View source for John Huntley (film historian)

{{Short description|British film historian}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
'''John Frederick Huntley''' (18 July 1921 &ndash; 7 August 2003) was an English film historian, educator and archivist.
Huntley was born in [[Kew]], London and entered the film industry as a teaboy at [[Denham Film Studios|Denham Studios]] around 1938.<ref name="Brownlow">Kevin Brownlow [https://web.archive.org/web/20100424215341/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/john-huntley-548659.html Obituary: John Huntley], ''The Independent'', 28 August 2003</ref> After war service in the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]], 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]]; Huntley had briefly studied at the [[Royal College of Music]] just after the war began.
He joined the [[British Film Institute]] in 1952, initially working for the information department, but from 1955 in distribution. His connection with the Telekinema during the [[Festival of Britain]] led to his being appointed as a programmer at the new [[BFI Southbank|National Film Theatre]] for a time.<ref name="Baxter">Brian Baxter [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/aug/11/guardianobituaries.obituaries Obituary: John Huntley], ''The Guardian'', 11 August 2003</ref> According to film collector [[Kevin Brownlow]], Huntley was the most accessible of the BFI's staff because of his skill at [[gaming the system|bending the rules]].<ref name="Brownlow"/> He left the institute in 1974.
With one of his two daughters Amanda Huntley,<ref name="Baxter" /> he set up Huntley Film Archives,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About Us {{!}} Huntley Film Archives |url=https://www.huntleyarchives.com/aboutus.asp |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=www.huntleyarchives.com}}</ref> in 1984, based from 2005 in Herefordshire.<ref name=":1">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2005/12/20/huntley_film_archive_feature.shtml "One of Europe's largest film archives moves to Herefordshire"], BBC Hereford and Worcester (local radio station), last updated 20 December 2005</ref>
John Huntley was a published [[author]]. His published works include ''British Film Music''  (1947),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Huntley |first=John |title=British Film Music |last2= |first2= |date= |publisher=S. Robinson |year=1947 |isbn=978-0-405-03897-6 |edition= |series= |location=}}</ref> ''Railways in the Cinema'' (1969)<ref>Huntley, John (1969) ''Railways in the Cinema''. London: Ian Allan {{ISBN|0-7110-0115-4}}</ref> and ''Railways on the Screen'' (1993).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Huntley |first=John |title=Railways on the Screen |publisher=Ian Allan Publishing |year=1993 |isbn=0-7110-2059-0}}</ref>
Huntley was also a regular broadcaster. He presented ''Bioscope Days'' for the BBC (BBC2) in 1978.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1978-05-10 |title=BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b832ef184679440da1b6189ca013cbaf |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>  Also, the [[Anglia Television]] series ''[[Bygones (TV series)|Bygones]]'' for two years from 1987, and a later similar series, ''Attic Archives'', for [[BBC Scotland]]. He worked for Video 125 for a short period.
He died from cancer in London.<ref name="Baxter" />
== Huntley Film Archives ==
Huntley, with one of his two daughters, Amanda,<ref name="Baxter" /> set up Huntley Film Archives in 1984.<ref name=":0" />  From 2005 it has been based in Herefordshire.<ref name=":1" />
Huntley Film Archives celebrated its fortieth anniversary since its foundation in 2023. It has worked on countless archives-based documentaries from around the world, along with museum projects, adverts, educational resources, art installations, where ever archive film is enjoyed.
The film collection, nearly all documentary, within Huntley Film Archives has now risen to nearly 100,000 unique film elements and it continues to collect and preserve celluloid-based documentaries back to 1895.
Directors Amanda Huntley and Robert Dewar together with their team of film archivists and restorers received the Focal International Award for best Archive Company of the Year in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winners Announced for the 2023 FOCAL Awards |url=https://focalint.org/awards/2023-shortlist |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=Focal International |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==References==
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==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0403157|John Huntley}}
* [https://www.huntleyarchives.com/index.asp Huntley Film Archives]
* [http://bufvc.ac.uk/archives/index.php/collection/237 Huntley Film Archives http://bufvc.ac.uk/archives/index.php/collection/237]
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[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:English film critics]]
[[Category:British film historians]]
[[Category:People from Kew, London]]
[[Category:British Film Institute]]
[[Category:20th-century British non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II]]