Arthur Mertz

Off the Dole

Arthur Mertz

George Formby, Beryl Formby

Without a job, a young man is given the opportunity to run his ill uncle's private-detective agency. He finds himself mixed up with everything from an unfaithful husband who is a secret nudist to a schoolteacher who believes his pupil's father is beating him.

Cup-Tie Honeymoon

John E. Blakeley

Dan Young, Betty Jumel

Joe Butler, a soccer player whose father is the company chairman, is faced with a difficult choice: should he play the championship match on his father's team or should he play it on his school's team. He chooses wisely and finds love and happiness with a secretary.

Funny Up North

C.P. Lee, Tony Wilson

Documentary featuring a cavalcade of Northern comedy stars including the great Frank Randle, George Formby, Arthur Askey, Norman Evans and many more. The North of England has always enjoyed its own very particular brand of comedy, best seen today in Coronation Street. 80 years ago however Mancunian Studios produced feature films for the northern masses. Funny Up North tells the story of the Mancunian Studios, its eccentric owner John E Blakeley and its cavalcade of stars including such household names as Arthur Askey, Jimmy Jewell, George Formby and the legendary Frank Randle. Hosted by Professor Chris Lee, the authority on northern cinema, Funny Up North takes you on a journey from its humble beginnings to its sad demise in the 1960s.