'Bring back cinema ushers to keep an eye on manners'

Girl with the tray
12 April 2012

Anyone who has sat in front of a teenager playing with his mobile or rustling popcorn will mourn the demise of cinema ushers.

But if film fans have their way, they could soon be making a comeback.

A growing frustration with bad manners has been revealed by focus groups organised by the UK Film Council. They want ushers to help return the cinema to a sanctuary of courtesy, decency and respect.

David Steele, head of the council's statistical unit, said: "People don't seem to believe they should stay quiet any more and many regular cinemagoers think it is time for the return of ushers. They say we need a cinema police."

At one time, no picture house was complete without its ushers and usherettes. They wore dark clothes and checked tickets before showing the audience to their seats with a torch beam.

They would stand at the back during the film and could put a stop to unruly behaviour, while an usherette - known as the girl with the tray - sold ice cream and soft drinks during the interval.

But the advent of multi-screen complexes in the 1980s has seen their numbers dwindle - although they are often still found in independent cinemas.

It could be that the call for their reinstatement comes largely from the increasing numbers of older men and women who go to the cinema.

The number of over-45s in the audience has doubled in a decade - from 19 to 38 million.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in