Max Linder
Although all too frequently neglected by fans of silent comedy, Max Linder is in many ways as important a figure as Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, or Harold Lloyd, not least because he predated (and influenced) them all by several years, and was largely responsible for the creation of the classic style of silent slapstick comedy. He started out as an actor in the French theatre, but after making his screen debut in 1905 he quickly became an enormously famous and successful film comedian on both sides of the Atlantic, thanks to his character "Max", a top-hatted dandy. By 1912, he was the highest-paid film star in the world, with an unprecedented salary of one million francs. He began to direct films in 1911 and showed equal facility behind the camera, but his career suffered an almost terminal blow when he was called up to fight in World War I. He was gassed, and the illness that resulted would blight his career. Although offered a contract in America, recurring ill-health meant that his US films had little of the sparkle of his early French work, and a brief attempt to revive his career by making films for the recently-formed United Artists (one of whose founders, of course, was Chaplin) in the early 1920s came to little, although these later films are now regarded as classics. He returned to France and killed himself in a suicide pact with his wife in 1925.
Filmography
Life and Deaths of Max Linder
as Self (archive footage)
Life and Deaths of Max Linder
as Self (archive footage)
Max Linder Collection 1917-1922
Max Linder Collection 1917-1922
Tout sur mon père Max Linder
as Self (archive footage)
Tout sur mon père Max Linder
as Self (archive footage)
Birth of the Tramp
as Self (archive footage)
Birth of the Tramp
as Self (archive footage)
The Man in the Silk Hat
as Self (archive footage)
The Man in the Silk Hat
as Self (archive footage)
All in Good Fun
as Archive Footage
All in Good Fun
as Archive Footage
Easter Parade
as Audience Member (uncredited)
Easter Parade
as Audience Member (uncredited)
The Way of the World
as (Archive Footage)
The Way of the World
as (Archive Footage)
Charlie the Innkeeper
Charlie the Innkeeper
The Theft of the Mona Lisa
as (archive footage)
The Theft of the Mona Lisa
as (archive footage)
The World of Yesteryear – Max Linder
as Self
The World of Yesteryear – Max Linder
as Self
The Three Must-Get-Theres
as Dart-In-Again
The Three Must-Get-Theres
as Dart-In-Again
Be My Wife
as Max, the Fiancé
Be My Wife
as Max, the Fiancé
Seven Years Bad Luck
as Max
Seven Years Bad Luck
as Max
Le Petit Café
Le Petit Café
Max, médecin malgré lui
as Max
Max, médecin malgré lui
as Max
Max in a Taxi
as Himself
Max in a Taxi
as Himself
Max Comes Across
as Max
Max Comes Across
as Max
Max devrait porter des bretelles
as Max
Max devrait porter des bretelles
as Max
Max Linder Visits Charlie Chaplin
as Self
Max Linder Visits Charlie Chaplin
as Self
Hairdresser of Love
Hairdresser of Love
Max in Monaco
Max in Monaco
The False Max Linder
as Max
The False Max Linder
as Max
Max asthmatique
as Max
Max asthmatique
as Max
Max in the Convent
Max in the Convent
The Forced Marriage
The Forced Marriage
Max Plays the Part
Max Plays the Part
Max Wishes He Hadn't
Max Wishes He Hadn't
Max Sets the Style
as Max
Max Sets the Style
as Max
An Unexpected Marriage
An Unexpected Marriage
Max's Hat
as Max
Max's Hat
as Max
Max Hates Cats
Max Hates Cats
Max Toreador
Max Toreador
Le duel de Max
as Max
Le duel de Max
as Max
Max Linder Does All the Sports
as Max
Max Linder Does All the Sports
as Max
Max: Jockey for Love
as Max
Max: Jockey for Love
as Max
Max and the Statue
as Max
Max and the Statue
as Max
Max Wants to Grow
as Max
Max Wants to Grow
as Max
The Water-Funker
as Max
The Water-Funker
as Max
Jalousie
Jalousie
Max: Boxer By Love
Max: Boxer By Love
A Farmhouse Romance
as Max
A Farmhouse Romance
as Max
Un pari original
as Max
Un pari original
as Max
Max Fears the Dogs
as Max
Max Fears the Dogs
as Max
Max amoureux de la teinturière
as Max
Max amoureux de la teinturière
as Max
Max Takes Back His Freedom
as Max (uncredited)
Max Takes Back His Freedom
as Max (uncredited)
Max est distrait
as Max
Max est distrait
as Max
A Short-Sighted Duellist
as Max
A Short-Sighted Duellist
as Max
Love's Surprises
Love's Surprises
Beginning of the Serpentine Dance
as The ballet master
Beginning of the Serpentine Dance
as The ballet master
C'est Papa qui a pris la purge
as Man on park bench
C'est Papa qui a pris la purge
as Man on park bench