Acting · Cavernes, Saint-Loubès, Gironde, France · Born December 16, 1883
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.
MovieLife and Deaths of Max Linder
2026
as Self (archive footage)
MovieCharlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty
2020
as archive footage
MovieMax Linder Collection 1917-1922
2014
Tout sur mon père Max Linder
2013
as Self (archive footage)
MovieBirth of the Tramp
2013
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Man in the Silk Hat
1983
as Self (archive footage)
Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma
1978
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLaugh with Max Linder
1963
as Self (archive footage)
MovieAll in Good Fun
1955
as Archive Footage
MovieEaster Parade
1948
as Audience Member (uncredited)
MovieThe Way of the World
1947
as (Archive Footage)
Those Were The Days
1946
as (self)
MovieCharlie the Innkeeper
1939
MovieThe Theft of the Mona Lisa
1931
as (archive footage)
MovieAu secours !
1924
as Max
MovieKing of the Circus
1924
as Max Graf von Pompadour
The World of Yesteryear – Max Linder
1924
as Self
MovieThe Three Must-Get-Theres
1922
as Dart-In-Again
MovieBe My Wife
1921
as Max, the Fiancé
MovieSeven Years Bad Luck
1921
as Max
MovieLe Petit Café
1919
Max, médecin malgré lui
1917
as Max
MovieMax the Heartbreaker
1917
MovieMax in a Taxi
1917
as Himself
MovieMax Wants a Divorce
1917
as Max
MovieMax Comes Across
1917
as Max
MovieMax and the Purse
1917
MovieMax devrait porter des bretelles
1917
as Max
MovieMax Linder Visits Charlie Chaplin
1917
as Self
MovieChance and Love
1915
as Max
MovieHairdresser of Love
1915
MovieMax in Monaco
1915
MovieThe False Max Linder
1914
as Max
Max asthmatique
1914
as Max
MovieMax in the Convent
1914
MovieThe Forced Marriage
1914
MovieMax Plays at Drama
1914
MovieMax and the Lady Doctor
1914
as Max
MovieMax Plays the Part
1914
MovieMax as a Chiropodist
1914
as Max
MovieMax Wishes He Hadn't
1914
MovieMax and the Jealous Husband
1914
as Max
MovieMax Speaks English
1914
as Max
Max Sets the Style
1914
as Max
Max's Latest Hobby
1914
MovieMax's Vacation
1914
as Max
MovieMax as a Musician
1913
as Max
An Unexpected Marriage
1913
MovieMax's Hat
1913
as Max
MovieLe billet doux
1913
as Max
Max Hates Cats
1913
MovieMax Toreador
1913
Le duel de Max
1913
as Max
MovieMax Linder Does All the Sports
1913
as Max
MovieMax: Jockey for Love
1913
as Max
MovieMax Linder's Appointment
1913
MovieMax Takes a Picture
1913
MovieMax and the Statue
1912
as Max
MovieMax Wants to Grow
1912
as Max
MovieThe Water-Funker
1912
as Max
MovieJalousie
1912
Max: Boxer By Love
1912
The Romance of Max
1912
as Max
MovieLong-Lasting Love
1912
as Max
MovieCordial Agreement
1912
Max émule de Tartarin
1912
as Max
Max, Tango Teacher
1912
MovieA Farmhouse Romance
1912
as Max
MovieThe Wedding Trunk
1912
as Max
MovieMax and the Donkey
1912
as Max
Un pari original
1912
as Max
MovieAn Agitated Night
1912
Max Fears the Dogs
1912
as Max
MovieMax Juggles for Love
1912
as Max
Max amoureux de la teinturière
1912
as Max
MovieMax and His Dog Dick
1912
as Max
MovieMax Takes Back His Freedom
1912
as Max (uncredited)
MovieMax Sets the Fashion
1912
as Max
MovieMax Takes Tonics
1911
as Max
MovieMax and Jane Want to Do Theater
1911
as Max
Max a un duel
1911
as Max
MovieMax Is Convalescent
1911
as Max
MovieMax and His Mother-in-Law
1911
as Max
Max se marie
1911
as Max
MovieMax Takes a Bath
1911
as Max
Une ruse de mari
1911
MovieChampion de boxe
1911
as Max
Comment Max fait le tour du monde
1911
MovieMax Gets Stuck Up
1910
as Max
Max manque un riche mariage
1910
as Max
MovieMax Embarrassed
1910
as Max
Trop aimée
1910
as Max
MovieMax's First Job
1910
as Max
The Puzzle
1910
MovieMax Skiing
1910
as Max
The Effects of Pills
1910
as Max
Max est distrait
1910
as Max
A Short-Sighted Duellist
1910
as Max
Max Makes a Touch
1910
MovieI Want a Baby
1910
MovieThe Adventures of Tartarin the Younger
1910
as Tartarin
Le serment d'un prince
1910
as Jacques de Lacerda
MovieThe Dentures
1909
MovieThe Barometer of Fidelity
1909
MovieThe Little Vixen
1909
MovieA Conquest
1909
MovieLove's Surprises
1909
MovieIn Love with the Bearded Woman
1909
Romeo Turns Bandit
1909
The Gentleman Thief
1909
as Arsène Lupin
MovieBeginning of the Serpentine Dance
1908
as The ballet master
Noisy Neighbors
1908
MovieHis First Cigar
1908
In a Difficult Position
1908
as Dieutegarde
MovieTroubles of a Grass Widower
1908
A Drama in Seaville
1907
as The Rival
Pitou, bonne d'enfants
1907
MovieHarlequin's Story
1907
as Polichinelle / Ponchinella / Harlequin
MovieMax Learns to Skate
1907
as Max
For a Necklace
1907
MovieAt the Show
1907
MoviePhial of Poison
1907
MovieAttempted Suicide
1906
Joined Lips
1906
MovieC'est Papa qui a pris la purge
1906
as Man on park bench
Unforeseen Meeting
1905
First Night Out
1905
A Nervous Twitch Is Catching (Un Tic Nerveux Contagieux)
