Une idylle à la ferme - 1912

Country: France
Language: French
Director: Max Linder
Writer: Max Linder
Stars: Max Linder and Suzy Depsy
Also Known As: Ein Idyll im Gutshofe Austria / Germany
A Farm-house Romance UK

Roméo se fait bandit - 1909

Country: France
Language: French
Director: Romeo Bosetti
Writer: William Shakespeare (characters)
Stars: Romeo Bosetti and Max Linder
Also Known As: Romeo als Dieb Austria / Germany
Romeo Turns Bandit USA
Romeo Turns Brigand UK
Based on characters from Shakespeare's play: Romeo seeks out Juliet at her estate, and leaps atop a stone wall so that he can kiss her. But Juliet's father dislikes Romeo, and refuses to allow him to court his daughter. So Romeo organizes a group of friends to follow Juliet's father to a deserted place, where they tie him up. Juliet then joins Romeo and his group, as Romeo proceeds with a plan to use the situation to win the approval of Juliet's father.

Mon pantalon est décousu - 1908

Country: France
Language: French
Release Date: 15 February 1908 (France)
Director: André Heuzé
Writer: André Heuzé
Stars: Max Linder
Max Linder was one of the greatest early film comics who deserves to be wider known than he is. Long before the likes of Keaton, Lloyd and Chaplin - who acknowledged Linder as a major source of inspiration - Linder was creating short comedies that were far in advance of anything else being produced. While most early short comedies relied too much on people kicking each other up the backside for laughs, Linder took a look at the small things in life from which laughs could be wrung.
In the case of this film he plays a young man about town who splits his trousers while getting ready to go out one night. After applying some rather risky repairs without taking the trousers off, Max gingerly heads off to a dinner party. Of course, disaster strikes almost as soon as he arrives, and he spends the rest of the film frantically attempting to hide the gaping tear in his trousers from the other guests.

Max et sa belle-mère - 1912

Country: France
Language: French
Directors: Max Linder, Lucien Nonguet
Writer: Max Linder
Stars: Max Linder, Léon Belières and Charles de Rochefort
Also Known As: Max and His Mother-in-Law UK / USA
Max und seine Schwiegermutter Austria / Germany
Max and His Ma-in-Law UK
Pior que uma Sogra Portugal
Max and his young bride attempt to enjoy an Alpine honeymoon, despite the presence of her mother. The story here is that Max is newlywed, and not very fond of his voluminous mother-in-law, but she refuses to be left out of their honeymoon trip to some winter sports resort, and bravely soldiers on. They depart by train.. and it's a REAL train, with bi-level coaches that I've known to exist, but never seen in motion. What a contrast to the silly prop-model trains in studio used by Méliès several times! Arrived at the resort, they go through the motions of several sports: skating, sleigh-riding, skiing - all of course played for slapstick, but with nice surprising details, and great outside scenes which must have been very difficult in early movie-making, considering the reflections of snow. Mother-in-law is the only one who makes it almost all the way downhill on skis, while the others run down behind her.Even on the train ride back, she still sticks to at least one ski, so is transported in an unconventional way.. but the final scene indicates she now has really won the respect of her son-in-law.

Les débuts d'un patineur - 1907

Country: France
Language: French
Release Date: 10 May 1907 (France)
Director: Louis J. Gasnier
Writer: Louis J. Gasnier
Stars: Max Linder
Also Known As: Erster Versuch eines Schlittschuhläufers Germany
Max Learns to Skate USA
Max Wants to Skate USA
Max patineur France (alternative title)
Max veut apprendre à patiner France
The Unskillful Skater UK
Versuch eines Schlittschuhläufers Austria
Production Co: Pathé Frères
Max causes havoc when he joins other skaters on a frozen lake. This was the first movie in which Max Linder appeared as the charming gentleman dressed in silk hat and mustache, a character who soon made him one of the most beloved comedians on the silver screen before World War I.

Max et son âne - 1912

Country: France
Language: French
Directors: Max Linder, René Leprince
Writers: Max Linder, Louis Z. Rollini
Stars: Max Linder, Paulette Lorsy and Joé Dawson
Also Known As: Der eifersüchtige Esel Austria / Germany
Joe Teaches Max a Lesson UK
L'âne jaloux France (alternative title)
Max and the Donkey UK
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.
Max Linder strays further from his usual haunts of situational comedy, far into straight slapstick as he gets into a dispute over the woman he is courting with a pantomime donkey -- although whether the donkey wants the girl or Max i something I can not quite make out.
In any case, Max and the Donkey go on the set slapstick chase of the French and Italian cinema, including crawling down the side of a building. It is here that we get a touch of Max' character: while Max just leaps, the donkey stops and thinks it over on the rooftop before finally heading down the building, an effect which s achieved by putting a painting of a wall on the floor and shooting each of them crawling backwards in turn.
While straight slapstick chase is not Max' usual meat, he manages to pull it off with enough charm to make this worthwhile.

Le premier cigare d'un collégien - 1908

Country: France
Language: French (intertitles)
Release Date: 18 January 1908 (USA)
Director: Louis J. Gasnier
Stars: Max Linder
Also Known As: Die erste Zigarre des Primaners Austria / Germany
First Cigar USA
His First Cigar USA
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.
The French comic Max Linder is largely forgotten today, but he was so huge in his native country that he became sufficiently well-known in the States to have a crack in Hollywood (thanks largely to Charlie Chaplin identifying him as a major influence). This is one of Linder's earliest films, and it's well worth seeking out. He plays a callow youth who steals a cigar on which he liberally puffs in an attempt to impress a young lady. Of course it's not long before he's feeling a little sick and begins staggering around under the force of an attack of hiccoughs that sees him blundering into a neighbour's flat as he tries to make his way home.
The film is quite sophisticated for it's time with a relatively large number of scene changes as we follow Max's misadventures. It also features a close-up shot to show his reactions to the effects of the cigar he is smoking. Linder's movements when he is under the influence of the cigar are remarkably similar to Chaplins, and fans of the little tramp shouldn't miss the opportunity to watch this. You can find it on the internet.

Max lance la mode - 1912

Country: France
Language: French
Release Date: 4 June 1912 (USA)
Directors: René Leprince, Max Linder
Writer: Max Linder
Stars: Max Linder, Stacia Napierkowska and Jane Renouardt
Also Known As: Max Sets the Fashion UK / USA
Max als Modekönig Austria / Germany
Max Starts the Fashion UK
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.
Max Linder was arguably the greatest comic actor on the screen until Charlie Chaplin, who called him 'The Professor' came on the scene. In hundred of short subjects he generally played a Parisian boulevardier in some recognizable form.
In this one, he is courting Stacia Napierkowska, best remembered for her lead in the silent version of L'ANTIDE. But first he oversleeps and then he burns his shoes, so when he buys the pair off the feet of a cole-porteur, she is horrified by his lack smart footwear, But Max always has a plan in mind and in this one-reeler, he gets off a very nice gag or three.

Max ne se mariera pas - 1910

Country: France
Language: French
Writer: Max Linder
Stars: Max Linder and Gabrielle Lange
Also known as: Max bleibt ledig Austria / Germany
Max Is Almost Married USA (reissue title)
Max Is Stuck Up USA
Max Misses Another Good Chance UK
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.

Max à Monaco - 1913

Country: France
Language: French
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.
When this German count is in a hurry in order to attend one of those worthless soirées, watching a short film by Herr Max Linder is the perfect choice in order to satisfy the silent film anxiety of this German aristocrat and keep his fat Teutonic heiresses happy as well.
This time the short film was "Max À Monaco" but the title is a deceptive one because the whole story of the film happens at sea, mostly in a French warship anchored near the Monte Carlo casino port (a complete waste of time, certainly… you know, to visit a warship instead of visiting the Monte Carlo casino where you can waste both your time and your money.) Anyway, in spite of that, our hero will stagger from stem to stern in a complete state of drunkenness and that causes him some problems with the crew and of that frenchified warship. It's the perfect excuse then to watch those funny slapstick Herr Linder moments.
Ironically, "Max À Monaco" premiered in Berlin cinemas ( this German count was there at the theatre with his medals won in futile wars... ) the same day that Germany declared war; the First World War, a terrible time full of disgrace and sorrow. It was particularly tragic for Herr Linder who was called to arms. From that time on, nothing was ever the same again for the world or Max Linder.

Max et son chien Dick - 1912

Country: France
Language: French
Directors: René Leprince, Max Linder
Writer: Max Linder
Stars: Max Linder, Jane Renouardt and Henri Bosc
Also Known As: Max und sein Hund Austria / Germany
Max and Dog Dick UK
Max and His Dog USA
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.
MAX AND HIS DOG is an entertaining short comedy with the great Max Linder. Here, our hero is deeply in love with a pretty girl named Hanni; or at least he's highly attracted to her. The feelings are returned to some extent, but Hanni finds it difficult to choose between Max and another lover. She finally marries Max, which apparently turns out as a wise decision, until the girl receives a note from the rival: "My Dear, I have now realized that you are the only and true love." Max discovers the message by accident, and rightfully suspicious, he gives his dog Dick orders to keep an eye on his wife. As man's best friend, Dick is polite; when the lover arrives to Max's home while the latter is at work, he calls him through a telephone and barks that Max must rush home in a hurry.
Max's mistrust in his wife seems to be reasonable. When he arrives home, he finds her sitting on the bed in the arms of the other man. In a Keystone Comedy, the husband would've got furious and strangled his rival. Max's reactions to the circumstances, on the other hand, confirms his far more mature style of comedy. When he enters the room he's shocked, but quickly changes his appearance: he simply takes a brief look at his wife as shame increase inside her, lights a cigarette, leans himself to his stick, and asks Dick to bring his ex-wife's suitcase.
After Hanni and the lover has left, Max invites his friend to dinner; the dog, that is. In the last shot, we witness a happy Max enjoying his meal in Dick's company. The moral is simple: one should prefer a sincere friendship with a polite dog rather than false love from an impolite girl.
When Max Linder made this amusing little flick in 1912, he was in his late twenties and at the peak of his popularity; he'd starred in more than four hundred short comedies already, and many more were to come. Unfortunately, less than hundred of them survive today; most of them are archived in The French Film Insitute. Happily, MAX AND HIS DOG can be found on the DVD Comedy With Max Linder from Grapevine Video, as one out of fourteen short comedies starring the incurable dandy Max Linder.

Max prend un bain - 1910

Country: France
Language: French
Director: Lucien Nonguet
Stars: Max Linder
Also Known As: Maxens Bad Austria / Germany
By the Doctor's Orders UK
Max Embarrassed USA
Max Takes a Bath USA
Max has purchased a new bathtub, but bathing in it proves to be more difficult than he anticipated. This is one of the most enjoyable comedies made by Max Linder, the French film pioneer. The story, told without any explanatory titles, is easily understood, the photography is good, and, happily, surviving prints are clear and sharp. Linder himself is charming. Charlie Chaplin cited him as an important influence, and although each comedian had his own individual style one can see parallels between the two. Linder's screen persona "Max," like Chaplin's Tramp, is usually gallant towards the ladies, somewhat fussy about his grooming and appearance, and quick to retaliate when challenged. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two is that Charlie, in his early films, could be aggressive and even sadistic, while Max is generally civil towards others unless provoked. Max is more often a victim of circumstance than a deliberate instigator of trouble.
At any rate, as MAX TAKES A BATH begins our hero has just purchased an ornate bathtub, and is attempting to hail a horse-drawn cab to haul it back to his apartment building. A carriage stops for him, but, once the driver sees the big tub, the carriage moves off again: a Buster Keatonesque moment. So Max hauls the tub home himself (on his back, like a turtle) and then immediately prepares to bathe, but is once more faced with difficulty; apparently, the only spigot to which he has access, bizarrely enough, is in the corridor outside his room, sticking out of the wall on a landing of the staircase. Max attempts to fill the tub one cupful at a time, but realizes that this would take too long, and therefore decides to park the tub under the spigot and bathe in the hallway.
Two points of interest: first, lest you conclude that French architects of the period must have been crazy, the corridor with the spigot is obviously a set made up of painted flats, devised for the sake of the plot. And when Linder lowers himself into the tub, no effort is made to imply total nudity-- his swim trunks are clearly visible. Still, Max's audacity seems to upset the neighbors anyhow, the situation escalates, and of course the law gets involved. If this had been a Keystone comedy made a few years later, the climax would have involved the actors racing across rooftops firing pistols, but instead the finale is fairly low key. Still, MAX TAKES A BATH is clever, well-paced, and-- did I forget to mention this? --quite funny.

L'anglais tel que Max le parle - 1914

Country: France
Language: French
Release Date: 6 March 1914 (France)
Director: Max Linder
Stars: Max Linder and Cécile Guyon
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.

Max joue le drame - 1910

Country: France
Language: French
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.

Une nuit agitée - 1912

Country: France
Language: French
Also Known As: Der kleine Störenfried (Germany)
Director: Max Linder
Writers: Louis Feuillade (story), Max Linder (scenario)
Stars: Max Linder, Stacia Napierkowska and Jane Renouardt
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.
If you are unfamiliar with Max Linder's films, it might be worthwhile to tell you that he was the first international comedy star and that Charlie Chaplin said he learned a great deal from watching his films. In his film career, which extended from 1905 through the mid-1920s, he typically played variations on the young boulevardier.
In this one, it is his wedding night, married to the beautiful Stacia Napierkowska. He and his bride are sleeping..... and a flea keeps disturbing him. The variety of his reactions and his increasingly agitated efforts to get rid of the pest are the whole of this excellent movie. A fine introduction to this comedian.

Max entre deux feux - 1916

Country: France
Language: French
Director: Max Linder
Writer: Max Linder
Stars: Max Linder
Also Known As: Max zwischen zwei Feuern (Germany)
Filming Locations: Geneva, Canton de Genève, Switzerland
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.
The story is about Max who in holiday in Switzerland meets two young American girls. They're friends, the first one is blond, the other one is brunette. He falls in love with the two of them and decide to declare his flame first to the brunette then to the blond. When they realize the game Max is playing, they decide to play also. It is a delicate comedy between the three characters realized all in outsides (certainly around the Leman's lake)with a very good direction and very pretty images. The two unknown actress are also very charming. One of the best of Max Linder.

Max victime du quinquina - 1911

Country: France
Language: French
Release Date: 12 July 1912 (USA)
Director: Max Linder
Writer: Maurice Delamare
Stars: Max Linder, Georges Coquet and Lucy d'Orbel
Also Known As: Max Takes Tonics
Production Co: S.C.A.G.L.
Max Linder was not only a master of physical comedy (creating lots of gags later imitated by almost everybody else) but also a great director in the "primitive mode of representation". Almost every scene is done in only one long shot but every bit of the frame is fully utilised with very studied actors' movement and creating different spaces within the frame.
The film mixes very successfully slapstick with farce and even social commentary with hilarious results thanks to Linder's wonderful performance and visual precision.

Max in a taxi - 1917

Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 23 April 1917 (USA)
Production Co: Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, The
Director:Max Linder
Writer: Max Linder
Stars: Max Linder and Martha Mansfield
This film was previously thought lost, but a print has since been discovered.