Max Makes a Touch (1910)

Director: Louis J. Gasnier

Cast: Max Linder

Synopsis: An impoverished playboy tries to raise the money for a night on the town with his chum.

Max Makes a Touch (L’ingénieux attentat) is quite a cute comedy from Max Linder, who, by 1910, was firmly established as France’s top film showman. He’s in familiar guise here as a down-on-his luck playboy whose joyful plans to spend a night on the town with his mate are scuppered by the fact that neither has a penny (or franc) to their name. Max goes to his father for a hand-out, but is angrily shown the door. Later, his father receives an invitation to a ball, but on the way there he and his wife are robbed at gunpoint. The thief manages to take only some of the coins from the stolen purse before a handy policeman gives chase and recovers the purse while allowing the robber to flee. There’s a neat little twist at the end of Max Makes a Touch, which is quite a pleasing little entry in Max Linder’s canon.

(Reviewed 1st February 2012)