Century Film Project

This short shows Max Linder at the mercy of elements beyond his control. It pushes its comedic premise past the point of reality to a ridiculous degree, that still works in a slapstick context.

The film begins with a young woman sitting on a bench with a dog, two more dogs arrayed at her feet. Max Linder approaches from behind, and tickles her with a flower, gaining her attention. She is receptive, but he seems afraid to come any closer with the dogs present. A liveried servant comes and puts a leash on the dog sitting on the bench, then leads the others off screen, and Max finally sits next to the young woman. Then the camera cuts to a dog house with a firm gate on the front, and we see the servant locking the dogs in, under Max’s supervision (even though he was supposedly sitting next to the girl). The next shot shows the entrance to a ball room, with couples coming in to a formal occasion and being announced as they enter. The dogs now break out of their kennel and run into the house. Max sees them coming and flees in terror, the dogs in fast pursuit. He uses a piece of lumber to pole vault over a fence, but the dogs easily follow. He runs into an apartment building and tries to move a piece of furniture in front of the stairs to impede them, but again they simply leap over it. He runs through an apartment, over a man who is in bed sleeping, and up a chimney, and still the dogs relentlessly pursue. Finally, trapped on a rooftop, Max takes out a pen and paper and writes a note, which he gives to the lead dog. It reads “Don’t bite. I have rabies.” Luckily the dogs can read and the pursuit ends, although Max’s clothing and face are thoroughly soiled with soot from his ascent.

I found a couple of different versions of this movie, but still have the feeling that something is missing from all of them. The continuity error of Max sitting down with the girl and then suddenly being with the servant, as well as the sudden jump to the beginning of the party, leave me feeling that what we have today may be an incomplete print of a longer film. Still, in the tradition of the comedic chase, which was done at many studios for many years, this is a decent little example, and it ends with a funny twist on reality when Max writes his note. My only complaint is that we get fairly little of Linder being Linder, none of the little mannerisms that make his character so memorable, just a high-speed chase in long shot, which is nothing new by 1912.

Director: Unknown

Camera: Unknown

Starring: Max LInder

Run Time: 3 Min

You can watch it for free: here (no music, excellent print)