Max Takes a Picture (1913) User Reviews

Not Linder at his funniest, but it confirms his talent as a dramatic actor

[sno-smari-m · 5/10 · 14 July 2005]

In order to fully appreciate the work of Max Linder, or really the work of any film-maker of the same era, it could be argued that one should try to imagine what going to the movies was like at that time. This is not so say that early films cannot stand the test of time if not contextualized, for the contrary is often true; but it might help one to understand why Max Linder did not always aim for "the big laughs." Going to see Max Linder in 1913, years before TV and even radio, was not like going to the most recent Leo DeCaprio or Natalie Portman-film once a year or so. The demand for short comedies was huge, and Linder made these things fast enough for him to become almost a weekly ritual for thousands or even millions of movie-goers. In order not to look too much alike from one week to another, he had to vary his approach every now and then, though he first and foremost remained a "comedian."

In MAX FAIT DE LA PHOTO, we are not treated with that many opportunities to laugh out loud, perhaps. With this film, Linder has created more of a little drama. Having failed to snap a satisfying photograph of the ocean, Max is prepared to spend the afternoon reading today's paper instead. Then a girlfriend arrives, however, and asks if Max will join her to swim. At first he is a bit annoyed, but suddenly realizes that the girlfriend swimming out in the sea will make a good photograph. However, just as he's about to snap his shot, a skipper walks by in front of him and disturbs his view. Due to a subsequent argument between himself and the skipper, Max fails to notice that the girl has gone back to land again. Believing that a catastrophe has occurred when he finds that she's disappeared, Max nearly tears his hair loose in frustration and despair while everybody around do a search for the girl. Of course, the actual circumstances are eventually revealed, and everybody's happy; but up till that point, we witness a quite dramatic scene, far from what should classify as good-natured comedy. Even so, audiences of 1913 who since a few years back had come to love and adore their favorite comedian Max Linder, must have been very excited, as Linder executed a rather different kind of film.

MAX FAIT DE LA PHOTO may not be all that funny, and with so much being available at all times in this age of the Internet, one may struggle a bit to quite identify with how long-ago audiences eagerly anticipated every single thing Linder managed to produce. However, to me personally, and a whole lot of other silent comedy fans, anything Linder made is of interest; it's always a pleasure to see him in action. (This review has later been revised and updated, Dec. 2012)

Thank goodness Linder made other movies

[morrisonhimself · 6/10 · 20 March 2009]

This is, contentually, a waste of time. It's just not funny.

It is, however, interesting. It gives us viewers a look at a different culture, another time, another place.

It is worth seeing, for those reasons, and because Max Linder was in it.

Linder is another of those now-overlooked motion picture geniuses, of whom motion picture history is just filled. (Look at, for example, the end of Edwin Porter. He finished his life working in a factory, ignored by the industry he did so much to create.)

"Picture" does not really have a story. It is a vignette, and a rather pointless one.

But the elegant Linder set a tone and a style that American cinema ignored, replacing it with the Little Tramp and Fatty Arbuckle.

To know and to appreciate film history and film heritage, you really ought to see this movie.

Well made for 1913, but not particularly funny

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 13 April 2008]

Max Linder was one of the world's first screen comedians and later performers, such as Chaplin, praised him and pointed out that he was their inspiration. Sadly, Linder is mostly forgotten today--some of which is his own doing. When Linder's wife dies in the mid-1920s, Linder killed himself and so his career was cut too short. As a result of this and few surviving prints from his films (common for the first 25 years of the century), he is all but forgotten--even in his native France.

In this film, it's obvious there isn't a lot of story development. Much of the time, Linder looks like he's at a loss for what to do. The film begins with Linder being a bit of a masher--chasing a lady and trying to take photos of her in her bathing suit. When she's about to come out of the water, frisky Linder is waiting on shore to snap a photo, so she swims under water and sneaks back to the changing area. Max, not seeing what she did, assumes she's drowned and calls for help.

When anyone watches this film, they need to understand that back in the early part of the 20th century, comedies weren't usually all that funny. Even the earliest Chaplin films (beginning in 1914), weren't all that funny because the films practically never had scripts or gag writers. Instead, a basic story idea was quickly thought up and they had the actors improvise in front of the camera. Most of the time, like in this Max Linder film, they aren't all that funny. However, in a few cases (such as some of the early Arbuckle films), they were a riot. Believe me, until about 1916 or so, comedies just weren't that great compared to what we often think of as early comedies (mostly from 1916-1928). Later, with proper scripts, gag writers and practice, the films became gems. In the case of Max Linder, this is also very true, as his surviving films post-WWI are among the better comedies out there--this one sure isn't, but it is watchable and decent for the time it was made. For 1913, I'd give this one a 6. If made a decade later, it would be lucky to score a 3.

One gag does not make a whole film...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 14 April 2008]

Here's a Max Linder short that runs too long when it's based on a single incident at the beach. He attempts to take a photo of a woman in a bathing suit (and she's no beauty), waiting while she swims around like she thinks she's an early embodiment of Esther Williams. He's waiting for her to emerge so he can snap the photo, but she fools him by diving beneath the sea (like an overweight mermaid) and running ashore some distance away so he doesn't see her.

Naturally, he thinks she's drowned and attracts quite a crowd with his frantic arm waving, all of whom think a woman has just disappeared in the water. When she emerges from the bathhouse, fear turns to joy.

That's it, for the plot. It's all very primitive looking, none of the sight gags are memorable and it runs too long--even for a short.

Summing up: Not worth a peek.

Max Takes a Picture review

[JoeytheBrit · 5/10 · 29 June 2020]

A flimsy Max Linder comedy with few fresh ideas and little in the way of laughs.