Case Study


As war swept mercilessly across Europe and our grandparents panicked at the thought that Britain might be ‘next man down’, Churchill was not alone in his desperate attempts to lift their spirits, for up north it was business as usual. At the Blakeley entertainment lab Dr John E wasted no time in producing his own unique range of tonics for the anxious brow which comprised high doses of hearty,


slapstick northern


humour. In fact, before long a series of uplifting and hilarious productions shot out of his medicine bag and on to the projector reel. And serendipitously, three of them starred outrageous Lancashire comic Frank Randle, who by then was the highest paid comedian in England and would soon join the Blakeleys in the next stage of their commercial development.


Once the War was over, Frank Randle, John E and several other partners became directors of the film studios in Manchester and in 1947 what had always been John E’s lucky mantra of ‘Northern Films for Northern People’ was finally and fully realised with the grand opening of the Dickenson Road studio in Rusholme which received a capital injection of £70,000.


The first Manchester-made feature film to be released was called ‘Cup- Tie Honeymoon’ and starred Patricia Phoenix in two roles, which was quite a debut for the young actress . It was the first of many similar films to be made in Rusholme - all of them trashed by southern critics but loved by ‘them that mattered’ – the audiences! Anyhow, by this stage the family could quite comfortably ‘cock-a-snook’


at their


southern peers because attendance at Mancunian Films regularly surpassed that of Hollywood productions in cinemas in and around the North West.


All good things come to an end, however, and 1953 saw the last film to be made by both Frank Randle and John E which was called ‘It’s A Grand Life’ and co-starred Diana Dors, who later became a ‘Carry-On’ Star and Patricia Phoenix as her stunt double. It was also the last film to be made at the studio as once again John E’s ‘cloudless crystal ball’ captured


46 entrepreneurcountry


accurate images of the future of entertainment. This time, however, a shadow was cast over their on-going fortunes when John E foresaw that TV would soon become more popular than the movies, so he chose to make the difficult and heartrending decision to sell the business to the BBC. The studio then became the BBC’s first regional TV studio outside of London and home to a popular and diverse range of series such as ‘Top Of The Pops’ and ‘Grandstand’. Thankfully, it wasn’t the end of Mancunian and the next wave of production continued in London until the mid-1960s in the hands of Tom Blakeley, John E’s son.


The Blakeley story showcases the perfect regional marketing strategy – one which successfully united audiences


Over a period of forty years Mancunian produced over sixty movies, of which over half were feature films. It was the only feature film studio outside the greater London area and its contribution to the history of UK film is sadly so often overlooked. But after engaging with the current generation of Blakeleys, it was heartening to discover that the family is still hard at work in the entertainment world. John E’s Grandson, Mike Blakeley, became a world-class cameraman who spent a great deal of his career living with tribes around the globe for the BBC series ‘Disappearing World’ which was a forerunner to ‘Planet Earth’. In addition, he was an award- winning cameraman for the current affairs series ‘World in Action’. Mike recently retired to North Wales but the show goes on as his daughter is now rightfully ensconced at her Great Grandfather’s old work premises as a Blue Peter production co-ordinator at the BBC in Manchester and his son is a sound engineer.


As an enthusiastic researcher on all things entrepreneurial, I believe there are many commercial and artistic lessons to be learned from the Blakeley story, not least its value as a classic example of successful ‘conversion of competency’. For instance, the market stall generally has no developed brand, so you’ve got to tell a good story to differentiate yourself and it goes without saying that a good grasp of story is the basis of all successful film production and appreciation. As veterans of market trading across Lancashire, the Blakeleys were experienced in efficiently capturing and maintaining the northern audience in fast-moving, real time – activities through which a superior nose for the overarching zeitgeist of any industry era would have developed through time. In other words the family’s diverse commercial endeavours at the sharp end will have afforded them a grasp of the industry cycle governing any commercial enterprise - be it market trading, film distribution or film production. And it was this very art of timing along with appropriate business networking, which bestowed on John E the wherewithal with which he accurately and consistently tracked the zeitgeist across half a century of entertainment - pretty much buying-in and selling-out on a commercial cue.


Furthermore and perhaps of equal importance, the


permanently deaf ear to critics and snobs which allowed them to fully concentrate on capitalising rather than competing.


In essence, I don’t


think anyone can deny that the Blakeley story showcases the perfect regional marketing strategy – one which successfully united audiences, voices and the art and science of film production to provide firm foundations for the UK provincial screen industry and beyond. And on that note, I guess all there is left to say is hip, hip hooray for ‘Jollywood’! The Blakeleys certainly were ‘Jollywood’ fellows!


I would like to thank Dr Chris Lee for so kindly providing research for this article, which can also be found on his extensive website: www. itsahotun.com.


Right Page: Newspaper clippings demonstrate the impact the Blakeley’s had on popular culture throughout Wartime.


family turned a


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