Founded by John E. Blakeley, the company produced films in London on extremely low budgets. Blakeley's first studio consisted of a single soundstage in a loft space above a taxi garage. Whenever the filmmakers wanted to shoot a scene, they would first have to signal the mechanics below to stop working, so the noise from below wouldn't register on the soundtracks. Blakeley's first production was Boots! Boots!, starring the young variety entertainer George Formby. Production values were so low that some scenes were filmed in semi-darkness, to hide the lack of set decorations. Despite the technical flaws, the debut film was a huge success in the local provinces, recouping Blakeley's investment several times over and launching George Formby as Britain's leading screen comedian. Within the year "Blakeley's Productions, Ltd." had become "The Mancunian Film Distributors, Ltd". Blakeley initially used facilities like Riverside Studios; the films were released via Butcher's Films.
Dickenson Road Studios
Escalating costs and a desire to cater for the robust tastes of northern industrial audiences led to the establishment of the two-stage facility in a former Methodist Chapel on Dickenson Road, Rusholme, the only film studio outside the South East. The buildings were converted at a cost of £70,000 in 1947. Starting with Cup-tie Honeymoon starring Sandy Powell, over the next six years the films went on to feature northern favourites Frank Randle, Josef Locke, Diana Dors, and Jimmy Clitheroe. The studio, though it often worked on a shoestring, was successful and profitable but Blakely decided to retire when he reached 65. Mancunian Films continued under Blakeley's son Tom for many years, providing facilities for Hammer Horror and making a number of B-movies. The cinematographic expertise developed in Manchester formed the foundations of Granada Television. In the 1950s, the growing popularity of television represented competition with cinema, and as the mass media market evolved, numerous film studios were taken over by emerging television broadcasters. In London, the BBC acquired Lime Grove Studios from Gainsborough Pictures in 1949, and Ealing Studios in 1955. Dickenson Road Studios was bought from Mancunian by the BBC in 1954, and it became the first regional BBC Television studio outside London. Programmes made by the BBC at the studios included series starring comedian Harry Worth and variety programmes. Notably, the first episode of the pop musictelevision showTop of the Pops was broadcast from Dickenson Road Studio on 1 January 1964, presented by Jimmy Savile and opening with The Rolling Stones performing "I Wanna Be Your Man". The studios remained the home of Top of the Pops until 1967, when the show moved to a larger facility at Lime Grove Studios in London. The Dickenson Road building was demolished in 1975 when operations were transferred to the BBC's new building at New Broadcasting House on Oxford Road.
Mancunian Films Library
Mancunian Films Library, in storage at Kay Laboratories, was lost in a fire in 1980. Mike Blakeley, cameraman and grandson of John E. Blakeley, was reported to be attempting to find and restore all of Blakeley's films in 2003. Working with CP Lee of the University of Salford in promoting the detailed history of the Mancunian Film Studio via film screenings and facts about Mancunian Films and its actors.
