The hilarious misadventures begin when Max's butler, chasing a maid, breaks an expensive full-length mirror. The butler persuades the cook, who somewhat resembles Max, to stand behind teh frame and be Max's reflection. This gag, developed by Max, has become a classic of film and even television-borrowed by everyone from the Marx Brothers to Abbott and Costello to Red Skelton. In another brilliant sequence, Max flees from the police into a lion's cage, where he proceeds to make friends with the hungry beast. It's the clear inspiration for Charlie Chaplin's very similar scene in The Circus. Seven Years Bad Luck is accompanied by a new small-orchestra score compiled by Robert Israel using authentic period arrangements of silent film music.