John E. Blakeley (1 October 1888 – 20 February 1958) was a Britishfilm producer,director andscreenwriter, the founder ofMancunian Films.
Born inArdwick,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 andIrish Catholic on his mother's. His father had become an earlyfilm 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 emergingcinema audiences in the northern industrial towns. By the 1930s, the younger Blakeley was making films starring the idols of northernmusic hallcomedy:George Formby,Frank Randle[1] andSandy Powell.
Initially relying on studios in London, rising costs encouraged him to found the Mancunian Film Studios in his hometown in 1947. With £70,000capital, a former Methodist chapel on Dickenson Road inRusholme was converted into a film studio.[2] 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.[3] Blakeley died inStockport aged 69.
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