Smoke got in our eyes
BACK in my young days a visit to the flicks was a weekly must and with the exception of the kids’ Saturday thre’pney rush, cost roughly as little as nine pence in the common or garden stalls or, if you had the means, one shilling and nine pence up in the posh balcony. Up or down, for this sum we got a comfortable seat with an ashtray on the back of the seat in front and were entertained for the next three hours by first, a Tom and Jerry cartoon, followed by a pacy fast moving Pathe News narrated by a chap with a terribly British, clipped BBC accent. This was followed by a B-movie inevitably in black and white, followed by the BIG movie.
The auditorium very quickly filled up and soon the atmosphere fogged up with soft clouds of blueish grey cigarette smoke. As “The End” rolled up, there came the all-important intermission. The screen dimmed, the auditorium took on a low glow and an usher came down the aisle, a heavy illuminated tray hanging on her shoulders. This held all manner of sweets and choc ices. Soon a queue formed as we all went to spend our tanners. The programme began again wearing on to its conclusion and as the credits began to roll up there was a mad dash for the exit and the noisy rattle of the double doors crashing open. The sudden rush of air sucked out all the smoke in an instant. It was given that if you made it out of the doors before the picture of our queen accompanied by the national anthem started, you were out but if just one note of the anthem started, our patriotism held us to stand rigidly to attention to the last note. There is a surfeit of these old B-movies freely available now online during the pandemic. They vary between WHAT? and dire. But they tell a tale of what life was like way back then and one thing stands out: smoking. Everyone seems to have smoked back then. It was considered stylish, romantic even, as Humphrey Bogart flicked a lighter, illuminating the face of his latest female star as blue smoke curled across her lovely Max Factored face. I was an entrenched smoker from the age of 14 and it was considered acceptable to light up in anyone’s house without asking permission. Given the almost obligatory cup of tea, pre-mugs, it was served in a prettily flowered china cup and saucer, the saucer became your ashtray for the duration.
I would flick it in my shoe or even my handbag. Today, smoking is rarely seen in films and is very much in decline as folk finally accept the inherent danger of such a disgusting habit. I finally stopped 25 years ago and it was the best day’s work I ever did.
One cigarette is too many and a million is not nearly enough.