The fine line between comedy and tragedy blends into shades of gray in the story of Max Linder, a French comedian and director of the silent film era, who was often held as the standard for the legendary stars coming after him. Max's early start soon escalated into hundreds of films loved worldwide, and elevated him into one of the first international movie stars years before Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin. Renowned and recognized globally, his fame nearly extinguished due to World War One injuries, but he recovered, returned, and regained his status only to face one of the most terrible tragedies in human existence. His hilarious films and heartrending personal tale unfold fully in this richly researched and annotated biography and filmography. Illustrated with dozens of photographs. About the author: Snorre Smári Mathiesen (b. 1989) is a Norwegian cartoonist. A silent film aficionado since childhood, he has researched Max Linder's life for the past ten years. He worked as assistant and translator on sociologist Thomas Mathiesen's autobiography, Cadenza (European Group Press, 2017). He lives in Oslo, Norway.