The most famous scene of this film originated by accident. In the filming of a chase scene down a steep slope, Buster Keaton inadvertently dislodged some rocks which tumbled after him as if in pursuit, and he had to scramble to dodge them. At a preview showing, Keaton saw that that accident got the biggest laughs in the film. Thus inspired, he decided to reshoot the scene with over 100 papier-mâché "rocks", ranging from pebbles to six-foot boulders, so his character would have to deal with a massive avalanche in the scene.
Buster Keaton had this project foisted upon him by producer Joseph M. Schenck, who had bought the rights to the hit Broadway show. Keaton later called it his least favorite feature and tried to keep film historian Raymond Rohauer from restoring the only known copy of the movie.
The $7M inheritance would equate to about $118M in 2022.
In his desperate search for a woman--any woman--to marry, James Shannon (Buster Keaton) is passing a variety theater. There is a large picture of a visiting artiste who is playing there, and Shannon bribes someone to let him go in at the stage door. As he goes in, a workman removes a box that is obscuring the bottom of the poster, revealing the name of the "artiste": Julian Eltinge. Eltinge was a famous female impersonator, so famous that no further explanation is needed when Keaton almost immediately emerges, looking disconcerted.
A list of Buster Keaton's "Seven Chances" includes the names Eugenia Gilbert, Judy King, Hazel Deane, and Bartine Burkett: the real names of several actresses who appear in the film.
Constance Talmadge: Popular actress and sister of Buster Keaton's wife at the time, Natalie Talmadge, has a small, uncredited role.