Three Must-Get-Theres 1922
Max Linder directs and stars as Dart-In-Again is this comedy spoof on The Three Musketeers. The three swordsmen are portrayed by members of the Mezotti acrobatic troupe. Bull Montana is King Rich-Lou, with Frank Cooke as King Louis XIII and Catherine Rankin as the Queen. Her majesty is aided by the lady-in-waiting Connie (Jobyna Ralston). Ralston would later be a leading lady for Harold Lloyd in many features in the 1920’s, and this performance is her film debut. This was the last American film made by the talented comic before he returned to France. Tragically, he was plagued by severe depression that ultimately led to his suicide — and the suicide of his 21-year-old wife Helen Peters — on October 30, 1925. Charlie Chaplin listed Linder as one of his greatest comic heroes and helped with the promotion and distribution of this feature. When the film failed to do well at the box office, Linder left the United States for France, never to return. In 1963, the feature was reissued with others in a compilation entitled Laugh With Max Linder, a film that sparked renewed interest in the work of the comedy genius whose life ended so sadly.
