This Mancunian Film Studio's Official site is dedicated to John E Blakeley, Frank Randle and all the performers and people associated with the output
of the Mancunian Film Company. The site is researched and collated by Dr CP Lee (University of Salford). FILM LIST BY EMAIL

Frank Randle Itsahotun!

Special FUNDRAISING offer from Trevor Hoyle see Appeal below

Mancunian Films

YOUTUBE


FRIDAY 19th FEBRUARY 2010 - THREE MANCUNIAN FILMS! - Venue: Olympia Winter Gardens - FREE ADMISSION - Showtime starts 11am and finishes 7pm. There'll be variety acts between the films PLUS a Mancunian talk by Cuthbert and Mike Blakeley after lunch (and yes there'll be shorts a-plenty!!!). The films are: Somewhere in Camp, Home Sweet Home (FULL version - first ever showing!!!), Holidays With Pay. Here is a Showzam link to this fantastic, not-to-be-missed event!

SUNDAY 21st MARCH 2010 at 2pm - Cuthbert Club SCREENING:
1948 Full-length FEATURE FILM: School for Randle + Shorts galore! £3 - TICKETS ONLY - click this EMAIL link: CUTHBERT!
VENUE: The Albert Club, 39-41 Old Lansdowne Road, West Didsbury, M20 2PA

WEDNESDAY 14th APRIL 2010 at 2pm - Cuthbert - THE HISTORY OF COMEDY: Roots and Routes
 TICKET ONLY: members free/non-members £3.00
Lancastrian Theatre Organ Trust Heritage Centre, Alexandra Road, Eccles, M30 7HJ. seating capacity ... 82 (Frank Randle's number!)

SATURDAY 10th JULY 2010 - Funday Memorial Day at Blackpool North Pier
The fourth year of the Cuthbert Club's annual celebration of Frank's liver - life!

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FRANK'S GRAVESTONE APPEAL - Frank's gravestone is virtually unreadable and in 2009 Slim Ingram generously pledged the first £60 towards the cost of a granite marker to be placed at the foot of the grave inscribed with the words found jotted on a scrap of paper tucked inside Randle's wallet by his wife Queenie.The words Frank wrote are shown below. The fund currently stands at £210 against the estimated figure of £295 - how about donating a fiver or a tenner - If you would like to help this worthy cause please send your contribution to cuthbert@itsahotun.com via PAYPAL - you will receive an acknowledgment by return and your name will be added to the list on this website (unless you state you wish to remain anonymous). We hope to have the headstone in place for July 2010's Frank's Fun Day celebration.

email cuthbert if you prefer to send your contribution by cheque (click here for email link)

DONATIONS TO DATE (alpha order) - thanks to: Bryan Leonard, Chris Carson, Cuthbert and Mrs Cuthbert, Diane Speakman, Neil Hemsley, Rick and Albert Gallagher, Slim Ingram, Steve Robinson, Ted Martin, Tony Hilton, Tony Wright, Trevor Hoyle (Special FUNDRAISING offer: Trevor Hoyle - signed new book 'Down The Figure 7' - details click here)

I got nothing that I asked for

But everything I had hoped for

Despite myself my prayers were answered

I was among all men richly blessed

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A Didsbury Festival 2009 screening of Over The Garden Wall was a great success - visit the Events page to view

   
  Here's a rare picture of the studio taken soon after the BBC took over the building:   We thought you might like to see this early 1970s picture of the studio after it was sold to the BBC - can you spot Val Doonican?!!:
  Mancunian Studio Rusholme 1970   Val Doonican Mancunian Studio BBC
 

Harry Goodwin was a photographer at the BBC in the 1970s - see below pictures of him on his visit to the Cuthbert event of 27 September 09 - Thanks to Lee Mannering (Chroma Video Productions) for the picture below and to Tony Wright (picture below right: Harry with John O'Connor and Cuthbert).
  Harry Goodwin at Cuthbert Club   Harry Goodwin Cuthbertonians
   
 

Picture below - CUTHBERT found JOLLY ROGER admiring the Club's Frank Randle plaque on the North Pier Blackpool (October 2009)
(photo courtesy of Mike Hudson)
   
    Jolly Roger visits Frank Randle's plaque on the North Pier Blackpool
     
   

PREVIOUS HOTUN HEADLINE NEWS

December 2009 - the Dan Young photos have left the front page and appear now in The Performers Gallery

11 July 2009 - the Cuthbert Club Funtime Memorial Day was a fantastic success - as usual!

Fantastic stills from SOMEWHERE IN POLITICS (1948) from Mike Blakeley's family collection have been moved to the Frank Randle Gallery. As always, at every film fair, in every corner please look for this missing film - wherever you are in the world, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, if you have any information about the whereabouts of this film please email Cuthbert now!

Laurel and Hardy with James Blakeley 2nd August 1932

Arthur Mertz Snr and Hewitt Universal Lighting

77 2008 - Saturday 6th July 2008 - BLUE PLAQUE full story

Frank Randle's Blackpool and the North Pier - the Organ is back! 27th May 2009 and the Bamforth Blackpool postcard appears at the end of this link

Frank's beginnings - including the Bouncing Randles 1931

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

With grateful thanks to Mike Blakeley, North West Film Archive (NWFA) at MMU, PM & DL Williams (authors of Hooray For Jollywood and Wired To The Moon), and Aidan O'Rourke photographer of Manchester backdrop in "Jollywood".

PLEASE NOTE: Every attempt has been made to trace the copyright holders of images used on this website. We apologise if your credit does not appear. Please advise and we will be pleased to correct any omission and insert an appropriate acknowledgement.

INFORMATION NEEDED - Golden Films Ltd - Do you know anybody who worked for this Company? Did you obtain any Mancunian Films from Golden Films of 60-66 Wardour Street, London W1?

Please contact CP Lee with any information on Golden Films Ltd - Help the Hotun Research!

ITSAHOTUN - established 2005 - Last update 30-Jan-2010