rocks to the scene.

‘”Seven Chances” success resulted in a 1999 remake called “The Bachelor”, which starred Chris O’Donnell and Renee Zellweger.

The remake was able to capture the basic plot and the bridal chase of its predecessor, but received low ratings from critics, such as Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, read here.

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