john e. blakeley
Bring laughter to war-ravaged Britain
John E. Blakeley is the man responsible for the start of the film career of George
Formby as well has many other famous northern variety artists. Although
Formby’s first two films were produced in London studios, Blakeley is
remembered mainly for the film studio he build in Manchester.
He was born in 1889 and was from a family of cinema owners and film renters in
the North West. Together with other film and theatre owners, he formed a
company called Mancunian Films. Around 25 films were produced over the next
20 years and were distributed through a company called Butchers Films.
Initially he travelled to London to produce his films,
renting studios like Riverside at Hammersmith,
George Formby’s first films are known to have
been filmed a t Albany Studios.
By the end of the Second World War John E.
Blakeley’s slapstick comedies were
extremely popular in the North of England.
Mancunian Films had taken some of the
most popular music hall acts from the north
and turned them into stars. These acts
included Formby, Frank Randle, Dan Young,
Norman Evans, Duggie Wakefield and many
more. After 1945 there was a boom in film
production and the cost of studio time in London
increased dramatically
John E. Blakeley along with his sons and colleagues decided it was time to take
film production home to Manchester.
An old Wesleyan Church on Dickenson Road, Rusholme was bought, converted
and equipped for £70,000. This became Film Studios (Manchester), the first
feature film studio outside London in the post war years. On the 12th May 1947
the studio was formally opened amid a sprinkling of stars and excitement from
local residents. The ceremony was attended by George Formby, Dan Young,
Frank Randle, Norman Evans and Sandy Powell and George Formby and Sandy
Powell made speeches wishing the studios well for the future.
Film Studios (Manchester) wasted no time and started work straight away
producing a whole string of low budget ‘B’ movies. The surrounding areas of
Dickenson and Wilmslow Road was used as a backdrop to many a Mancunian
film, as were the local people in crowd or street scenes. Local residents often
lent their possessions to the props department who came to beg and borrow to
fill up the set.
Cup Tie Honeymoon was the first film to be made at the studio, starring Sandy
Powell, Dan Young, Betty Jumel and Pat Pilkington (later Pat Phoenix,
Coronation Street’s Elsie Tanner). The film, based around the theme of football
with scenes shot at Manchester City’s Maine Road stadium, was released to
coincide with the beginning of the 1948 football season.
The International Circus Revue was the next release in 1948. This film featured a
local circus troupe from Manchester’s Belle Vue amusements and starred Sonny
Burke and Bernard Youens (later Coronation Street’s Stan Ogden).
The International Circus Revue was made using footage from a documentary
shot by Mancunian called The Showground of the North, released in 1949. The
Showground of the North was a travelogue of Belle Vue’s Zoological Gardens,
circus and amusments. This was John E. Blakeley’s only departure from comedy
during his career.
During the early 1950’s Tom Blakeley was producer for Mancunian Films. He
worked with outside directors on productions such as Never Look Back and
Love’s a Luxury (1952), Those People Next Door and Lonely Weekend (1953).
It’s A Grand Life (1953) was John E. Blakeley’s 22nd and final feature film at the
age of 64 and also Frank Randle’s last film before he died of consumption in
1957. This movie brought together Frank with the 22 year old blonde bombshell,
Diana Dors, who was already in her 14th film. The title of this film must surely
reflect the quality of the life which John E. Blakeley shared with the workers and
stars of Manchester ’s little Hollywood.
By the mid 50’s the cost of film production had increased whilst the advent of
television caused cinema audiences to decline. In 1954 Film Studios
(Manchester) was sold to the BBC and the church became the first studio to
broadcast outside London in the fifties. Eventually the studio was demolished in
1967.
BBC - FLOGIT
John E. Blakeley featured on BBC’s Flogit and
below you can view the full clip from the show.
PP updated 02/02/21