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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 ... Contact ... Chris Lee is the Cuthbert of The Cuthbert Club - See Events.
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MONDAY 2nd APRIL 2012 - CUTHBERT CLUB APRIL FOOL SPECIAL FILM SHOW AT THE CASTLE! SATURDAY 29 January 2012 - Cuthbert received a generous donation towards the upkeep of this website from The Rusholme and Fallowfield Civic Society, in return for a talk on the History of the Mancunian Film Studios ... Obviously we are always most grateful for financial assistance, but on this occasion also for some information that was shared that evening! Visitors to this site will know of Bruce Anderson and his website - Bruce kindly provided a cutting from the Manchester Guardian of 13 May 1947 which is always available at this link. Well, further thanks go to Bruce for Cuthbert's latest headline story below ... |
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|  Hotun's Sistership - the Manchester Film History website where you can discover the films, the places and the people involved in Greater Manchester's filmmaking history. |
| RELOCATION! RELOCATION! RELOCATION! | |||||
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You will probably have heard about the relocation of the University of Salford (where Cuthbert aka Dr CP Lee is Head of Film Studies) and about the BBC being relocated to the same place - an area known as Media City. Being a visitor to this website you will know of course that the first Media City BBC studios were in Rusholme (see opposite). John E Blakeley, who bought the Wesleyan Chapel in 1947 and transformed it into his famous Mancunian Film Studios, sold the building to the BBC in 1954. But now here is more to our story: Imagine Cuthbert's surprise to learn from Bruce Anderson that another Wesleyan chapel stood on the Dickenson Road site before the one that became the Mancunian Studios was built during the 1860s!! Not only that, but the original chapel on Dickenson Road was taken down and rebuilt brick by brick in a new location where it still stands today ... This amazing piece of history is actually just down the road from Cuthbert Towers (you couldn't make it up!) and so of course Mrs Cuthbert went out to photograph the building ...You can see from the photos (below) it's now flats, but the building which dates from 1863 is in good shape and still bears a plaque 'Mount Pleasant' ... |
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| Above: The Mancunian Studios became the first BBC studios outside London. | |||||
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| Mount Pleasant - the old Wesleyan Church building was moved from Dickenson Road to here ... | The original Wesleyan Chapel built1829 (image courtesy Bruce Anderson). | ||||
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| ... on Ladybarn Lane, Fallowfield where, with the addition of another storey, it is a block of flats today! | ... and just for fun, here's an early 1970s picture of the studio after it was sold to the BBC - can you spot Val Doonican?!!: | ||||
| PREVIOUS HOTUN HEADLINE NEWS | ||||
Cuthbert showed a restored 'Home Sweet Home' at the Castle on Oldham Street on Monday 5th December 2011. See this link and Cuthbert Club.
Cuthbert featured on two Timeshift documentaries - All The Fun of the Fair and When The Circus Comes To Town on BBC FOUR on 2nd and 9th August 2011.
Lee Mannering hosted the Fifth Frank Randle Day in Blackpool - see Photos here (link includes a film Lee made of the 2010 Frank Randle Day).
Cuthbert hosted the GEORGE FORMBY seminar, part of Ken Barret's 'Formby Project' in Wigan all week. Link: Programme for Seminar held on 01 April 2011.
SOMEWHERE IN CAMP was shown on 29 March 2011 at a special Cuthbert Club screening of this classic film, shown to commemorate the life and contribution to the Mancunian Studio story of ARTHUR GOULDING at the CASTLE PUB on OLDHAM ST, M4 1LE- see Special
On 6th and 14th March 2011, Cuthbert helped Stuart Maconie give a bit of an airing to GEORGE FORMBY in 'Turned Out Nice Again' on BBC Radio 2.
The Hotun Arthur Goulding page was opened in February 2011 in honour of Arthur Goulding who died 17 January 2011.
Thank you to Bruce Anderson for this link - visit Rusholme and Victoria Park Archive and for a cutting from the Manchester Guardian of 13 May 1947 (available here to view)
Randle on TV - youtube link - see Frank's appearance with Cuthbert on BBC Four's Rude Britannia (14 June 2010 )
Gail Cloake photographic gems: In 2010 Gail discovered several photographic gems whilst researching her grandfather William F Cloake, a scenic manager who ran his own company in Manchester providing sets and backdrops for the theatre. We are gratefully thankful to Gail for the pleasure and usefulness for film and comedy research that these pictures provide and are proud to have opened her Gallery page today (8 October 2010).
FRIDAY 19th FEBRUARY 2010 SHOWZAM SUCCESS!- Three Mancunian films were shown to an enthusiastic audience at the Olympia Winter Gardens PLUS a Mancunian talk by Cuthbert and Mike Blakeley. The films shown were: Somewhere in Camp, Home Sweet Home (FULL version - first ever showing!!!), Holidays With Pay. Here is a Showzam link
Saturday 17 April 2010- It were a grand Hotun afternoon outing to BOLTON OCTAGON for a performance of Trevor Griffiths' 'Comedians' - Thanks to the Skegness branch for turning up and taking these photographs of Cuthbert with actor John Branwell who plays Challenor in the play. He and Cuthbert go back several decades and you can share in the fun on youtube (click here).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!
The Didsbury Festival 2009 screening of Over The Garden Wall was a great success - visit the Events page to view
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!
Arthur Mertz Snr and Hewitt Universal Lighting - you will also find Laurel and Hardy with James Blakeley photograph from 2nd August 1932 on this page.
77 2008 - Saturday 6th July 2008 - BLUE PLAQUE full story
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.
Please email CP Lee with any information relating to Mancunian Films, Golden Films Ltd, Mancunian actors and film people! - Please Help the Hotun Research!
ITSAHOTUN - established 2005 - Last update 01-Feb-2012
- Have you visited the Hotun sistership site? - www.manchesterfilmhistory.info
