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.
Movie | Birth of the Tramp | Self (archive footage) | 2013-12-29 |
Movie | The Reason Why | Prison Doctor | 2008-03-07 |
Movie | Laugh with Max Linder | Self (archive footage) | 1963-11-22 |
Movie | Backfire | 1950-01-26 | |
Movie | Born to Be Bad | Charity Ball Guest (uncredited) | 1950-09-28 |
Movie | My Dear Secretary | Nightclub Patron (uncredited) | 1948-11-05 |
Movie | Humoresque | Party guest (uncredited) | 1947-01-25 |
Movie | Nightmare Alley | Man in Spode Room (uncredited) | 1947-10-09 |
Movie | Fun on a Weekend | Party Guest (uncredited) | 1947-05-15 |
Movie | Gilda | Gambler (uncredited) | 1946-04-25 |
Movie | Deception | Concertgoer (uncredited) | 1946-10-26 |
Movie | The Naughty Nineties | Riverboat Gambler (uncredited) | 1945-06-20 |
Movie | Phantom Lady | Theatre Patron (uncredited) | 1944-01-28 |
Movie | Experiment Perilous | Nightclub Guest (uncredited) | 1944-12-18 |
Movie | Casablanca | Gambler (uncredited) | 1943-01-15 |
Movie | Mr. Lucky | Gambler (uncredited) | 1943-07-01 |
Movie | Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Board Member (uncredited) | 1941-08-07 |
Movie | The Ghost Comes Home | Club Patron (uncredited) | 1940-03-08 |
Movie | Kitty Foyle | Chauffeur (uncredited) | 1940-12-27 |
Movie | Second Fiddle | Man in Audience (uncredited) | 1939-06-30 |
Movie | Blondes at Work | Juror (uncredited) | 1938-02-05 |
Movie | The Theft of the Mona Lisa | (archive footage) | 1931-08-24 |
Movie | King of the Circus | Max Graf von Pompadour | 1924-05-23 |
Movie | Au Secours ! | Max | 1924-06-17 |
Movie | The Three Must-Get-Theres | Dart-In-Again | 1922-08-22 |
Movie | Seven Years Bad Luck | Max | 1921-02-06 |
Movie | Be My Wife | Max, the Fiancé | 1921-04-01 |
Movie | Le Petit Café | 1919-01-02 | |
Movie | Max Comes Across | Max | 1917-02-18 |
Movie | Max Wants a Divorce | Max | 1917-03-26 |
Movie | Max and the Purse | 1917-02-02 | |
Movie | Max, médecin malgré lui | Max | 1917-09-21 |
Movie | Max in a Taxi | Himself | 1917-04-23 |
Movie | Max the Heartbreaker | 1917-05-04 | |
Movie | Max in Monaco | 1915-01-07 | |
Movie | Hairdresser of Love | 1915-04-22 | |
Movie | Chance and Love | Max | 1915-12-31 |
Movie | Max Speaks English | Max | 1914-03-06 |
Movie | Max Sets the Style | Max | 1914-03-05 |
Movie | Max's Vacation | Max | 1914-01-09 |
Movie | Max and the Jealous Husband | Max | 1914-04-10 |
Movie | Max as a Chiropodist | Max | 1914-04-23 |
Movie | The False Max Linder | Max | 1914-09-29 |
Movie | Max in the Convent | 1914-08-13 | |
Movie | The Forced Marriage | 1914-08-10 | |
Movie | Max and the Lady Doctor | Max | 1914-07-10 |
Movie | Max Takes a Picture | 1913-01-12 | |
Movie | Max Toreador | 1913-09-11 | |
Movie | Max Linder Does All the Sports | Max | 1913-07-03 |
Movie | An Unexpected Marriage | 1913-11-11 | |
Movie | Max Hates Cats | 1913-09-26 | |
Movie | Max's Hat | Max | 1913-10-24 |
Movie | Max Fears the Dogs | Max | 1912-05-08 |
Movie | Max and the Donkey | Max | 1912-07-04 |
Movie | The Wedding Trunk | Max | 1912-07-18 |
Movie | Max Juggles for Love | 1912-05-08 | |
Movie | Max Takes Back His Freedom | Max (uncredited) | 1912-01-26 |
Movie | Max Sets the Fashion | Max | 1912-01-05 |
Movie | A Farm-house Romance | Max | 1912-08-15 |
Movie | Max and His Dog Dick | Max | 1912-02-09 |
Movie | An Agitated Night | 1912-05-24 | |
Movie | The Water-Funker | Max | 1912-12-06 |
Movie | Max Wants to Grow | Max | 1912-12-06 |
Movie | Max, Tango Teacher | 1912-08-16 | |
Movie | Max: Boxer By Love | 1912-10-24 | |
Movie | The Romance of Max | Max | 1912-10-17 |
Movie | Cordial Agreement | 1912-09-19 | |
Movie | Max and the Statue | Max | 1912-12-20 |
Movie | Long-Lasting Love | Max | 1912-10-03 |
Movie | Max se marie | Max | 1911-03-17 |
Movie | Max and His Mother-in-Law | Max | 1911-04-28 |
Movie | Max Takes Tonics | Max | 1911-12-15 |
Movie | Max Is Convalescent | Max | 1911-08-25 |
Movie | Max and Jane Want to Do Theater | Max | 1911-12-11 |
Movie | Max Makes a Touch | 1910-03-31 | |
Movie | Max Plays the Part | 1910-05-16 | |
Movie | A Short-Sighted Duellist | Max | 1910-05-28 |
Movie | The Adventures of Tartarin the Younger | Tartarin | 1910-01-07 |
Movie | I Want a Baby | 1910-03-19 | |
Movie | Max Embarrassed | Max | 1910-11-12 |
Movie | The Effects of Pills | Max | 1910-07-09 |
Movie | Max Gets Stuck Up | Max | 1910-12-31 |
Movie | Max Takes a Bath | Max | 1910-10-22 |
Movie | Max Skiing | Max | 1910-07-14 |
Movie | Max's First Job | Max | 1910-10-01 |
Movie | In Love with the Bearded Woman | 1909-07-31 | |
Movie | Love's Surprises | 1909-10-16 | |
Movie | Romeo Turns Bandit | 1909-05-16 | |
Movie | La Petite Rosse | 1909-10-22 | |
Movie | The Dentures | 1909-11-16 | |
Movie | The Barometer of Fidelity | 1909-11-04 | |
Movie | His First Cigar | 1908-01-18 | |
Movie | In a Difficult Position | Dieutegarde | 1908-02-15 |
Movie | Troubles of a Grass Widower | 1908-02-29 | |
Movie | For a Necklace | 1907-01-02 | |
Movie | The Husband's Trick | 1907-01-02 | |
Movie | Joined Lips | 1907-01-11 | |
Movie | Harlequin's Story | Polichinelle / Ponchinella / Harlequin | 1907-06-20 |
Movie | Max Learns to Skate | Max | 1907-05-09 |
Movie | Phial of Poison | 1907-02-16 | |
Movie | C'est Papa qui a pris la purge | Lover in the street | 1907-01-17 |
Movie | Attempted Suicide | 1906-12-14 |