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88-581: Born in Cavernes, France to Catholic parents, Linder grew up with a passion for theater and enrolled in the Conservatoire de Bordeaux in 1899. He soon received awards for his performances and continued to pursue a career in the legitimate theater. He became a contract player with the Bordeaux Théâtre des Arts from 1901 to 1904, performing in plays by Molière , Pierre Corneille , and Alfred de Musset . From

176-546: A suicide pact . On 24 February 1924, they were both found unconscious at a hotel in Vienna, though this was explained as an accidental overdose of "sleeping powder." In late October 1925, Max and Hélène reportedly attended a Paris screening of Quo Vadis (in which two characters, Petronius and his slave Eunice, as a reporter put it, "bleed themselves to death"), and died in a similar manner. They drank Veronal , injected morphine and slashed their wrists. Peters died first, while Linder

264-482: A Bath and the autobiographical Max Linder's Film Debut , which fictitiously recreates the legend of Linder's early film career and includes Charles Pathé as himself. By the end of the year, Linder had become the most popular film actor in the world. Although actress Florence Lawrence is often referred to as " The First Movie Star " in the United States, Linder appears to be the very first worldwide movie star with

352-578: A Divorce were complete failures, but the third film, Max and his Taxi was moderately successful. The financially troubled studio may have been counting on Linder to restore its flagging fortunes and cancelled production of the remaining films on Linder's contract. Max and his Taxi had been shot in Hollywood and while there Linder had developed a close friendship with Charlie Chaplin. They would often attend events such as boxing matches or car races together, and according to writer Jack Spears, "while working on

440-451: A French broadcasting corporation, but then sold all remaining assets to Jérôme Seydoux's family-owned corporation, Fornier SA, which changed its name to Pathé. A list of current and former assets of Pathé. In its home country France, Pathé self-distributes its films through Pathé Films (formerly called AMLF ( Agence méditerranéenne de location de films ) from 1972 to 1998). On home video, their films are distributed by Fox Pathé Europa,

528-514: A German patrol in icy water for several hours. After being dismissed from his duties, Linder spent the remainder of the war entertaining the troops and making films. It was also during this period that Linder had his first serious bout with chronic depression . In 1916, Linder was approached by American film producer George K. Spoor , the president of the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company , to make twelve short films for him in

616-505: A Max Linder festival. The relative merits of Linder and Chaplin are then discussed by the German soldier, Frederick Zoller, who argues that Linder is superior to Chaplin while also admitting that Linder never made anything as good as The Kid . The documentary film The Mystery of the King of Kinema portraits Linder and his impact through interviews (including Maud Linder), silent film excerpts and

704-539: A Max Linder movie theater had opened in Paris. At the height of his fame, Linder ended 1910 with a serious illness. He was forced to stop making films when appendicitis left him bedridden, and some newspapers reported that he had died. He eventually recovered the following spring and began making films again in May 1911. In 1911, Linder returned to filmmaking and began co-directing his own films (with René LePrince) as well as writing

792-470: A dispatch driver between Paris and the front lines. Many conflicting stories about the reasons behind his dismissal from the army exist, including that he was shot through the lung, and seriously wounded. Initially, it was reported by one newspaper that he had been killed; Linder actually phoned the offending publishers, leading them to run the headline "Max Linder Not Killed". However, others have asserted that he became infected with pneumonia after hiding from

880-602: A fortune. Come and act in front of my cameras, and I will help make it." From 1905 to 1907, Linder appeared in dozens of short comedy films for Pathé, usually in a supporting role. His first noticeably larger film role was in The Young Man's First Outing in 1905. He also appeared in Georges Méliès -like fantasy films such as Serpentine Dances and The Legend of Punching , his first leading role. His rise to stardom commenced in 1907 when Pathé's slapstick star René Gréhan left

968-613: A garden. Max Linder had been relegated to little more than a footnote in film history until a compilation film titled Laugh with Max Linder premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was theatrically released. The film was a compilation of Linder's last three films made in Hollywood and its release was supervised by Maud Linder . In 1983, Maud Linder made a documentary film, The Man in the Silk Hat , about Linder's life and career. It

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1056-562: A head injury. He was arrested in Nice later that month for "kidnapping a minor", who happened to be his future wife, the seventeen-year-old Hélène "Ninette" Peters. They had planned to run away to Monte Carlo . Upon Linder and Peters' first encounter at a hotel in Chamonix , Linder was entranced by her, exclaiming to a friend, "I spent the whole night in a hotel lounge talking to the most extraordinary girl I could ever imagine. Instantly I knew this to be

1144-536: A holding company (Radio-Natan-Vitus) to run what would become a burgeoning radio empire. In order to finance the company's continued expansion, Pathé's board of directors (which still included Charles Pathé) had voted in 1930 to issue shares worth 105 million francs. Then the Great Depression hit France in 1931, and only 50 percent of the shares were purchased. One of the investor banks collapsed due to financial difficulties unrelated to Pathé's problems, and Pathé

1232-592: A huge share of the international market. They first expanded to London in 1902 where they set up production facilities and a chain of cinemas. By 1909, Pathé had built more than 200 cinemas in France and Belgium and by the following year they had facilities in Madrid , Moscow , Rome and New York City plus Australia and Japan. Slightly later, they opened a film exchange in Buffalo, New York . Through its American subsidiary , it

1320-458: A joint venture between Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment , Pathé and EuropaCorp . In August 1992, Pathé's then-parent company Chargeurs purchased Guild Entertainment from Wembley PLC, becoming Pathé's de-facto UK distributor. Initially, PolyGram Video distributed Guild's VHS releases until March 1995, when Chargeurs formed a UK rental joint-venture with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment , who became Guild/Pathé's home video distributor,

1408-652: A major following. In Russia, he was voted the most popular film actor, ahead of Asta Nielsen . He also had a Russian impersonator, Zozlov, and a devoted fan in Czar Nicholas II . Another professed fan was British playwright George Bernard Shaw . The first feature film ever made in Bulgaria was a remake of one of Linder's earlier movies. He was offered $ 12,000 to spend a month in Berlin making public appearances with his film screenings, but had to decline for health reasons. In France,

1496-459: A picture Linder would go next door to Chaplin's home and discuss the day's shooting. The two often sat until dawn, developing and refining the gags. Chaplin's suggestions were invaluable, Linder said." Linder returned to France in 1917 and opened a movie theater, the Ciné Max Linder. However, due to his depression and anxiety about the still ongoing war, he was unable to continue making films on

1584-453: A regular basis, and was often quoted by journalists about the horrors of the front lines. After the Armistice in 1918, Linder was able to regain his enthusiasm and agreed to make a film with director Raymond Bernard , the feature length The Little Café in 1919. In the film, Linder plays a waiter who suddenly becomes a millionaire, but simultaneously is tricked into a twenty-year contract to be

1672-630: A result of mass television ownership. In the United States, beginning in 1914, the company built film production studios in Fort Lee and Jersey City, New Jersey, where their building still stands. The Heights, Jersey City produced the extremely successful serialised episodes called The Perils of Pauline . By 1918 Pathé had grown to the point where it was necessary to separate operations into two distinct divisions. With Emile Pathé as chief executive, Pathé Records dealt exclusively with phonographs and recordings. Brother Charles managed Pathé-Cinéma',' which

1760-449: A salary of one million francs a year, and Charles Pathé used the huge sum to generate publicity, with an ad reading "We understand that the shackles which bind Max Linder have attained the value of one million francs a year...the imagination boggles at such a figure!" This set a precedent in the entertainment industry for actors' salaries that would become a staple of the Hollywood system, but privately Pathé nicknamed Linder "The Napoleon of

1848-416: A series of "Léonce" slapstick shorts that were popular but nowhere near the stature of Linder's films. Charles Prince, on the other hand, was gaining popularity during his career and was nearly equal to Linder by the beginning of World War I . Prince's screen persona was "Rigadin", who like "Max" was a bumbling bourgeois socialite who always got into trouble. Both Linder and Prince were employed by Pathé in

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1936-591: A severe case of cholera . He survived by resting in the oven of the village baker. The heat from the oven supposedly brought down the infection to a manageable level. In the spring of 1888, the Leuvielle family's plantation was attacked by grape phylloxera . Jean and Suzanne heavily considered emigrating to America, and embarked on a trip to New York in search for propitious offers. During their trip, Max and Maurice remained in France with their grandmother Jeanne. Nothing became of Jean and Suzanne's plans to emigrate, as it

2024-521: A suicide pact, and sometimes as a murder-suicide." In addition, Maud Linder reported in her memoir that the head of the workmen at Linder's house in Neuilly overheard Max tell a friend, probably Armand Massard, that he planned to kill his wife along with himself, as he could not bear the thought of her belonging to another after he was gone. Linder was buried at the Catholique cimetière de Saint-Loubès. His wife

2112-543: A waiter by the cafe owner. The film made over a million francs in Europe and briefly revived his career, but was financially unsuccessful in the US. Four years after failing to become a major star in the U.S., Linder made another attempt at filmmaking in Hollywood and formed his own production company there in 1921. His first film back in the U.S. was Seven Years Bad Luck , considered by some to be his best film. The film contains one of

2200-515: A wealthy and dapper man-about-town frequently in hot water because of his penchant for beautiful women and the good life. With this character, he had created one of the first identifiable motion-picture characters who appeared in successive situation comedies. Linder's first appearance as "Max" was in The Skater's Debut in 1907. Lake Daumesnil in Paris had frozen over and director Louis Gasnier filmed Linder in his new attire, with Linder improvising

2288-453: Is a satire of swashbuckling films made by Douglas Fairbanks and is loosely based on the plot of Alexander Dumas ' The Three Musketeers . The film was praised by Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, but again failed at the box office. At the films premiere, Linder had said to director Robert Florey "You see, Bob, I sense that I'm no longer funny; I have so many preoccupations that I can no longer concentrate on my film character ... The public

2376-477: Is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Upon receiving the news of Linder's death, Chaplin is reported to have closed his studio for one day out of respect. In the ensuing years, his jealous and alcoholic elder brother won custody of sixteen-month-old heiress Maud Linder to get the girl's fortune, before her grandmother (Hélène's mother) legally fought back and took over. Meanwhile, many of his films were lost because most reels had been buried unprotected in

2464-604: Is essentially a horror film set in a haunted house , with occasional moments of comedy by Linder. The film was released in England in 1924 and was critically praised, however the legal copyright of the film prevented it from being released in France or the US for several years. Linder's last film was The King of the Circus directed by Édouard-Émile Violet (with pre-production collaboration from Jacques Feyder ) and filmed in Vienna in 1925. In

2552-426: Is mildly amused by my situations, but this evening where were the explosions of laughter that we hear when Charlie's on the screen?...Make people laugh, its easy to say make people laugh, but I don't feel funny anymore." With his depression making it difficult for him to work, Linder returned to France in 1922 and shortly afterwards made a semi-serious film: Au Secours! ( Help! ) for director Abel Gance . The film

2640-465: Is that the genre shifted from the "knockabout" comedies made by such people as Mack Sennett and André Deed to a more subtle, refined and character driven medium that would later be dominated by Chaplin, Buster Keaton , Harold Lloyd , and others. Linder's influence on Chaplin is apparent both from Chaplin's sometimes borrowing gags or entire plot-lines from Linder's films, as well as from a famous signed photo that Chaplin sent Linder which read: "To Max,

2728-501: Is the name of a network of French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment and production company, as well as a major producer of phonograph records . In 1908, Pathé invented the newsreel that was shown in cinemas before a feature film. Pathé is the second-oldest operating film company, behind Gaumont , which

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2816-644: The Comédie-Française . Le Bargy encouraged Linder to audition for the Conservatoire de Paris in 1904. Linder was rejected and began appearing in less prestigious theaters such as the Olympia Theater and the Théâtre de l'Ambigu . By 1905, he had adopted his stage name of Max Linder and used it in several theatrical performances. Also during this period, Linder applied for work at Pathé Frères in Vincennes at

2904-430: The Conservatoire de Bordeaux and quickly won awards for first prize in comedy and second prize in tragedy. He continued to pursue a career in the theater and became a contract player with the Bordeaux Théâtre des Arts from 1901 to 1904, performing in plays by Molière , Pierre Corneille and Alfred de Musset . At the same time that he was performing in serious dramatic theater, he became friends with Charles le Bargy of

2992-832: The United Kingdom and the United States where other brands were already in widespread use. In December 1928, the French and British Pathé phonograph assets were sold to the British Columbia Graphophone Company . In July 1929, the assets of the American Pathé record company were merged into the newly formed American Record Corporation . The Pathé and Pathé-Marconi labels and catalogue still survive, first as imprints of EMI and now currently EMI's successor Parlophone Records . In 1967 EMI Italiana took control of

3080-610: The Cinema". The high point of Linder's career was from 1912 to 1914. His films were made with increased skill and "Max" was at his funniest. He made such films as Max Virtuoso , Max Does Not Speak English , Max and His Dog , Max's Hat and Max and the Jealous Husband . His ensemble of actors included Stacia Napierkowska , Jane Renouardt, Gaby Morlay , and occasional performances from the young actors Abel Gance and Maurice Chevalier . Linder had given Chevalier his start in movies, but

3168-483: The Italian film company Itala , leaving Linder as the company's leading comedic actor. Later in 1909, Gasnier returned from Italy and immediately began working with Linder again. The team made several shorts in 1909 with Linder in various roles, such as a blind elderly man and a coquettish young woman. But they soon discovered that the character of "Max" was the most popular with audiences and stuck with him from then on. Among

3256-482: The Minister of War, an ambassador and the police commissioner, all of whom challenge him to a duel and present him with their business cards. Eventually "Max" is apprehended by the police, who attempt to return him to his residence, but end up mistakenly taking him to the homes of the various men whom he had previously fought with. The universality of silent films brought Linder fame and fortune throughout Europe, making him

3344-531: The Pathé brothers had offices and recording studios not only in Paris, but also in London , Milan , and St. Petersburg . Pathé manufactured cylinder records until approximately 1914. In 1905, the Pathé brothers entered the growing field of disc records . In France, Pathé became the largest and most successful distributor of cylinder records and phonographs. These, however, failed to make headway in foreign markets such as

3432-415: The Pathé name, the video rental division Fox Guild Home Entertainment would be renamed Fox Pathé Home Entertainment the following year. Guild Home Video remained as an in-name-only dormant business of Pathé until folding on 17 December 2019. On 12 March 2009, Pathé announced that they would close their UK/Ireland theatrical distribution unit and form a new partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures to handle

3520-553: The Professor, from his disciple, Charlie Chaplin." Mack Sennett and King Vidor also singled out Linder as a great influence on their directing careers. His high society characterizations as "Max" also influenced such actors as Adolphe Menjou and Raymond Griffith . In his heyday, Linder had two major rivals in France: Léonce Perret and Charles Prince . Perret later became a successful director, but his early career included

3608-607: The Spanish-American actor Julio Perillán characterized as Linder and voicing answers from old press interviews. Perillán was nominated to the Goya awards for best lead actor. Conservatoire de Bordeaux The Conservatoire de Bordeaux is an arts conservatory that offers higher education in music , dance and drama in Bordeaux , France . It is one of the leading schools in France for singers and saxophonists. Founded in 1821,

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3696-472: The UK theatrical market and restructure to focus on the premium television market instead. The exit was due to structural changes in the film industry following the impact of Coronavirus pandemic , issues with the structure of independent distribution in the country (which led to fellow rival Entertainment One (now Lionsgate Canada) closing their UK distribution arm earlier in the year), some of their films flopping at

3784-598: The US at a salary of $ 5,000 a week. Earlier that year, Charlie Chaplin , then the most popular comedian in the world, had left Essanay for more money and independence at Mutual Film and Spoor wanted to replace Chaplin with Max Linder, whose pantomime skills were arguably equally accomplished. Linder was offered a new contract from Charles Pathé, but accepted Spoor's offer and moved to the United States to work for Essanay later that year. Unfortunately his first few American-made "Max" films were unpopular both critically and financially. The first two, Max Comes Across and Max Wants

3872-511: The bad luck to take charge of the studio just as the Great Depression convulsed the French economy. Natan attempted to steady Pathé's finances and implement modern film industry practices at the studio. He acquired another film studio, Société des Cinéromans , from Arthur Bernède and Gaston Leroux , which let Pathé expand into projector and electronics manufacturing. He also bought the Fornier chain of motion picture theatres and rapidly expanded

3960-428: The chain's nationwide presence. The French press, however, attacked Natan mercilessly for his stewardship of Pathé. Many of these attacks were antisemitic . Pathé-Natan did well under Natan's guidance. Between 1930 and 1935, despite the world economic crisis, the company made 100 million francs in profits, and produced and released more than 60 feature films (just as many films as major American studios produced at

4048-551: The company to join Éclair . Gréhan's screen character was Gontran, whose persona included high-society clothing and a dandy -ish demeanor. Linder was chosen to take over the characterization for Pathé, and the style of dress and personality of Gréhan's character became his trademark. Film critic David Robinson described Linder's screen persona as "no grotesque: he was young, handsome, debonair, immaculate...in silk hat, jock coat, cravat, spats, patent shoes, and swagger cane." Linder made more than one hundred short films portraying "Max",

4136-545: The company. As a result of the deregulation of the French telecommunications market, in June 1999 Pathé merged with Vivendi , with the exchange ratio for the merger fixed at three Vivendi shares for every two Pathé shares. The Wall Street Journal estimated the value of the deal at US$ 2.59 billion. Following the completion of the merger, Vivendi retained Pathé's interests in British Sky Broadcasting and CanalSatellite ,

4224-447: The distributor for home video. Select film acquisitions that were planned to be distributed by Pathé, such as Chatroom and Dead Man Running , were sold to Revolver Entertainment . On 1 February 2011, it was announced that 20th Century Fox would take over as Pathé's theatrical distributor. Pathé UK's co-CEO Francois Ivernel deemed it easier for one company to handle the licensing process for both theatrical and home video. With

4312-514: The earliest (though not the first) examples on film of the "human mirror" gag best known in the scene between Groucho and Harpo Marx in Duck Soup twelve years later. Linder next made Be My Wife later that year, but again neither films were able to find a major audience in the U.S. Linder then decided to dispense with the "Max" character and try something different for his third (and final) attempt: The Three Must-Get-Theres in 1922. The film

4400-514: The early 1910s and they often used the same story lines, sets and directors. Years after both comedians' careers were long over, Linder has received several revivals in interest while Charles Prince remains mostly forgotten. Linder is referenced in Quentin Tarantino 's Inglourious Basterds where the owner of a cinema in Nazi occupied Paris in 1944, Shosanna Dreyfus, says that she will be having

4488-473: The entire catalog. In turn, the Universal Music Group acquired EMI Italiana in 2013. As the phonograph business became successful, Pathé saw the opportunities offered by new means of entertainment and in particular by the fledgling motion picture industry. Having decided to expand the record business to include film equipment, the company expanded dramatically. To finance its growth, the company took

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4576-423: The family business; his older brother Maurice (28 June 1881 – 14 December 1959) had become a celebrated national rugby player. But Linder grew up with a passion for theater, and was enthralled by the traveling theater and circus performances that occasionally visited his town. He later wrote that "nothing was more distasteful to me than the thought of a life among the grapes." As a child, Linder fell victim to

4664-484: The film operation and phonograph business was Charles Pathé , who had helped open a phonograph shop in 1894 and established a phonograph factory at Chatou on the western outskirts of Paris. The Pathé brothers began selling Edison and Columbia phonographs and accompanying cylinder records and later, the brothers designed and sold their own phonographs that incorporated elements of other brands. Soon after, they also started marketing pre-recorded cylinder records. By 1896

4752-623: The film, "Max" joins a circus in order to be closer to the woman that he loves. The film includes such gags as a hungover "Max" waking up in a department store and the film's plot is similar to the Charlie Chaplin film The Circus (1928). In late 1925, Linder was working on pre-production for his next film Barkas le fol , which would never be made. As a consequence of his war service, Linder had continuing health problems, including bouts of severe depression and several mental breakdowns. It has been said that he evoked "tantrum-like appearances at

4840-479: The good life. Starting with The Skater's Debut in 1907, the character became one of the first identifiable motion-picture characters who appeared in successive situation comedies. By 1911, Linder was co-directing his own films (with René LePrince) as well as writing the scripts. Linder enlisted at the outbreak of the First World War, and worked at first as a dispatch driver and entertainer. During his service, he

4928-487: The highest paid entertainer of the day, with a salary increase of 150,000 francs (the average monthly salary in France was 100 francs at the time). He began touring Europe with his films from 1911 to 1912, including Spain, where he entertained thousands of fans at the Barcelona railway station, Austria, and Russia, where he was accompanied on piano by a young Dimitri Tiomkin . In 1912 after the tour, Linder demanded and received

5016-874: The name Compagnie Générale des Établissements Pathé Frères Phonographes & Cinématographes (sometimes abbreviated as CGPC ) in 1897, and its shares were listed on the Paris Stock Exchange . In 1896, Mitchell Mark of Buffalo , New York , became the first American to import Pathé films to the United States, where they were shown in the Vitascope Theater. In 1907, Pathé acquired the Lumière brothers ' patents and then set about to design an improved studio camera and to make their own film stock. Their technologically advanced equipment, new processing facilities built at Vincennes , and aggressive merchandising combined with efficient distribution systems allowed them to capture

5104-609: The outbreak of World War I , Pathé dominated Europe's market in motion picture cameras and projectors. It has been estimated that at one time, 60 percent of all films were shot with Pathé equipment. In 1908, Pathé distributed Excursion to the Moon by Segundo de Chomón, an imitation of Georges Méliès 's A Trip to the Moon . Pathé and Méliès worked together in 1911. Méliès made a film Baron Munchausen's Dream , his first film to be distributed by Pathé. Pathé's relationship with Méliès soured, and after he went bankrupt in 1913, his last film

5192-424: The popular "Max" films made by Linder and Grasnier in 1909 are A Young Lady Killer and The Cure for Cowardice . By 1910, Linder had proved himself to Pathé and was quickly becoming one of the most popular film actors in the world. When Gasnier was sent to the United States later that year to oversee Pathé's productions there, Lucien Nonguet took over as Linder's director. Together they made such films as Max Takes

5280-510: The purchase of 20th Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company on 20 March 2019, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures took over distribution of Pathé's material, releasing both Misbehaviour and The Human Voice , Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment would release the two films on home video. The longstanding deal with Fox/Disney deal expired on 30 June 2021, and Pathé decided not to renew. Pathé UK managing director Cameron McCracken

5368-507: The rental joint-venture would be named Fox Guild Home Entertainment . After the Chargeurs demerger in 1996, Pathé began retiring the Guild brand, initially rebranding the theatrical arm as Guild Pathé Cinema and eventually in June 1997, as Pathé Distribution after securing a deal to produce films in the country. The home video division followed suit toward the end of the year, rebranding under

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5456-469: The research of Henri Chrétien , who developed the anamorphic lens (leading to the creation of CinemaScope and other widescreen film formats common today). Natan expanded Pathé's business interests into communications industries other than film. In November 1929, Natan established France's first television company, Télévision-Baird-Natan . A year later, he purchased a radio station in Paris and formed

5544-563: The rest. In the film, "Max" falls about and does a rendition of "the windmill routine" by spinning his cane around, predating Charlie Chaplin 's version in The Rink by nine years. Pathé was unimpressed with the film and re-shot parts of it, and it was not popular with audiences when released. Soon afterwards, Gasnier left Pathé and moved to Italy, leaving Linder without a supporter at Pathé; he made few films in 1908. His luck began to change when Pathé's top comedy star, André Deed , left to work with

5632-493: The school is operated by the French Ministry of Culture . 44°49′53″N 0°33′34″W  /  44.83139°N 0.55944°W  / 44.83139; -0.55944 Path%C3%A9 Pathé ( French: [pate] ; styled as PATHÉ! ) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It

5720-420: The scripts. By 1912, he was the solo director of his films. Gaining complete control over his own films brought positive results both critically and commercially; the films Linder made during this period are generally considered to be his best. Max, Victim of Quinine is considered by film critic Jean Mitry to be "his masterpiece." In the film, an intoxicated "Max" gets into numerous fights with such dignitaries as

5808-413: The silent medium did not suit Chevalier, who stuck to the stage until the all-singing all-dancing features came in, many years later. The outbreak of World War I brought a temporary end to Linder's film career in 1914, but not before he made the short patriotic film The Second of August that year. Linder attempted to enlist in the French army, but was physically unfit for combat duty. Instead he worked as

5896-414: The state. French authorities pursued charges of fraud against Natan, including financing the purchase of the company without any collateral, of bilking investors by establishing fictitious shell corporations , and financial mismanagement. He was also accused of hiding his Romanian and Jewish heritage by changing his name. In 1938, Natan was arrested and imprisoned, never to regain his freedom. In 1939 he

5984-444: The storied studio. Parretti's shady past, however, raised enough eyebrows in the French government that the deal fell through. It turned out to be a fortunate decision, as Parretti later took over Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , and merged it with his Pathé Communications Group to create MGM-Pathé Communications in 1990, only to lose it in bankruptcy in late 1991. In 1990 Chargeurs , a French conglomerate led by Jérôme Seydoux, took control of

6072-476: The studio". Director Édouard-Émile Violet recalled that Linder seemed invariably "unstable, worried..." Linder also became a heavy user of opium in the 1920s, which could have further harrowed his mind. During his war service, Linder was involved in a car accident; he was thrown out of the vehicle and badly injured. In early April 1923, Linder was involved in a second near fatal car accident in Nice , which resulted in

6160-430: The suggestion of film director Louis Gasnier and began appearing in small bit parts, mostly in slapstick comedies. Linder continued to appear on the stage for the next two years and was not a significant film star at first. However, an often-told legend about the origins of Linder's film career is that French film producer Charles Pathé personally saw Linder on the stage and wrote him a note that read "In your eyes lies

6248-404: The summer of 1905, Linder appeared in short comedy films for Pathé , at first usually in supporting roles. His first major film role was in the Georges Méliès -like fantasy film The Legend of Punching . During the following years, Linder made several hundred short films portraying "Max", a wealthy and dapper man-about-town frequently in hot water because of his penchant for beautiful women and

6336-433: The synchronisation of film and gramophone recordings. In 1908, Pathé invented the newsreel that was shown in theatres prior to the feature film. The news clips featured the Pathé logo of a crowing rooster at the beginning of each reel. In 1912, it introduced 28 mm non-flammable film and equipment under the brand name Pathescope. Pathé News produced cinema newsreels from 1910, up until the 1970s when production ceased as

6424-431: The theatre and distribution arm. Pathé was already in substantial financial trouble when Bernard Natan took control of the company in 1929. Studio founder Charles Pathé had been selling assets for several years to boost investor value and keep the studio's cash flow healthy. The company's founder had even sold Pathé's name and "rooster" trademark to other companies in return for a mere two percent of revenues. Natan had

6512-460: The theatrical distribution of their titles in the UK, following a handful of films that flopped at the box office. The move was made so Pathé could focus more on the development and production of its own titles instead of acquisitions. The partnership would allow the two companies working together to identify co-production opportunities. Pathé would remain as an international sales agent for films, while 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment would remain as

6600-542: The time). He resumed production of the newsreel Pathé News , which had not been produced since 1927. Natan also invested heavily into research and development to expand Pathé's film business. In 1929, he pushed Pathé into sound film . In September, the studio produced its first sound feature film, and its first sound newsreel a month later. Natan also launched two new cinema-related magazines, Pathé-Revue and Actualités Féminines , to help market Pathé's films and build consumer demand for cinema. Under Natan, Pathé also funded

6688-538: The woman in my life." They married on 2 August 1923 at the Parisian church of St. Honoré d'Eylau. The two lived in an apartment at 11 Bis Avenue Émile Deschanel. Linder is said to have been a fiercely jealous and mentally abusive husband. He would often accuse his young wife of being unfaithful and threaten to "end her". Whenever he went to town alone in the evenings, he would call her to make sure that she had not gone out without his consent. Linder and his wife may have made

6776-427: The years, the business underwent a number of changes including diversification into producing programmes for the burgeoning television industry. During the 1970s, operating theatres overtook film production as Pathé's primary source of revenue. In the late 1980s, Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti tried to make a bid for Pathé, even taking over Cannon and renaming it Pathé Communications in anticipation of owning

6864-529: Was indicted and sentenced to four years in jail. As a result, he was in prison when France fell to the Nazis, a time when other Jewish filmmakers fled or went into hiding. On his release from prison in 1942, he was delivered to the Nazis, and by September 1942 had been deported to Auschwitz , where he was murdered. In 1943, the company was forced to undergo a restructuring, and was acquired by Adrien Ramauge, changing its name to Société Nouvelle Pathé Cinema. Over

6952-655: Was discovered that the French vines could be replaced with American plants, which were sturdier and resistant to phylloxera. While in New York, Suzanne gave birth to Max's younger brother, Gérard. They returned to France, and, two years later, a sister, Marcelle, was born. Max developed a particular affection for her. Marcelle, along with Suzanne and Jean, appeared in Max's film Max Is Convalescent (1911) and Marcelle starred alongside Max in Max, The Heartbreaker (1917). In 1899, Linder enrolled in

7040-451: Was established in 1895. The company was founded as Société Pathé Frères ( French: [pate fʁɛʁ] ; "Pathé Brothers Company") in Paris , France on 28 September 1896, by the four brothers Charles , Émile, Théophile and Jacques Pathé. During the first part of the 20th century, Pathé became the largest film equipment and production company in the world, as well as a major producer of phonograph records . The driving force behind

7128-478: Was forced to follow through with the purchase of several cinema chains it no longer could afford to buy. Although the company continued to make a profit, it lost more money thanks to these acquisitions than it could bring in. In 1935, a commercial court began examining Pathé's accounts, and by 1936 it was declared bankrupt and Natan was dismissed. The studios were not doing badly and continued to make films, but his companies went into receivership and were claimed by

7216-472: Was injured several times, and the experiences reportedly had a devastating effect on him both physically and mentally. Linder later moved to the U.S. but was unable to achieve success. He died in 1925 in a purported suicide pact with his wife in Paris. Max Linder was born Gabriel Leuvielle near Saint-Loubès , Gironde . He was called "Max" from a young age. His parents, Jean and Suzanne (née Baron), were wealthy vineyard owners and expected Linder to take over

7304-452: Was never released by Pathé. After World War I, Charles Pathé started divesting himself from various film interests, believing that the French film industry would never recover after 1918. The company's subsequent decline relegated Pathé primarily as a distributor of short subjects and it became a minor player in the mainstream film industry. Worldwide, the company emphasised research, investing in such experiments as hand-coloured film and

7392-678: Was part of the MPPC cartel of production in the United States. It participated in the Paris Film Congress in February 1909 as part of a plan to create a similar European organisation. The company withdrew from the project in a second meeting in April which fatally undermined the proposal. In 1906 Pathé Frères had pioneered the luxury cinema with the opening of the Omnia Cinéma-Pathé in Paris. Prior to

7480-631: Was pleased with Disney's treatment of the company's films, deeming them to have given the films the same treatment that Fox did. On 7 June 2021, a few weeks before the expiration of the Fox deal, Pathé UK announced they would revert their distribution to Warner Bros. Pictures , with the first films being released under the new deal being Parallel Mothers and The Duke . Unlike the 2009 deal, this new deal would also include home video and digital rights as well, which Fox/Disney previously handled. On 15 November 2023, Pathé UK announced that they would exit out of

7568-536: Was responsible for film production, distribution, and exhibition. In 1922 they introduced the Pathé Baby home film system using a new 9.5 mm film stock , which became popular during the next few decades. In 1921, Pathé sold off its United States motion picture production arm. It was renamed " Pathé Exchange " and later merged into RKO Pictures , disappearing as an independent brand in 1931. Pathé sold its British film studios to Eastman Kodak in 1927, while maintaining

7656-588: Was screened out of competition at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival . In 1992, Maud Linder published a book about Linder in France, Max Linder was my father and in 2008 she received the Prix Henri Langlois for her work to promote her father's legacy. In his honor, Lycée Max Linder , a public school in the city of Libourne in the Gironde département near his birthplace was given his name in 1981. Linder's influence on film comedy and particularly on slapstick films

7744-629: Was unconscious throughout 31 October, with doctors fighting to keep him alive. He died after midnight on 1 November. There is still some question, however, as to whether the deaths were really a result of a suicide pact, or whether Max murdered his much-younger wife or pressured her into killing herself. On 2 November 1925, The New York Times reported that Hélène Linder had told her mother by letter that, "He will kill me." The article also claims that "no one believes she herself opened her veins." Critic Vincent Canby acknowledged in 1988 that "Linder died with his young wife in what has sometimes been described as

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