Owner of a 108-year-old Calderdale cinema that survived world wars and pandemics hopes to bounce back post-lockdown

Charles Morris says the Rex Cinema in Elland, West Yorks., did not close its doors for neither the Spanish Flu in 1918 or the Asian Flu pandemic in 1957.

Not even the outbreak of war could keep the picture house closed more than a few days as the authorities realised the nation needed entertainment to keep up its spirits.

But when Mr Morris was forced to shut on March 20 and furlough 80 per cent of his 52 staff at the six independent cinemas he owns, he had no idea if or when he could re-open.

While profits at the traditional Rex cinema - complete with a 1930s-style organ that is played before performances - have plummeted, Mr Morris has used the time to recharge his batteries.

He made the most of the downtime too by "sprucing up the place" and is now set to be ready to go in July when the government is expected to give the industry the green light to re-open.

And while he is cautiously optimistic that punters will come flocking back from July 4, he concedes that cinema has never had more competition.

Mr Morris said: "The cinema has been around for 108 years and it bounced back after the Spanish flu and the flu outbreak in the 1950s.

"But in those days, people didn't have streaming devices so the only place to see a film was in the cinema.

"I still think people will come back though once they're allowed.

"They have been stuck in the house for three months, people will just want to do get out and do something I think."

Mr Morris took over the Rex cinema 32 years ago, the first in a portfolio of traditional, independent cinemas at the heart of their communities that make up Morris Northern Cinemas.

The others are the Picture House in Keighley, the Royalty in Windermere, in the Lake District, Leeds' Cottage Cinema, and the Plaza in Skipton.

He takes a hands-on approach to his business and even sells ice cream during the intervals of performances.

And he is no stranger to turbulent times, with the Rex struggling for numbers for the first 18 months or so of his ownership.

But he hopes it will be back to the future once he is able to open and crowds will come flocking back - just as they did for the showing of box office hits over the years.

Crowds flocked to the cinema in the early 90s to pack out the 300-seat venue to watch Shirley Valentine - for ten separate runs at the picture house.

Other big crowd pleasures included The Full Monty in 1997 and Harry Potter in 2004.

Mr Morris added: "In any other industry, as long as you pay your suppliers, you should get your products to sell.

"But we are the mercy of what films are made and when they are distributed.

"Since lockdown, many films have been released straight onto streaming and there isn't any big releases until at least the end of July.

"I think it will be August before we see new films that will entice people back to the cinema - and it will be a few months after that before things get anywhere near normal.

"We had a tough start when we first took over the cinema.

"After about 15 months we weren't getting the numbers in and we were really struggling.

"But we put on Shirley Valentine and it was just packed out every night for a week.

"We put it on again for a fortnight few months later and it was packed out again.

"It became a theme that whenever we were low on crowds we'd put it on and it would pick up."

Mr Morris said that he has made approaches to source PPE for staff and will be looking into social distancing measures once the cinema can re-open.

He said that while nothing was firmly in place yet, he was looking at opening with a limited capacity and cinema-goers will have to sit two metres apart during viewings.

Mr Morris added: "I am toying with the idea of putting a few old films on when we re-open so we can test out the new social distancing measures and get our staff and customers used to what we are going to have to do.