Mon Ciné

The 1920s were a decade that saw the emergence of many film magazines. Mon ciné was a French example, subtitled 'the first and true film journal for the public'. It championed French and popular cinema, which, above all, conveys 'emotion', the supreme value according to the magazine. Any critical element that could interfere with its mission as a popular publication was clearly not allowed.

Each issue featured two films in serial form, adapted by specialists such as Maurice Bessy or Fabrice Delphi. The formula of the magazine also included a film presented as a double-page spread (a kind of precursor to the photo novel), plus news from the entertainment world ("we learn that…"), a presentation of new films, and sometimes an interview with an author or director, an article on a technical aspect, or on a film profession. There was also the section 'Your Voice Matters' with letters to the editor, a feature that would occupy the bulk of the magazine between 1924 and 1926. We also found a few star cards, which were issued as a supplement.

Mon ciné was founded by V. Marchand on 22 February 1922 with the support of the Offenstadt press group, a publisher of comics and children's magazines. The magazine was printed by Crété in Corbeil and published by Société parisienne d'éditions. At the time, it was the cheapest and most popular weekly magazine for silent films in France. Its success was immediate and considerable. Mon ciné was published from 1922 to 1937.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, no. 30, 14 September 1922. Musidora in Soleil et ombre / Sol y sombre / Sun and Shadow (Jaime De Lasuen, Musidora, 1922). Collection: Marlene Pilaete.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, no. 32, 28 September 1922. Jaque Catelain (1897-1965) was one of the most well-known faces of the French silent era. Catelain, also written Jaque-Catelain, Jacques Catelain and Jacque Cathelain, was originally named Jacques Guerin-Castelain.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, no. 44, 21 December 1922. Jean Toulout in La Conquête des Gaules / The Conquest of Gaul (Marcel Yonnet, Yan Bernard Dyl, Léonce-Henri Burel, 1922). The film deals with a film director, Jean Fortier, who, with scarce means, tries to film Julius Caesar's The Conquest of Gaul. The film was shot at the Gaumont studios.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, II, no. 97, 27 December 1923. Charles de Rochefort during the shooting of the American silent film Law of the Lawless (Victor Fleming, 1923).


French card by Mon Ciné. Alla Nazimova. The card was a supplement to the magazine Mon Ciné, no. 102, published 3 January 1924.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, III, no. 130, 14 August 1924. Max Linder in Max, der Zirkuskönig / King of the Circus (Édouard-Émile Violet, 1924), released in France as Le Roi du Cirque. As the cover tells, originally the film had a different title and was being shot at the Vita-Film studios in Austria.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, V, no. 204, 14 January 1926. Alice Terry in Mare Nostrum (Rex Ingram, 1926).


French magazine Mon Ciné, V, no. 204, 14 January 1926, p. 6. Alice Terry in Mare Nostrum (Rex Ingram, 1926).


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, V, no. 210, 25 February 1926. Greta Garbo in the German silent film Die freudlose Gasse / Joyless Street (G.W. Pabst, 1925), released in France in 1926 as La rue sans joie.


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, V, no. 219, 29 April 1926. Lilian Constantini in La chèvre aux pieds d'or (Jacques Robert, 1926).


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, V, no. 253, 23 December 1926. Director/ actor Abel Gance as Saint-Just, one of the leading men of the French Terror, the character he played in his film Napoléon (Abel Gance, 1927).


French magazine cover of Mon Ciné, VII, no. 309, 18 January 1928. Emil Jannings in Varieté / Variety (Ewald André Dupont, 1925). The caption below claims Jannings' best three parts were those in Der letzte Mann / Le dernier homme/ The Last Laugh (1924), Varieté / Variétées / Variety (1925), and The Call of the Flesh / Quand la chair succombe (1927).

Sources: Paris Bibliothèques Patrimoniales (French), Wikipedia (French), Ciné-Ressources (French), Virtual History and Moviemags.com.