John Frederick Huntley (18 July 1921 – 7 August 2003) was an English film historian, educator and archivist. Huntley was born in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, London and entered the film industry as a teaboy at

Denham Studios Denham Film Studios was a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952, founded by Alexander Korda. Notable films made at Denham include ''Brief Encounter'' and David Lean's '' Great Expectations''. From the 1950s to the 1970s t ...

around 1938.Kevin Brownlo
Obituary: John Huntley
''The Independent'', 28 August 2003 After war service in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, where he had a sideline in using film shows as an educational tool, he re-entered the film industry as an assistant to film score conductor

Muir Mathieson James Muir Mathieson, OBE (24 January 19112 August 1975) was a Scottish conductor and composer. Mathieson was almost always described as a "Musical Director" on many British films. Career Mathieson was born in Stirling, Scotland, in 1911. A ...

; Huntley had briefly studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

just after the war began. He joined the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

in 1952, initially working for the information department, but from 1955 in distribution. His connection with the Telekinema during the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

led to him being appointed as a programmer at the new

National Film Theatre BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. Hist ...

for a time.Brian Baxte
Obituary: John Huntley
''The Guardian'', 11 August 2003 According to film collector

Kevin Brownlow Kevin Brownlow (born Robert Kevin Brownlow; 2 June 1938) is a British film historian, television documentary-maker, filmmaker, author, and film editor. He is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era, having become inter ...

, Huntley was the most accessible of the BFI's staff because of his skill at

bending the rules Gaming the system (also rigging, abusing, cheating, milking, playing, working, or breaking the system, or gaming or bending the rules) can be defined as using the rules and procedures meant to protect a system to, instead, manipulate the system ...

; he left the institute in 1974. With one of his two daughters, Amanda, he set up Huntley Film Archives in 1984, based from 2005 in the Herefordshire village of

Ewyas Harold Ewyas Harold () is a village and civil parish in the Golden Valley in Herefordshire, England, near the Wales-England border about halfway between Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, and Hereford. The population of this civil parish at the 2011 census ...

. John Huntley was a published authorAmong his books was ''Railways in the Cinema''. London: Ian Allan, 1969 and regular broadcaster; he presented the

Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

series '' Bygones'' for two years from 1987, and a later similar series, ''Attic Archives'', for

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

. He worked for Video 125 for a short period. He died from cancer in London.

References

External links

*
Huntley Film Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntley, John 1921 births 2003 deaths English film critics British film historians People from Kew, London British Film Institute 20th-century British non-fiction writers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II