Apparently Pathe lifted Karno's "Mumming Birds" aka "A Night at the Music Hall", cast Max Linder as the drunk and sent it out. Then Fred Karno sued. That's why he's listed as the writer on the IMDb. As a result, the earliest extant version of the skit is a French production, eight years before Chaplin put it on screen, ten years before Jimmy Aubrey, and eighteen years before Stan Laurel. They all came by it legitimately, working for Karno.
So how is Linder as the drunk? He's pretty good, far rowdier than his wonted boulevardier, and his falls are less impressive than the ones performed by Karno veterans, but it's well performed. What else would you expect from Max?
So how is Linder as the drunk? He's pretty good, far rowdier than his wonted boulevardier, and his falls are less impressive than the ones performed by Karno veterans, but it's well performed. What else would you expect from Max?
