2013 Essays

Señora Spencer

Verhoeven, Deb

In 1918, Mary Stuart Spencer, more widely known to the film-going public as the theatre owner Señora Spencer, found herself at the center of a court case in which her capacity to conduct business independently of her husband was put into legal debate. Theatre Magazine, reporting on “The Spencer Case,” put it bluntly, asking in bold type, “Was Señora Spencer merely a blind for her husband?” At the time, Cosens Spencer was the proprietor of a string of successful motion picture theatres located in Brisbane, Toowoomba, and Newcastle. The case was fought by a “stupendous array” of lawyers including no less than four King’s Counsels and was prominently reported in both the popular media and trade magazines (32-34).