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.
Birthday: September 04, 1887
Death: December 14, 1946
December 24, 1943
March 05, 1943
August 02, 1946
May 18, 1944
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May 24, 1946
July 15, 1935
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June 15, 1934
March 24, 1943
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April 26, 1940
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June 14, 1943
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December 15, 1934
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July 20, 1934
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October 29, 1921
November 14, 1926
March 18, 1918
August 26, 1918
April 10, 1935
November 20, 1927
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April 04, 1926
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April 05, 1925
March 29, 1925
May 09, 1926
September 01, 1933
July 15, 1928
April 16, 1943
June 09, 1917
December 11, 1942
August 01, 1920
March 29, 1920
June 28, 1920
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August 20, 1931
December 01, 1929
October 16, 1938
January 27, 1940
August 13, 1939
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January 01, 1938
June 27, 1938
January 15, 1930
November 23, 1934
September 03, 1920
November 10, 1934
November 13, 1932
January 31, 1926
October 21, 1917
November 09, 1924
December 24, 1917
September 12, 1922
February 24, 1929
July 10, 1921
December 27, 1922
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July 07, 1928