User Reviews

This is a Max Linder short from early in his comedy career. Linder was one of the first big names in comedy--and the likes of Chaplin credit him for inspiring and shaping their craft. Sadly, he's pretty much forgotten today.

In this film, Max (called "Romeo") is in love with a lady but her father wants nothing to do with him. So, Max concocts a clever plan. He and his friends (in disguise) tie up the father and fake a kidnapping of the daughter. Then, Max pretends to just happen by when the father escapes and the brave Max helps him to rescue the lady--all intended to make his future father-in-law approve of him as his new son-in-law.

"Romeo Turns Bandit" is not a great title for this Max Linder film and it leaves a lot to be desired--mostly because parts of the film appear to be missing. That part of the film is gone isn't surprising--as this is true of many silents. Due to the use of nitrate film, they had a strong tendency to degrade or even catch fire if not stored perfectly. And, sadly, most at the time didn't seem to care about what happened to films once they were shown. Here, sadly, the movie's conclusion is missing--other than an intertitle card which tells what happened! Talk about an anti-climactic film! Also, the complete lack of any comedy might not be the fault of the film--perhaps the funny parts are just missing.

It is quite difficult to assess this movie simply on its own merits without bringing up first its obvious connections with Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'. The parallel drawn between the two by the title leads one to, perhaps, expect from this short film than you are given. As far as considering it an adaptation of Shakespeare's play, the description can only be used in the loosest of forms. The action of the film follows 'Romeo', played by Max Linder. 'Romeo is in love with a fair lady, his Juliette. We see how he goes to meet her but is kept from her by her father. It is worth noting that the father is named 'Montagu' in and inter-title which continues the Shakespeare referencing but in an off-beat and bizarre manner. Montagu will not let Romeo have his daughter so, in a stunningly blunt inter-title, Romeo decides to become a bandit. The plan is this: His friends and he disguise themselves as bandits, tie up Montagu and fake a kidnapping of Juliette. Romeo then pretends to simply happen by when Montagu gets free and agrees to help him rescue Juliette. This plan is to simply provide circumstances for Romeo to impress the father in order to Montagu to look more kindly on his love for Juliette. Unfortunately, the ending of the movie is lost or destroyed. We are simply told, though an inter-title card, of 'Romeo's Triumph'. This film completely lacks the beautifully intrinsic plot line of a piece of Shakespeare, yet it was very modern for the time in which it was created. Stories are constantly reborn into new formats and so recreating 'Romeo and Juliette' into a silent, melodramatic short film is completely justifiable and could even be expected of film makers from 1909. Whether or not they were successful in their endeavor is an entirely different question. It is quite difficult to get a full sense of the film due to the copious amounts of missing scenes. It is very common to have missing scenes in films from this era as they were filmed on nitrate film. This is notoriously difficult to store and if done incorrectly could catch fire or simply degrade completely. It was common for a film to not have good care taken of it after its showings and so many pieces of work from this era are disjointed to watch or gone forever. Despite this, through the use of inter-title cards and through the natural ease with one can follow the action of a silent film, the narrative progresses smoothly and clearly. The bizarre nature of Romeo's action is, somehow, more believable when watching a silent version of him rather than if one were listening to his attempts to justify it through monologue or soliloquy. This is a common note for silent film in general, it gives greater narrative leniency and people lend their imagination more due to the fact that it is already in play, wondering at the dialogue. Unfortunately, due to the end scene being completely missing the film ends in a complete anti-climax. Montagu and Romeo set off in pursuit of Juliette and the suddenly we are provided with and inter-title card simply stating 'Romeo's Triumph'. This is quite the flaw and is an issue that can be scenes in many films of this era. Since and inter-title card can only fit a minimum number of words it can only create for you the barest of descriptions. 'Romeo's Triumph' gives not the manner, nor the difficulty that came with 'rescuing' Juliette. Did the plan take a turn for the worse? Was there fighting? Did Romeo and Juliette get married? We are not provided with this information and due to this the film suffers. One can certainly look past many plot holes or inconsistencies but when presented with a film that simply cuts off somewhere near the end, does not please many. In entirety, the film is enjoyable to watch, especially when considering it retrospectively. It is a fun and engaging film with which to introduce oneself to silent film. Technically it seems quite well done and there is a small element of humor to the film. That said it is not a very successful adaptation of Shakespeare, nor a very successful stand alone piece of film and therefore simply cannot be qualified as any good. At very best, this film seems to stir a sense of apathy.