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 | A Good Night Out | Josh | 2025 |
Movie | Birth of the Tramp | Self (archive footage) | 2013-12-29 |
Movie | The Reason Why | Prison Doctor | 2008-03-07 |
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 | 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 | Kitty Foyle | Chauffeur (uncredited) | 1940-12-27 |
Movie | The Ghost Comes Home | Club Patron (uncredited) | 1940-03-08 |
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 | Be My Wife | Max, the Fiancé | 1921-04-01 |
Movie | Seven Years Bad Luck | Max | 1921-02-06 |
Movie | Le Petit Café | 1919-01-02 | |
Movie | Max and the Purse | 1917-02-02 | |
Movie | Max Wants a Divorce | Max | 1917-03-26 |
Movie | Max in a Taxi | Himself | 1917-04-23 |
Movie | Max, médecin malgré lui | Max | 1917-09-21 |
Movie | Max the Heartbreaker | 1917-05-04 | |
Movie | Max in Monaco | 1915-01-07 | |
Movie | Chance and Love | Max | 1915-12-31 |
Movie | Hairdresser of Love | 1915-04-22 | |
Movie | Max Sets the Style | Max | 1914-03-05 |
Movie | Max's Latest Hobby | 1914-02-14 | |
Movie | Max's Vacation | Max | 1914-01-09 |
Movie | Max Speaks English | Max | 1914-03-06 |
Movie | Max in the Convent | 1914-08-13 | |
Movie | The False Max Linder | Max | 1914-09-29 |
Movie | Max and the Jealous Husband | Max | 1914-04-10 |
Movie | The Forced Marriage | 1914-08-10 | |
Movie | Max and the Lady Doctor | Max | 1914-07-10 |
Movie | Max as a Chiropodist | Max | 1914-04-23 |
Movie | Max Linder Does All the Sports | Max | 1913-07-03 |
Movie | Max Toreador | 1913-09-11 | |
Movie | Max Takes a Picture | 1913-01-12 | |
Movie | Max Hates Cats | 1913-09-26 | |
Movie | An Unexpected Marriage | 1913-11-11 | |
Movie | Max's Hat | Max | 1913-10-24 |
Movie | Max Fears the Dogs | Max | 1912-05-08 |
Movie | Un pari original | Max | 1912-06-21 |
Movie | Max and the Donkey | Max | 1912-07-04 |
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 | The Wedding Trunk | Max | 1912-07-18 |
Movie | Max and His Dog Dick | Max | 1912-02-09 |
Movie | An Agitated Night | 1912-05-24 | |
Movie | Max: Boxer By Love | 1912-10-24 | |
Movie | The Water-Funker | Max | 1912-12-06 |
Movie | A Farm-house Romance | Max | 1912-08-15 |
Movie | Max Wants to Grow | Max | 1912-12-06 |
Movie | The Romance of Max | Max | 1912-10-17 |
Movie | Long-Lasting Love | Max | 1912-10-03 |
Movie | Max, Tango Teacher | 1912-08-16 | |
Movie | Max and the Statue | Max | 1912-12-20 |
Movie | Cordial Agreement | 1912-09-19 | |
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 | The Adventures of Tartarin the Younger | Tartarin | 1910-01-07 |
Movie | A Short-Sighted Duellist | Max | 1910-05-28 |
Movie | I Want a Baby | 1910-03-19 | |
Movie | Max Embarrassed | Max | 1910-11-12 |
Movie | Max Skiing | Max | 1910-07-14 |
Movie | Max Gets Stuck Up | Max | 1910-12-31 |
Movie | Max Takes a Bath | Max | 1910-10-22 |
Movie | Trop aimée | Max | 1910-08-10 |
Movie | Max's First Job | Max | 1910-10-01 |
Movie | Romeo Turns Bandit | 1909-05-16 | |
Movie | In Love with the Bearded Woman | 1909-07-31 | |
Movie | The Barometer of Fidelity | 1909-11-04 | |
Movie | The Dentures | 1909-11-16 | |
Movie | La Petite Rosse | 1909-10-22 | |
Movie | Love's Surprises | 1909-10-16 | |
Movie | His First Cigar | 1908-01-18 | |
Movie | Troubles of a Grass Widower | 1908-02-29 | |
Movie | In a Difficult Position | Dieutegarde | 1908-02-15 |
Movie | The Husband's Trick | 1907-01-02 | |
Movie | For a Necklace | 1907-01-02 | |
Movie | Joined Lips | 1907-01-11 | |
Movie | Max Learns to Skate | Max | 1907-05-09 |
Movie | C'est Papa qui a pris la purge | Lover in the street | 1907-01-17 |
Movie | Harlequin's Story | Polichinelle / Ponchinella / Harlequin | 1907-06-20 |
Movie | Attempted Suicide | 1906-12-14 |