Roy William Neill
Directing
Born 1887-09-04
Died 1946-12-14
Ireland, United Kingdom
101 credits
Read biography
Roy William Neill (4 September 1887 – 14 December 1946) was a film director best known today for directing several of the Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, made between 1943 and 1946 and released by Universal Studios.
With his father as the captain, Neill was born on a ship off the coast of Ireland named Roland de Gostrie. He began directing silent movies in 1917 and went on to helm 107 films, 40 of them silent. Although most of Neill's films were for the most part low-budget B-movies, he was known for directing films with meticulously lit scenes with carefully layered shadows that would become the style of film noir in the late 1940s. In fact, his last film, Black Angel (1946), is considered a film noir.
He was also credited in some works as R. William Neill, Roy W. Neill, and Roy Neill. Neill lived in the United States for most of his career and was a U.S. citizen. He did go to London from 1935 until 1940 where better opportunities existed for American directors. During this period, British film producer Edward Black hired Neill to direct The Lady Vanishes. However, due to delays in production, Black hired Alfred Hitchcock to direct instead.
Neill died in London, England from a heart attack.
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Filmography
— top 60 of 101
Directing
58 credits
Terror by Night
Dressed to Kill
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
The Woman in Green
Puppy Love
The 9th Guest
The Pearl of Death
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
The Black Room
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
Pursuit to Algiers
Marriage
The Scarlet Claw
Black Angel
The Spider Woman
The Bandbox
The Man from M.A.R.S.
Love Letters
The House of Fear
Mills of the Gods
That's My Boy
Tyrant Fear
Blind Date
Lady Raffles
Madame Spy
I'll Fix It
The Lone Wolf Returns
Eight Bells
Gypsy Wildcat
Yes or No
Green Eyes
Everything Happens to Me
Wall Street
My Lady's Lips
Fifty Fathoms Deep
Whirlpool
The Viking
Above the Clouds
The Career of Katherine Bush
Eyes of the Underworld
The Good Bad Girl
Rhythm of the Islands
The Mother Instinct
The Circus Queen Murder
Doctor Syn
The Inner Voice
His Brother’s Keeper
Just Like Heaven
Black Moon
Cock o' the Walk
Behind Closed Doors
As the Devil Commands
Trixie from Broadway
Simply Terrific
Fury of the Jungle
The Iron Trail
The Conquest of Canaan
Producing
12 credits
Terror by Night
Dressed to Kill
The Woman in Green
The Pearl of Death
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
Pursuit to Algiers
Marriage
The Scarlet Claw
Black Angel
The Spider Woman
The House of Fear
Acting
3 credits
Writing
3 credits
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