Roy William Neill

Known for: Directing
Born: September 4, 1887, Ireland, United Kingdom
Died: December 14, 1946
Movies: 99

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.

Best-Known Movies

6.2

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

1943

6.6

Terror by Night

1946

6.5

The Woman in Green

1945

6.4

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon

1942

6.7

Dressed to Kill

1946

6.9

The House of Fear

1945

7.0

The Scarlet Claw

1944

7.0

The Spider Woman

1943

7.1

The Pearl of Death

1944

6.9

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death

1943

Filmography

1916

A Corner in Colleens

Dan Allen

Directing, Writing & Producing

1946	Black Angel	Director, Producer
1946	Dressed to Kill	Director, Producer
1946	Terror by Night	Director, Producer
1945	Pursuit to Algiers	Director, Producer
1945	The Woman in Green	Producer, Director
1945	The House of Fear	Director, Producer
1944	Gypsy Wildcat	Director
1944	The Pearl of Death	Director, Producer
1944	The Scarlet Claw	Producer, Director, Screenplay
1943	The Spider Woman	Director, Producer
1943	Sherlock Holmes Faces Death	Director, Producer
1943	Rhythm of the Islands	Director
1943	Sherlock Holmes in Washington	Director, Producer
1943	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	Director
1942	Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon	Director
1942	Madame Spy	Director
1942	Eyes of the Underworld	Director
1940	Hoots Mon	Director, Screenplay
1940	His Brother’s Keeper	Director
1939	Murder Will Out	Producer, Writer, Director
1939	A Gentleman's Gentleman	Director
1939	The Good Old Days	Director
1938	Everything Happens to Me	Director
1938	Thank Evans	Director
1938	Quiet, Please	Director
1938	The Viper	Director
1938	Double or Quits	Director
1938	Simply Terrific	Director
1937	Doctor Syn	Director
1936	Gypsy	Director
1935	The Lone Wolf Returns	Director
1935	The Black Room	Director
1935	Eight Bells	Director
1934	Mills of the Gods	Director
1934	Jealousy	Director
1934	I'll Fix It	Director
1934	Blind Date	Director
1934	Black Moon	Director
1934	Whirlpool	Director
1934	The 9th Guest	Director
1933	Above the Clouds	Director
1933	Fury of the Jungle	Director
1933	As the Devil Commands	Director
1933	The Circus Queen Murder	Director
1932	That's My Boy	Director
1932	The Menace	Director
1931	Fifty Fathoms Deep	Director
1931	The Good Bad Girl	Director
1931	The Avenger	Director
1930	Just Like Heaven	Director
1930	Cock o' the Walk	Director
1930	The Melody Man	Director
1929	Wall Street	Director
1929	Behind Closed Doors	Director
1928	The Viking	Writer, Director
1928	Lady Raffles	Director
1928	Cleopatra	Director
1928	The Olympic Hero	Director
1928	The Virgin Queen	Director
1928	San Francisco Nights	Director
1927	The Arizona Wildcat	Director
1927	Marriage	Director, Producer
1926	The City	Director
1926	Black Paradise	Director
1926	A Man Four-Square	Director
1926	The Fighting Buckaroo	Director
1926	The Cowboy and the Countess	Director
1925	Greater Than a Crown	Director
1925	The Kiss Barrier	Director
1925	Percy	Director
1925	Marriage in Transit	Director
1924	Broken Laws	Director
1924	Vanity's Price	Director
1924	By Divine Right	Director
1923	Toilers of the Sea	Director, Producer
1922	The Man from M.A.R.S.	Director
1922	What's Wrong with the Women?	Director
1921	The Iron Trail	Director
1921	The Conquest of Canaan	Director
1921	The Idol of the North	Director
1920	Dangerous Business	Director
1920	The Inner Voice	Director
1920	Good References	Director
1920	Yes or No	Director
1920	The Woman Gives	Director
1919	The Bandbox	Director
1919	The Career of Katherine Bush	Director
1919	Trixie from Broadway	Director
1919	Puppy Love	Director
1918	Vive la France!	Director
1918	Green Eyes	Director
1918	The Kaiser's Shadow	Director
1918	Tyrant Fear	Director
1918	Love Me	Director
1917	Love Letters	Director
1917	The Price Mark	Director
1917	The Mother Instinct	Director
1917	The Girl, Glory	Director

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