L'homme au chapeau de soie

Few people outside the film archive circuit know much about the life and work of silent comedy pioneer Max Linder, making this affectionate portrait, compiled by Linder's own daughter, a long overdue but no less welcome discovery. The biographical material is (understandably) meager, but thankfully the film is devoted more to Linder's screen career, and includes some remarkably well-preserved samples from his once extensive catalogue, dating back to long before Charlie Chaplin first appeared in front of a camera.

First screened in 1983, L'HOMME AU CHAPEAU DE SOIE (a.k.

When I first went to see this film at the Public Theater in NYC about 20 years ago I knew three things about Max Linder: 1) that he was the first comic star of the movies, predating Chaplin; 2) that he made some films in the U.S.