User Reviews

To be honest with you, I had never heard of the silent actor Max Linder until I picked up his DVD compilation from the library the other day. On it contains many shorts along with this, his feature from 1921, to the audiences of today, to which I say Thank You Very Much! Because this film is just WAITING to be discovered! Max plays a ridiculously rich guy, who is about to get married, and how a single day's sequence of events could seriously jeopardize his engagement. I was surprised to learn that this is the first movie that uses the "mirror" gag that we've seen countless times (most notably by the Marx Bros). Linder does this gag so astonishingly well, all other attempts in any other comedy (including animated!) pales in comparison. There are many other witty gags on display here, some fun with animals, some VERY clever disguise work (with some rather funny, but never offensive black person disguise) and some very amazing stunt work. And here's another reason why you should see this. With most silent movies nowadays, I don't find much particularly funny anymore. But with this, I was laughing out loud at least 3 times during the movie. And when I notice myself laughing, then it must mean something!

Max Linder does ... well, anyway, he was six years older than Chaplin, and Chaplin did give him credit for influencing some of Chaplin's work, which is evident in some scenes in this movie.

But Charlie was making movies in Hollywood as early as 1914, Keaton as early as 1917, and "Seven Years" was made in 1921.

Granted, Linder made other movies as early as 1905, the year America saw "The Great Train Robbery."

This movie, "Seven Years Bad Luck," is a joy. Even after nearly a hundred years, it is still funny, still clever, still creative.

It covers a lot of ground, from a servant-staffed mansion to a railroad station, with lots of action, and, more important, lots of laughs.

The mirror scene is, literally, classic -- incredibly well done, in fact so well done it was copied by the Marx Brothers and by Lucille Ball in a scene with Harpo on her "I Love Lucy" series.

That scene alone makes this movie worth watching.

Let me add this: This movie is fun, but there is an element of historicity that also makes this worth watching.

Linder was a model for other film comics; he was a creator; he was inventive.

That he is not better known speaks badly of motion pictures and their heritage.

Max Linder was a gifted comic artist who made scores of charming short comedies in France, years ahead of Chaplin, the Keystone gang, and even John Bunny. Linder was a true pioneer, and in his best work he can transcend the passage of time and still move audiences today. Linder attempted to produce films in America on two occasions, first in 1917 and again in 1921-22, but he was never able to achieve the same level of success in the States that he had enjoyed in Europe. During his second production venture in the U.S. he made a feature-length comedy called Be My Wife that, based on the excerpt I've seen, must have been one of the best comedies he made in the U.S. He also produced a feature called Seven Years Bad Luck that's now available on DVD. This film is best remembered for Max's version of the famous "mirror routine," performed by Charlie Chaplin in The Floorwalker in 1916 and Charley Chase in Sittin' Pretty in 1924, but which is most widely known today due to its use by the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup. In Linder's version a badly hung-over Max stares through a picture frame, unaware that his mirror has shattered, while a servant on the other side mimics his every move.

The beautifully performed mirror routine is, far and away, the highlight of this movie. Max's facial expressions and movements (and those of the other actor) are exquisitely timed; Linder must have put a lot of effort into rehearsing this scene, and the result is a masterpiece of pantomime. Unfortunately, the mirror bit occurs during the first fifteen minutes of this feature's running time, and the adventures that follow never again rise to the same level of inspiration. Over all, despite a promising opening and a number of good sequences scattered about, I find the film disappointing. I've watched it twice and tried to figure out why, and I believe it comes down to a couple of key factors.

The first problem is that there's no tension in this rambling story. We learn early on that Max is wealthy and has no responsibilities. The basic premise is that, having broken his mirror, Max fears he's in for a rough time, and thus goes to great lengths to avoid anything that might cause him bad luck. Needless to say, his attempts to avoid bad luck only bring him more of it. Okay, it's a promising set-up, but Max has no larger goal aside from wanting to marry his (equally rich) fiancée. He just rambles from one misadventure to the next with nothing to prove and all the time in the world. In classics such as Buster Keaton's Seven Chances or Harold Lloyd's Girl Shy the writers came up with tight, time-sensitive plots that gave the stories suspense, but Linder's story is comparatively slack.

Next, although Max himself is usually a charming and genial leading man, the character he's playing here is strangely clueless and self-centered. In scene after scene he does things that make his character difficult to like: he stuffs a puppy into a flower pot; he speeds his car through a crosswalk, nearly hitting pedestrians; he tears a girl's clothes off (albeit accidentally) getting her in trouble with her father, then abandons her to her fate without a second thought. When tough guys steal his luggage and wallet we think he'll finally have to learn to live by his wits, and to some extent that's what happens, but Max's behavior remains essentially selfish and opportunistic. In a situation where allies are needed, Max simply uses people as long as he needs them, then casts them aside. At a train station a large man helps him get onto a train without a ticket, but then promptly vanishes. Remember when Harold Lloyd befriended the giant in Why Worry? Max never does anything like that here.

It isn't Max's social status as a wealthy playboy that's a turn-off; after all, both Keaton and Lloyd often played spoiled rich boys and still managed to earn audience sympathy. But they both knew that if their characters started out as ninnies they would have to eventually grow up, at least to some degree, and demonstrate that they'd learned something about life and about dealing with other people. At the end of Seven Years Bad Luck, despite all his misadventures, Max appears to be the same guy he was at the beginning, and if he's learned anything or grown as a person it doesn't show.

On the plus side this film features a number of good gags along the way, including a remarkable sequence in a zoo where Max becomes quite friendly with a lion. This bit, like the mirror sequence and other highlights, might very well play better excerpted from the whole. Seven Years Bad Luck isn't a bad movie, but it's a decided disappointment coming from the man Chaplin called his "Professor." For those interested in Max Linder I can recommend an excellent documentary put together by his daughter in the 1980s entitled The Man in the Silk Hat, which features clips from his best work and an outline of his life and career.

I never heard of Max Linder before--a jaunty little Frenchman with a mustache, cane and top hat, a wealthy man with servants, who reacts when his full-length mirror is inadvertently broken by his hired help. He then goes to extremes to avoid seven years of bad luck.

While the rest of the plot is thin on inspiration, it does prove that SEVEN YEARS BAD LUCK is a watchable little silent film with a frisky score by Ralph Israel that perfectly fits the on screen action.

Numerous gags involve plenty of acrobatic stunts aboard a train, an escape from the cops by making himself comfortable inside a lion's den, pretending to be the stationmaster at a train station and wooing the agent's daughter, and a footchase aboard the running train to escape being a stowaway without a ticket.

Not a bad comedy for 1921, it's one of a hundred Max Linder films that have survived, out of some 400. Gassed during World War I, Max's health problems interfered with his budding career. He committed suicide in 1925 in a pact with his wife when the public response to his films was only lukewarm. TCM showed a decent print of this one, along with a couple of other much less impressive shorts.

To me, this movie was highly reminiscent of a Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton film, though with fewer laughs. Now this ISN'T to say it wasn't funny or was a bad film--but the number and intensity of the laughs was lower than other similar films. And the reason it looked a lot like a film by these other comedians is that Max Linder originated so many of the comedy routines we took for granted in films by later comedians--such as the mirror gag that was copied in DUCK SOUP (1933). Also, in the scenes where Max steps on and off the train so acrobatically are exactly the sort of thing I would expect Keaton or perhaps Chaplin to do. Chaplin himself credits much of his success to things he learned by watching early Linder films, though by the time he made it to Hollywood, Linder's film apparently lost a lot of their frenetic spark.

This film ostensibly is about Max breaking a mirror and trying to avoid bad luck--though everything he did only made things worse. While a promising premise, the movie really seemed to lose direction and the original plot is seldom in evidence later in the film. Some very good and interesting moments, but a lackluster and vague plot didn't help this movie. Still, it is nice to see Linder in a full-length film and it is well worth seeing for its finer moments. to highlight Linder's talents.

The first of three feature-length movies Max Linder made during his second stay in Hollywood sees his luck taking a turn for the worse after he breaks a mirror. An uneven comedy that is wildly funny at times, but which misfires just as often. The brilliantly choreographed 'human mirror' gag was later copied by the Marx Brothers. The fact their their routine is held up as an example of comic genius while Linder's version is largely forgotten pretty much typifies the Frenchman's unfortunate status as one of cinema's overlooked geniuses.

Seven Years Bad Luck is an excellent comedy written, directed and starring an excellent comedian named Max Linder. Though not particularly well remembered today, this movie proves that Linder deserves all the reputation he can get. I found two scenes to be especially funny -- "the mirror routine," in which a tired Max's cook appears to be his mirror image, and the sequence in which Max enters a lion's cage in an attempt to escape from a group of furious cops.

At the time Linder made this feature in Hollywood, he hadn't been very active in the movie-business because of depressions and fading health, and Seven Years Bad Luck was, despite promising reviews, not a hit and was soon forgotten. Fortunately, the movie is now available on DVD from Image Entertainment, accompanied by a good musical score composed by Robert Israel.

Seven Years Bad Luck definitively gets a 10 out of 10 from me, for its brilliant gags which are all so decently performed. A must-see!

Seven Years Bad Luck (1921)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Max Linder wrote, directed and stars in this comedy about a superstitious man who breaks a mirror and does anything he can to avoid falling into bad luck. Of course, the more he tries staying away from the bad luck the more he falls victim. There's no question Linder had an influence on Chaplin and various others but this film here doesn't show too much greatness. The film starts off with some incredibly funny moments but it slowly gets rather tiresome even with its short running time of just over a hour. The opening gags with the cat and one dealing with a servant trying to fool Linder into thinking the mirror isn't broke. There's an outrageous blackface joke, which is one of the most offensive I've seen and things went downhill from here. Things went down for Linder as well as he committed suicide in a pact with his wife four years later.

This film happily survives from Max Linder's relatively brief stay in Hollywood to remind us what a treasure he was. Looking little different from his pre-war prime, his famous routine with the broken mirror (far more elaborate than most later versions) takes place surprisingly early in the film, after which Max's run of bad luck blows him across America with the law in pursuit rather like Cary Grant in 'North by Northwest', pausing for interesting changes in location and costume along the way (I particularly enjoyed his taciturn station master).

It is very complicated for this German Count to talk about Herr Max Linder because it is well-know among the silent film fans and even the longhaired ones, that he was the first and the greatest comedian, the paradigm of the elegance in comedy films, a world –famous star in the 10's. He had great influence with his unique style on the other comic stars that developed their careers after him including Herr Charles Chaplin. He created a genuine character, a young French idle class bourgeois boulevardier with top hat and suit ( not to be mistaken with the older German elegant and dissipated aristocracy… ), that always rather politely succeeds in the most incredible adventures… although after many efforts. This German Count thinks that it is always necessary to remember who is who in the silent film history and if this little communication is useful for some dangerous longhaired youngster in discovering these films, that's a greatest reward for this German aristocrat.

In "Seven Years Bad Luck", Max accidentally breaks his full-length mirror. As superstitious people in France, he thinks that this means seven years' bad luck; many troubles happens at that very moment, loses his fiancée Betty and even winds up in jail, but fortunately at the end, everything will be all right for Max. The film had astounding, funny and remarkable gags as, one of Max's most famous, scene in which Max mimics himself in a mirror that doesn't exists or his tricks to get onto a train without being discovered by the station master. "Seven Years Bad Luck" it is a feature film that belongs to his American period ( he went to USA in 1916 engaged by "Essanay" ) and it is an excellent example of his impeccable style: elegant sense of humour, elaborated and imaginative gags that appeals to the intelligence and complicity of the audience, a delightful and unforgettable comedy.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must to change his top hat for a Teutonic helmet in order to be not mixed up with that French bourgeois impostor.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/

Max gets himself into some silly situations after his fiancée leaves him. Eventually, the two are reunited, and the closing sequence shows they have a happy and productive marriage.

Don't look for a plot; there is none. But there are several funny moments in this film, and a few solid sight gags I had never seen before. One sequence which was all too familiar was the "mirror bit," which the Marx Brothers used, and later was borrowed in an "I Love Lucy" episode featuring Harpo Marx. I have to admit when the bit began, I was disinterested - until the very end of it, when Linder used a clever gag to end the sequence. That did make me chuckle. Other gags were hit and miss; one involved putting a dog in a vase (which I did not care for), and another had Linder putting a stocking over his head to impersonate a black porter on a train (which would not go over well today). However, the bit where he gets his hand glued to a woman's dress had me laughing.

In one extended sequence, Linder is in a cage with a lion, and engages in some gentle wrestling. I had to look carefully to realize that a) the lion was real, b) there was no split screen or double exposure, and c) Linder did not use a double.

One fault I found with the film was that Linder's character is a flirt, so it's a bit difficult to root for him to win back his girl. But this is certainly a film I would recommend if you want a few yuks.

After drinking too much at his bachelor party, wealthy Max Linder stumbles home, disoriented. He confuses his window and closet. Servants accidentally break Max' full-length mirror and conceal the fact by having a Max look-alike (Harry Mann) pose as his reflection. The ruse works through his morning shave, but Max realizes the glass is missing and throws a shoe at the mirror. Unfortunately, the new glass arrived and repairs were made. Max broke the mended mirror and fears "Seven Years Bad Luck" will follow...

The "mirror scene" in the opening minutes wasn't the first or last time this "bit" was done; however, it was the best. There are other great moments in this feature. The main story involves "false friend" F.B. Crayne trying to steal pretty Alta Allen (as Betty) from luckless Max. You'll lose track of the plot while marveling at how Max is able to sneak on a train and evade pursuers. Note how his disguise as a Black porter avoids the stereotypical qualities common for the time; there are no exaggerated lips or eyes, and Max' stance is explained by his over-sized pants. A female passenger is unable to accept the "masked" Max...

There are those who like Max with the lions, but the scenes do look forced. Much better is the finale. When Max in thrown in jail, he meets an inmate (Cap Anderson) who demands, "Scratch my back!" Max initially declines, but taking care of the other man's "itch" becomes pleasurable when they dose off and Max dreams his new companion is female. When they wake up, Max wants "Mary" again, but his new partner has a hard time giving up the relationship. In the end, switching partners appears to solve the problem.

********* Seven Years Bad Luck (2/6/21) Max Linder ~ Max Linder, Alta Allen, F.B. Crayne, Harry Mann, Cap Anderson

Max Linder gives us a couple of pretty humorous gags in Seven Years Bad Luck and this certainly isn't a bad film, but at 62 minutes instead of a 20 minute short, I found the comedy a little bit thin. It pains me to say that, given how much of a giant he was in the industry in the 1910's, and how influential he was to other comedians of the era. The premise is that a rich man who is about to be married accidentally breaks a mirror, thus setting off a string of unlucky events that have him losing his fiancée and ending up behind bars (once with lions, and once with a guy who gets violent if his back isn't scratched, you tell me which is more frightening).

The film is notable for its 'human mirror' bit, whose variations include one from Charlie Chaplin five years earlier in The Floorwalker and of course the classic Marx Brothers version from Duck Soup eleven years later. It's also got a funny scene where Linder avoids the train conductor by hiding behind a larger man as he walks around. The overhead shot of men all hoisting a drink at a bachelor party at the beginning, looking like a small version of something you'd see from Busby Berkeley, and the women popping up out of the ground near the end in a dream are also some nice touches.

One of the issues with the film for me was Linder himself, who while influential to Chaplin, Keaton, and perhaps Lloyd, didn't quite possess their charisma. His character is not very sympathetic, and Linder didn't spend any time developing any kind of humanism or sweetness with the role. He also doesn't take some of his idea far enough, e.g. The concept of seven years of bad luck from breaking a mirror, or running away from a bunch of cops. Buster may have gotten the idea for the latter and used it in The Goat, released later in 1921, or Cops (1922), but the mayhem he created was far more entertaining. Linder is a little bit too staid by comparison; it's a style that was a big part of his earlier success, but maybe it's the reason he failed to become as popular in Hollywood.

French comedian Max Linder was looking for a big hit in the United States after his spotlight dimmed following World War One. The once-immensely popular filmmaker formed his own production company in the States, and in his first feature film where he wrote, directed and starred in, Linder released February 1921's "Seven Years Bad Luck." In retrospect, film critics have hailed the movie concerning a wealthy man about to be married who breaks a mirror, setting off a series of adverse events, as his best.

The movie contains a series of farcical situations displayed by a superstitious Max who always has his guard up. His staff realizes his anxieties when they break his dressing glass. To cover up the accident, they have a lookalike on the staff mimic his actions on the other side of the mirror's frame while Max is preparing for the day. Although his famous 'human mirror' sketch is not cinema's first to show such a complex technique, Linder's is the longest of its kind. The Marx Brothers, Lucille Ball, among others have mimic his classic routine to great success.

Another sequence analyzed for decades is Linder's escape from the police towards the end of the movie where he seeks refuge in a lions' cage. His friendliness with these large cats scare the police squad off. It's remarkable Linder not only shares the same space as the lions, he gets particularly friendly with one of them. Chaplin, a friend and an admirer of the French comic and met frequently in California developing gags for one another, has been noted adapting the lion cage scene in his 1928 "The Circus."

"Seven Years Bad Luck" failed to capture the enthusiasm of American audiences. Linder's popularity, which peaked from 1912 to 1914, was interrupted by the Great War. He was a dispatch driver between Paris and the front lines early in the war after trying to enlist in the French Army. In a number of differing accounts, Linder either was gassed, shot through the lungs, or came down with pneumonia. In any case, he was dismissed from the front and ended up entertaining troops. It was during this period he suffered from depression.

After a post-war Essanay Studio gig in the United States and a return home to France to open a movie theatre, both unsuccessful ventures, Linder decided to give it one more try to amuse American audiences. Thus was spawned 'Seven Years Bad Luck,' a film which later assessments proved very positive but failed to generate any contemporary interest in the States.

Seven Years Bad Luck (1921) : Brief Review -

Max Linder's Classic Kaleidoscope Comedy that reflects multangulous characteristics. Max Linder known as the first international movie star is one of those early legend who helped setting up the comedy in silent era alongside lengends like Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin. He had his own ways to make comedies with different situations and of course different humour than those three. Seven Years Bad Luck is one of the finest example of classic comedy with real great writing. Mostly, comedy films rides on gags and number of laughing moments it provides but Linder was far more than kinder to take care of storyline too. This film proves that smart writing can bring those situations which will provide organic comedy without the help of physical and expressional acts. After breaking a mirror in his home, superstitious Max tries to avoid situations which could bring bad luck, but in doing so, causes himself the worst luck imaginable. How fantastic this Idea was for 1921, i mean it still feels so relatable even after 100 years. Full marks to Linder, the writer. That fake mirror image scene was ICONIC! Sorry, IS ICONIC! Now coming to th actor Linder.. he's on a Riot mode. That first scene when he falls down the door steps, then the mirror clone scene and then non-stop charade and multiple personalities one after another, everything is top grade. I may not remember this film for anyone else except Max Linder but let me be reasonable for Alta Allen for looking so pretty. In a nutshell, Seven Years Bad Luck is a Good Luck comedy for cinema world in early 20s. That's exactly when Chaplin, Keaton and Lloys delivered theirs early comedy classics and Linder's laugh riot is nowhere less than theirs. Watch it to know how an organic comedy should be written, performed and presented.

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Yes, that American movie shot by the French genius Max Linder is 100 years old, and sadly not very well known. As I already said in my reviews about his short movies, Max Linder was a pioneer in slapstick. After a nasty period for ML (WWI and personal depression), he tried a long feature in United States, and directed a masterpiece with lot of gags and some genius sequences : of course the mirror scene, and also the station scene when he finds a way to get in the train without ticket, that scene proves how much he thinks how to place intelligently his camera.

Max Linder was handsome, funny, charming, precise. In all his movies I saw, they were all brilliantly shot and edited, really fast paced. Despite a DVD box, he still remains forgotten. But not with the kids in my family, they love Max.

Real comedy never grows old, and even 100 years later, 'Seven years bad luck' very well illustrates that Max Linder was a genius. Situational humor, sight gags, exaggerated characters and performances, a touch of physical comedy, and witty dialogue imparted through intertitles all help to build a funny, solidly enjoyable romp that never drags or wears out its welcome. The early mirror scene, revisited in later years in many other films and TV series, is essential and classic, and only one of the plentiful laughs to be had. Save for those who just can't abide silent films (I was one such person, once upon a time), this is a must-see for everybody.

Linder possessed a brilliant mind and keen eye as writer, director, producer, and actor alike. In an era when technological limitations in some ways restricted the construction of a feature, and the slow march of time constrained films' lasting fidelity, 'Seven years bad luck' feels like a title that was ably and precisely realized just as it was conjured in the first place, and perfectly preserved thereafter. With that, we're treated to exceptional craft in every regard: rich, robust scene writing, and a fun, engaging narrative as the course of events spirals out of control. Wonderfully vibrant, spirited performances from all involved - full of terrific physicality, and slyly rounded out with range and nuance. Fetching costume design, set decoration, and filming locations. Some sharp editing, expert orchestration of each and every moment. And swell guidance of a delightful cast. Truly, in every way, this is such a blast!

A couple passing scenes are borderline indelicate in either how they present or in how one must assume they came to be filmed, or overly silly, and the narrative climax is maybe a hair too neat in its resolution. Yet at any given time that our investment may marginally flag, in the very next instant we're greeted with still more outstanding, lively humor in this tremendous farce. From start to finish the movie works hard to ensure audiences have a good time, and everyone that had a hand in the production is to be commended for their contributions to such a strong, enduring comedy. Any possible subjective shortcomings are handily outweighed by the unceasing, ridiculous entertainment: 'Seven years bad luck' is worth well more than the hour it takes to watch, and anywhere that you can find it, this earns my enthusiastic recommendation.