Max Linder


Actor, Director
Max Linder

About

Also Known As
Gabriel-Maximilien Leuvielle
Birth Place
France
Born
December 16, 1883
Died
October 31, 1925
Cause of Death
Suicide

Biography

The first true comic genius of the screen, Max Linder was a star before Chaplin, Keaton or Lloyd had ever heard of the motion picture. The wealthy, French-born Linder had little luck in the legitimate theater because of his height (5'2") and his inability to buckle under to directors' instructions. He entered films in 1905, signed by Charles Pathe to make a series of comedies. Within two...

Family & Companions

Helene Peters
Wife
French, born c. 1906; married in 1923; committed suicide with husband in 1925.

Biography

The first true comic genius of the screen, Max Linder was a star before Chaplin, Keaton or Lloyd had ever heard of the motion picture. The wealthy, French-born Linder had little luck in the legitimate theater because of his height (5'2") and his inability to buckle under to directors' instructions. He entered films in 1905, signed by Charles Pathe to make a series of comedies. Within two years, he developed the screen character that made him famous worldwide: Max, the dapper boulevardier, unflappably romantic. Linder starred in and directed some 360 one-reel comedies over the next eight years, with such self-explanatory titles as "Max Takes a Bath," "Max's Duel," "Max on Skis" and "Max and His Dog."

The Linder comedies, unlike the frenetic slapstick of Sennett and Chaplin, were clever, well-plotted and often moving little playlets, with a French daring and often incorporating experimental camera techniques. The handsome, dashing Linder's height didn't inhibit his screen career, and he became something of a heartthrob. He was at the height of his fame when WWI broke out. Linder enlisted early, and was seriously wounded three times. Shell-shocked, his emotional and physical health shattered, Linder was never the same.

A 1917 trip to America resulted in three Essanay films, "Max Comes Across," "Max Wants a Divorce" and "Max and His Taxi." During a second American trip, Linder made two of his best-known comedies, "Seven Years Bad Luck" (1919, incorporating the famous "mirror" gag later used by the Marx brothers and others), and his absurdist Douglas Fairbanks parody, "The Three Must-Get-There's" (1922).

Still fragile, Linder returned to France and made his last few films: the dark comedy "Au secours!/Help!" (1924) and Abel Gance's "The King of the Circus" (1925). While filming "Le Chevalier barclas," Linder checked into a Paris hotel with his young wife and baby daughter. The elder Linder died in a suicide pact (though Mrs. Linder's enthusiasm for the act was never made clear). Their daughter, Maud, grew up to rescue her father's films and make the documentary "The Man in the Silk Hat" (1983), preserving his work for posterity.

Filmography

 

Director (Feature Film)

Der Zirkuskonig (1924)
Director
The Three Must-Get-Theres (1922)
Director
Be My Wife (1921)
Director
Seven Years Bad Luck (1921)
Director
Be My Wife (1919)
Director
Max wants a divorce (1917)
Director
Max in a taxi (1917)
Director
Max comes across (1917)
Director
Max entre deux feux (1916)
Director
Max et la Main-qui-entreint (1916)
Director
Max et l'espion (1915)
Director
Max et le sac (1915)
Director
Max devrait porter des bretelles (1915)
Director
Max illusionniste (1914)
Director
Max pedicure (1914)
Director
Un Mariage imprevu (1913)
Director
Comment Max fait le tour du monde (1913)
Director
Le Rivalite de Max (1913)
Director
Le Hasard et l'amour (1913)
Director
Le Duel de Max (1913)
Director
Un Enlevement en hydroplane (1913)
Director
Une Idylle a la ferme (1912)
Director
Max cocher de fiacre (1912)
Director
Max et les femmes (1912)
Director
La Vengeance du domestique (1912)
Director
Un Mariage au telephone (1912)
Director
Max et l'Intente Cordiale (1912)
Director
Max veut grandir (1912)
Director
La Malle au mariage (1912)
Director
Le Mal de mer (1912)
Director
Max escamoteur (1912)
Director
Voyage de noces en Espagne (1912)
Director
Max en convalescence (1911)
Director
Voisin... voisine (1911)
Director
Max et Jane font des crepes (1911)
Director
Max dans sa famille (1911)
Director
Max lance la mode (1911)
Director
Max et son chien Dick (1911)
Director
Max amoureux de la teinturiere (1911)
Director
Max et Jane en voyage de noces (1911)
Director
Max reprend sa liberte (1911)
Director
Max veut faire du theatre (1911)
Director
Le Voleur mondain (1909)
Director

Cast (Feature Film)

The Man in the Silk Hat (1984)
The Unfinished Dance (1947)
Announcer
Swing Out the Blues (1944)
Experiment Perilous (1944)
The Master Race (1944)
Civilian
Unexpected Uncle (1941)
Doorman
A Damsel in Distress (1937)
Footman
Der Zirkuskonig (1924)
The Three Must-Get-Theres (1922)
Dart-In-Again
Be My Wife (1921)
The Fiancé
Seven Years Bad Luck (1921)
Max
Le Petit cafe (1919)
Max in a taxi (1917)
Max wants a divorce (1917)
Max comes across (1917)
Max et la Main-qui-entreint (1916)
Max entre deux feux (1916)
Max et le sac (1915)
Max devrait porter des bretelles (1915)
Max et l'espion (1915)
Max illusionniste (1914)
Max pedicure (1914)
Le Duel de Max (1913)
Comment Max fait le tour du monde (1913)
Le Hasard et l'amour (1913)
Un Mariage imprevu (1913)
Un Enlevement en hydroplane (1913)
Le Rivalite de Max (1913)
Max et les femmes (1912)
Max veut grandir (1912)
Un Mariage au telephone (1912)
Voyage de noces en Espagne (1912)
Une Idylle a la ferme (1912)
Max cocher de fiacre (1912)
Max escamoteur (1912)
La Vengeance du domestique (1912)
Le Mal de mer (1912)
La Malle au mariage (1912)
Max et l'Intente Cordiale (1912)
Max dans sa famille (1911)
Max et Jane en voyage de noces (1911)
Max et Jane font des crepes (1911)
Max et son chien Dick (1911)
Max en convalescence (1911)
Max lance la mode (1911)
Max veut faire du theatre (1911)
Voisin... voisine (1911)
Max amoureux de la teinturiere (1911)
Max reprend sa liberte (1911)
A Cure for Timidity (1910)
Max in the Alps (1910)
Max Has Trouble with His Eyes (1910)
Max Foils the Police (1910)
One Can't Believe One's Eyes (1910)
Max in a Dilemma (1910)
Max Is Absent-Minded (1910)
Romeo Turns Bandit (1910)
One on Max (1910)
Who Will Win My Heart? (1910)
Max Makes a Touch (1910)
Max Leads Them a Novel Chase (1910)
A Conquest (1910)
The Little Vixen (1910)
Perseverance Rewarded (1910)
A Prince of Worth (1910)
Max Has to Change (1910)
A Romantic Girl (1910)
Max Goes Skiing (1910)
Servant's Good Joke (1909)
Impossible to Get Sleep (1909)
Tormented by His Mother-in-Law (1908)
Troubles of a Grass Widower (1908)
Amateur Acrobat (1908)
Noisy Neighbors (1908)
First Cigar (1908)
Joined Lips (1907)
Harlequin's Story (1907)
Ten Wives for One Husband (1906)

Writer (Feature Film)

Der Zirkuskonig (1924)
Screenwriter
The Three Must-Get-Theres (1922)
Writer
Seven Years Bad Luck (1921)
Writer
Be My Wife (1921)
Writer
Le Petit cafe (1919)
Screenwriter
Max comes across (1917)
Screenwriter
Max wants a divorce (1917)
Screenwriter
Max in a taxi (1917)
Screenwriter
Max entre deux feux (1916)
Screenwriter
Max et la Main-qui-entreint (1916)
Screenwriter
Max et le sac (1915)
Screenwriter
Max et l'espion (1915)
Screenwriter
Max devrait porter des bretelles (1915)
Screenwriter
Max pedicure (1914)
Screenwriter
Max illusionniste (1914)
Screenwriter
Comment Max fait le tour du monde (1913)
Screenwriter
Un Mariage imprevu (1913)
Screenwriter
Un Enlevement en hydroplane (1913)
Screenwriter
Le Hasard et l'amour (1913)
Screenwriter
Le Duel de Max (1913)
Screenwriter
Le Rivalite de Max (1913)
Screenwriter
Le Mal de mer (1912)
Screenwriter
Voyage de noces en Espagne (1912)
Screenwriter
Max escamoteur (1912)
Screenwriter
La Vengeance du domestique (1912)
Screenwriter
Une Idylle a la ferme (1912)
Screenwriter
Max et les femmes (1912)
Screenwriter
Max et l'Intente Cordiale (1912)
Screenwriter
La Malle au mariage (1912)
Screenwriter
Un Mariage au telephone (1912)
Screenwriter
Max cocher de fiacre (1912)
Screenwriter
Max veut grandir (1912)
Screenwriter
Voisin... voisine (1911)
Screenwriter
Max amoureux de la teinturiere (1911)
Screenwriter
Max dans sa famille (1911)
Screenwriter
Max et Jane en voyage de noces (1911)
Screenwriter
Max lance la mode (1911)
Screenwriter
Max et son chien Dick (1911)
Screenwriter
Max reprend sa liberte (1911)
Screenwriter
Max en convalescence (1911)
Screenwriter
Max et Jane font des crepes (1911)
Screenwriter
Max veut faire du theatre (1911)
Screenwriter

Producer (Feature Film)

Be My Wife (1921)
Producer
Seven Years Bad Luck (1921)
Producer

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

The Man in the Silk Hat (1984)
Other

Director (Short)

Love's Surprises (1916)
Director
Troubles of a Grasswidower (1912)
Director (Uncredited)
Max Sets the Style (1910)
Director

Cast (Short)

Love's Surprises (1916)
Max Takes a Picture (1913)
Troubles of a Grasswidower (1912)
Max Sets the Style (1910)

Writer (Short)

Love's Surprises (1916)
Writer
Max Takes a Picture (1913)
Writer (Uncredited)
Troubles of a Grasswidower (1912)
Writer (Uncredited)

Life Events

1902

Moved to Paris to begin theatrical career

1905

Signed with Charles Pathe to make films

1907

Developed screen character of "Max"

1914

Enlisted in Army

1917

First American trip

1919

Second American trip

1925

Final completed film, "The King of the Circus"

Family

Maud Linder
Daughter
Filmmaker. Born 1925.

Companions

Helene Peters
Wife
French, born c. 1906; married in 1923; committed suicide with husband in 1925.

Bibliography