Helen's Blog /

This film is shown in dual homage to the great Max Linder himself, and to the maker of the film, his daughter Maud Linder, this year's Jean Mitry Award honoree. On 31 October 1925 Linder, not quite 42 years old, and his 20-year-old wife died in a Paris hotel, in an apparent suicide pact. They left behind their 16-month-old baby, who was taken away by her mother's family, and raised in ignorance of her father's identity. Not until she was about 20 did Maud Linder learn who her father was, and began her quest to rediscover him.

She found that this genius of comedy – whose inexhaustible invention, understanding of cinema, and creation of the screen's first universal comedy character had inspired succeeding generations of film comedians – was virtually forgotten, his films unseen. Hence, more than 60 years ago, long before DVDs and silent film festivals, she began to search for every piece of evidence of his career, and to gather together the disregarded films. Her passionate quest was not just to find a father, but to re-establish this unique artist in the world's consciousness. In 1963 she produced a compilation of Max's American feature films, En compagnie de Max Linder, which had a commentary by Rene Clair, who had been scheduled to direct a film with Max at the time of his death.

Twenty years later she was able to produce this compilation documentary, L'Homme au chapeau de soie. A rich collection of comic treasures, the film had its first screening at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival (the present writer was there), to an ovation which seemed a vindication of Maud Linder's long battle

Some didactic critics of the time complained that the account was not comprehensive; there was nothing about the aftermath of Max's service in the First World War, his subsequent failing health, and the final tragedy. But this is a film of celebration, not investigation. "There was no real explanation to the tragedy," she said, "and I have never tried to find one." – David Robinson