Biography
John E. Blakeley (1 October 1888 – 20 February 1958) was a British film producer, director and screenwriter, the founder of Mancunian Films.Born in Ardwick, Manchester, son of James Blakeley (born c. 1862; Manchester), and Margaret Quirk (born c. 1861; Glasgow, Scotland), he was of Lancashire (Church of England) descent on his father's side of the family and Irish Catholic on his mother's. His father had become an early film distributor in 1908 after previous work as a travelling draper. Blakeley joined his father's business and soon came to understand the tastes of the emerging cinema audiences in the northern industrial towns. By the 1930s, the younger Blakeley was making films starring the idols of northern music hall comedy: George Formby, Frank Randle and Sandy Powell.
Initially relying on studios in London, rising costs encouraged him to found the Mancunian Film Studios in his hometown in 1947. With £70,000 capital, a former Methodist chapel on Dickenson Road in Rusholme was converted into a film studio. The studios produced a sequence of profitable films, often on shoestring budgets, until Blakeley's retirement in 1953. The following year the studios were sold to the BBC. Blakeley died in Stockport aged 69.
Filmography
all 18
Movies 18
Director 14
Producer 2
self 1
Writer 1
Funny Up North (2011)
It's a Grand Life (1953)
Let's Have a Murder (1950)
Over the Garden Wall (1950)
What a Carry On! (1949)
School for Randle (1949)
Somewhere in Politics (1948)
Holidays with Pay (1948)
Cup-Tie Honeymoon (1948)
Under New Management (1946)
Home Sweet Home (1945)
Demobbed (1944)
Somewhere on Leave (1943)
Somewhere in Camp (1942)
Somewhere in England (1940)
The Penny Pool (1937)
Off the Dole (1935)
Boots! Boots! (1934)
Ratings
Information
Known ForDirecting
GenderMale
Birthday1888-01-01
Deathday1958-02-20 (70 years old)
CitizenshipsUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom
Also Known As Anthony Toner
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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