
Directing
Roy William Neill
Born — Died
1887-09-04 — 1946-12-14
Place of birth
Ireland, United Kingdom
Known for
Directing
Credits
41 titles
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, Bl…
Known for
6.6Holmes and Watson board a passenger train bound from London to Edinburgh, to guard the Star of Rhodesia, an enormous diamond worth a fortune belonging to an elderly woman of wealth; but within the first hour of the trip, the woman's son is murdered and the diamond stolen and any of the passengers in their car could be the killer thief.
Terror by Night
1946
6.2After being resurrected by grave robbers, Larry Talbot searches for Dr. Frankenstein in the hopes of being cured of his lycanthropy. The mad scientist may turn out to be dead, but his monster is just waiting to be found…
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
1943
7.1The famous Borgia Pearl, a valuable gem with a history of bringing murder and misfortune to its owner since the days of the Borgias, is brought to London, thanks in part to Sherlock Holmes. But before long the jewel is stolen, due to an error on Holmes' part, and shortly thereafter, a series of horrible murders begin, the murderer leaving his victims with their spines snapped and surrounded by a mass of smashed china.
The Pearl of Death
1944
6.5Sherlock Holmes investigates when young women around London turn up murdered, each with a finger severed. Scotland Yard suspects a madman, but Holmes believes the killings to be part of a diabolical plot.
The Woman in Green
1945
6.4In the midst of World War II, Sherlock Holmes rescues the Swiss inventor of a new bomb-sight from the Gestapo and brings him to England, where he quickly falls into the clutches of the evil Professor Moriarty.
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
1942
6.7A convicted thief in Dartmoor prison hides the location of the stolen Bank of England printing plates inside three music boxes. When the innocent purchasers of the boxes start to be murdered, Holmes and Watson investigate.
Dressed to Kill
1946
Film credits
Behind the camera
6.6Holmes and Watson board a passenger train bound from London to Edinburgh, to guard the Star of Rhodesia, an enormous diamond worth a fortune belonging to an elderly woman of wealth; but within the first hour of the trip, the woman's son is murdered and the diamond stolen and any of the passengers in their car could be the killer thief.
Terror by Night
1946
6.6Holmes and Watson board a passenger train bound from London to Edinburgh, to guard the Star of Rhodesia, an enormous diamond worth a fortune belonging to an elderly woman of wealth; but within the first hour of the trip, the woman's son is murdered and the diamond stolen and any of the passengers in their car could be the killer thief.
Terror by Night
1946
6.2After being resurrected by grave robbers, Larry Talbot searches for Dr. Frankenstein in the hopes of being cured of his lycanthropy. The mad scientist may turn out to be dead, but his monster is just waiting to be found…
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
1943
7.1The famous Borgia Pearl, a valuable gem with a history of bringing murder and misfortune to its owner since the days of the Borgias, is brought to London, thanks in part to Sherlock Holmes. But before long the jewel is stolen, due to an error on Holmes' part, and shortly thereafter, a series of horrible murders begin, the murderer leaving his victims with their spines snapped and surrounded by a mass of smashed china.
The Pearl of Death
1944
7.1The famous Borgia Pearl, a valuable gem with a history of bringing murder and misfortune to its owner since the days of the Borgias, is brought to London, thanks in part to Sherlock Holmes. But before long the jewel is stolen, due to an error on Holmes' part, and shortly thereafter, a series of horrible murders begin, the murderer leaving his victims with their spines snapped and surrounded by a mass of smashed china.
The Pearl of Death
1944
6.5Sherlock Holmes investigates when young women around London turn up murdered, each with a finger severed. Scotland Yard suspects a madman, but Holmes believes the killings to be part of a diabolical plot.
The Woman in Green
1945
6.5Sherlock Holmes investigates when young women around London turn up murdered, each with a finger severed. Scotland Yard suspects a madman, but Holmes believes the killings to be part of a diabolical plot.
The Woman in Green
1945
6.4In the midst of World War II, Sherlock Holmes rescues the Swiss inventor of a new bomb-sight from the Gestapo and brings him to England, where he quickly falls into the clutches of the evil Professor Moriarty.
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
1942
6.7A convicted thief in Dartmoor prison hides the location of the stolen Bank of England printing plates inside three music boxes. When the innocent purchasers of the boxes start to be murdered, Holmes and Watson investigate.
Dressed to Kill
1946
6.7A convicted thief in Dartmoor prison hides the location of the stolen Bank of England printing plates inside three music boxes. When the innocent purchasers of the boxes start to be murdered, Holmes and Watson investigate.
Dressed to Kill
1946
6.9During WWII several murders occur at a convalescent home where Dr. Watson has volunteered his services. He summons Holmes for help and the master detective proceeds to solve the crime from a long list of suspects including the owners of the home, the staff and the patients recovering there.
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
1943
6.9During WWII several murders occur at a convalescent home where Dr. Watson has volunteered his services. He summons Holmes for help and the master detective proceeds to solve the crime from a long list of suspects including the owners of the home, the staff and the patients recovering there.
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
1943
6.5In a 16th-century European town, the ruling family has been given a prophecy that, should there ever be twin boys born, the younger will murder the older; so is dismayed when twins are born to the popular baron. The older grows to be a selfish, slovenly man, who inherits the castle at his father's death and becomes ruler over the formerly happy villagers. He enjoys his power until he learns his younger brother is returning from abroad and, afraid of the prophecy, he determines to murder his sibling, hide his body in the "black room" - an old torture chamber sealed away behind the fireplace - and then impersonate him, right down to his withered arm. In this way he hopes to not only avoid the prophecy, but also escape consequences of his other criminal deeds and obtain marriage to a local girl of the nobility...
The Black Room
1935
7.0When a woman is found dead with her throat torn out, the local villagers blame a supernatural monster. But Sherlock Holmes, who gets drawn into the case from nearby Quebec, suspects a human murderer.
The Scarlet Claw
1944
7.0When a woman is found dead with her throat torn out, the local villagers blame a supernatural monster. But Sherlock Holmes, who gets drawn into the case from nearby Quebec, suspects a human murderer.
The Scarlet Claw
1944
7.0When a woman is found dead with her throat torn out, the local villagers blame a supernatural monster. But Sherlock Holmes, who gets drawn into the case from nearby Quebec, suspects a human murderer.
The Scarlet Claw
1944
6.8After the King of Rovenia has been assassinated, Holmes and Watson are engaged to escort his son to Europe via Algiers, aboard a transatlantic ocean liner which also carries a number of suspicious persons, any of whom may be involved in a plot to also assassinate him.
Pursuit to Algiers
1945
6.8After the King of Rovenia has been assassinated, Holmes and Watson are engaged to escort his son to Europe via Algiers, aboard a transatlantic ocean liner which also carries a number of suspicious persons, any of whom may be involved in a plot to also assassinate him.
Pursuit to Algiers
1945
6.8In World War II, a British secret agent carrying a vitally important document is kidnapped en route to Washington. The British government calls on Sherlock Holmes to recover it.
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
1943
6.8In World War II, a British secret agent carrying a vitally important document is kidnapped en route to Washington. The British government calls on Sherlock Holmes to recover it.
Sherlock Holmes in Washington
1943
6.1A falsely convicted man's wife, Catherine, and an alcoholic composer and pianist, Martin, team up in an attempt to clear her husband of the murder of a blonde singer, who is Martin's wife.
Black Angel
1946
6.1A falsely convicted man's wife, Catherine, and an alcoholic composer and pianist, Martin, team up in an attempt to clear her husband of the murder of a blonde singer, who is Martin's wife.
Black Angel
1946
6.9The Good Comrades are a collection of varied gentlemen who crave one thing - solitude. They reside at Drearcliff House, ancestral home of their eldest member. All seems serene and convivial until one by one the members begin to perish in the most grisly of manners. Foul play is suspected by the Good Comrades' insurance agent, who turns to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson for guidance.
The House of Fear
1945
6.9The Good Comrades are a collection of varied gentlemen who crave one thing - solitude. They reside at Drearcliff House, ancestral home of their eldest member. All seems serene and convivial until one by one the members begin to perish in the most grisly of manners. Foul play is suspected by the Good Comrades' insurance agent, who turns to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson for guidance.
The House of Fear
1945
7.0Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of so-called "pajama suicides". He knows the female villain behind them is as cunning as Moriarty and as venomous as a spider.
The Spider Woman
1943
7.0Sherlock Holmes investigates a series of so-called "pajama suicides". He knows the female villain behind them is as cunning as Moriarty and as venomous as a spider.
The Spider Woman
1943
NROn an ocean liner returning to America, Alison Landis, an actress, avoids paying duty on a valuable pearl necklace by hiding it in the lining of a hat which she sends to Benjamin Staff, a playwright. The necklace is being trailed by a crook who is related to another passenger, Eleanor Searle, who also has a striped hatbox similar to the one recovered by the unsuspecting playwright. The crook bears an uncanny resemblance to Eleanor's father. The two bandboxes are inadvertently switched at the dock.
The Bandbox
1919
NRNaive Eileen Rodney (Dorothy Dalton) is duped by the high-minded talk of Raymond Moreland (William Conklin). But when she discovers that he wants to take her to India without the benefit of a marriage license, she balks and instead weds her guardian, John Harland (Thurston Hall). However, she had written some letters to Moreland, and these come back to haunt her when he tries to use them for blackmail.
Love Letters
1917
8.0A young woman is torn between a wealthy suitor who wants her body and the honest young man who wants what's best for her.
Blind Date
1934
6.4An ex-convict tries to connect with the daughter who doesn't even know he exists.
Whirlpool
1934
6.1Once a jewel thief always a jewel thief? Yes and no. Yes if you consider the fact that Michael Lanyard also known as the Lone Wolf once retired from the "trade" but relapses back into his old habits when he is tempted by the emerald pendant of beautiful socialite Marcia Stewart. The trouble (?) is that he falls for the belle and he soon gets more interested in getting the girl than the jewels that adorn her. What he wants now is to return the pendant but a rival gang interfere and force him to take part in a big-time caper.
The Lone Wolf Returns
1935
6.5Joan Bannister is the wife of globe-trotting war correspondent David Bannister who travels by his side. Returning to the US, Bannister becomes suspicious when Joan begins associating with suspected Nazi functionaries, and wonders if she may be the elusive “Madame Spy” wanted by American authorities.
Madame Spy
1942
8.0Fay Wray plays Jean Hastings, the wealthy and spoiled scion of a factory-owning family led by her irrepressible grandmother. Sparks fly when Jean meets Jim Devlin, the labor leader who’s spearheading a tense worker’s strike against the factory. After circumstances force Jean and Jim to spend a night together in his cabin, she begins questioning her family’s ruthless tactics. This hard-to-see Columbia film by British director Roy William Neill not only features Wray as a brunette but also includes an explosive depiction of labor strife. (Block Cinema)
Mills of the Gods
1934
5.5A woman returning to her island birthplace finds herself drawn to a voodoo cult.
Black Moon
1934
5.5Rhythm of the Islands is set in the South Seas, presumably far away from the shooting war. The nonsensical plotline finds hero Tommy (Allan Jones) posing as a native chief. Joan Holton (Jane Frazee), daughter of a millionaire (Ernest Truex), falls in love with Tommy, unaware that he's a charlatan.
Rhythm of the Islands
1943
NRSoutherner Pearson Hunter (Jack Holt) marries Shirley, a Northerner (Dorothy Dalton), and brings her down to his home. There, she finds an acquaintance, Alexander Chapman (Robert McKim), and the fact that she knows him rouses her new husband's jealousy. This is fanned even further when Pearson's younger brother, Morgan (Emory Johnson) returns from college. His fiancee, Margery (Doris Lee), believes there is something going on between Shirley and Morgan and complains to Pearson.
Green Eyes
1918
7.0Young Gloria O'Connell falls in love with her neighbor, James Oliver. She is sent to a small town to stay with her three spinster aunts, while James becomes a newspaper reporter and arranges to write a story on the town and its large old-maid population. James pursues overweight "Hippo" Harger, a rival for Gloria's affections, and challenges him to a duel. When James' newspaper story appears, the disgruntled old maids hunt down the author. In a fit of anger, Gloria decides to marry "Hippo," but James rescues her at the office of the justice of the peace. The youthful lovers continue their relationship with their parents' understanding.
Puppy Love
1919
5.6Blackmail and murder in a tale of an auto-theft ring.
Eyes of the Underworld
1942
9.0A power-broker ward-heeler, Bill Grimes, wields more power than the elected politicians and has no problem in getting matters-of-the-city handled in which ever way is best for his needs. But when he tries to fix his adored kid brother's place on the school football team, he meets his match in school-teacher Anne Barry.
I'll Fix It
1934
6.0In an unspecified Renaissance kingdom, no sooner has Anube's gypsy tribe encamped near Baron Tovar's village when Count Orso is found murdered. The wicked baron blames the gypsies and imprisons them all in his castle. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger on a white horse has hidden the murder arrow and won the heart of gypsy belle Carla, to the discomfiture of her erstwhile fiancée Tonio. Baron Tovar is also fascinated by Carla...especially when he notices her heraldic pendant.
Gypsy Wildcat
1944

