Ernest G. Roy (1892–1977) was a British

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

who was managing director of Kay (West End) Laboratories, Kay Carlton Hill Studios Ltd and

Nettlefold Studios Walton Studios, previously named Hepworth Studios and Nettlefold Studios, was a film production studio in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England.Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

, London, in 1892, son of Charles (1857–1932) and Lucy (1859–1942). He was brother to Eliza, Alfred, Charles, Elsie and Gladys and knew

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

in his youth, through his association with the ensemble Eight Lancashire Lads. Prior to World War I, he was manager to J. W. Jackson who had various troupes of dancers working throughout England, America, Germany and France including the Eight Lancashire Lads in which Chaplin performed. In 1912, he worked in Paris at the Chatelet Theatre and then in the Marigny Theatre where

Mistinguett Mistinguett (, born Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois; 5 April 1873 – 5 January 1956) was a French actress and singer. She was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world. Early life The daughter of Antoine Bourgeois, a 31-year- ...

was appearing. After a year in Paris he returned to England and appeared at the

Alhambra Theatre The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...

in Leicester Square with various reviews including ''Eightpence a Mile'' and ''Keep Smiling''. He toured all over England, Scotland and Ireland. His sister Edith Elsie Roy (1896-1925) also danced and performed with him, as did her husband whom she married in 1916, Percy Frederick Smith. He left the stage in 1914 to join up as a soldier. Following World War I, Roy joined Kay Laboratories in 1919 as general manager and director under chairman David Martineau, with Alan and Louis Martineau on the board. The company, which started its processing facility in 1916, was located in

Red Lion Square Red Lion Square is a small square in Holborn, London. The square was laid out in 1684 by Nicholas Barbon, taking its name from the Red Lion Inn. According to some sources, the bodies of three regicides—Oliver Cromwell, John Bradshaw and Hen ...

, Holborn, London, but soon moved to 22 Soho Square and had premises in

Greek Street Greek Street is a street in Soho, London, leading south from Soho Square to Shaftesbury Avenue. The street is famous for its restaurants and cosmopolitan nature. History It is thought to take its name from a Greek church that was built in 1 ...

, London as well as processing facilities in Finsbury Park, North London.Under his leadership, Kay's went from being a processor of orthochromatic film to a sophisticated processor of colour film. Its name is seen on many colour films of the post-war period. It was one of the first to install colour processing equipment under the vision of George Hawkes (technical director) with A.W. Smart and Charles Parkhouse. He was awarded a Fellowship by the British Kinematograph, Sound and Television Society. His family home was Dukes Place in Wortham, Kent and he had an apartment over the studios in Greek Street, London.

Nettlefold Studios Walton Studios, previously named Hepworth Studios and Nettlefold Studios, was a film production studio in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England.Cecil Hepworth Cecil Milton Hepworth (19 March 1874 – 9 February 1953) was a British film director, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s at his Hepworth Studios. In ...

at Walton-on-Thames. The studios were requisitioned by

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

in 1940 to build Wellington Bombers. Roy headed production for Kay's after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, overseeing films made at the company's Nettlefold Studios in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey which had previously been the Hepworth Studio, often in collaboration with

Butcher's Film Service Butcher's Film Service was a British film production and distribution company that specialised in low-budget productions. The company was founded by William Butcher, a chemist from Blackheath. The company survived through several production slu ...

(a production and distribution company). Roy seems to have bought Nettleford in 1947 an
films
from this period include '' Tom Brown's Schooldays'' (1951), '' Scrooge'' (1951) with Alastair Sim and '' The Pickwick Papers'' (1952). Others include a series of ''

Paul Temple Paul Temple is a fictional character created by English writer Francis Durbridge. Temple is a professional author of crime fiction and an amateur private detective. With his wife Louise, affectionately known as 'Steve' in reference to her jo ...

'' films. He produced

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in th ...

's first starring film, ''

There Is Another Sun ''There Is Another Sun'', released in the United States as ''Wall of Death'', is a 1951 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Maxwell Reed, Laurence Harvey and Susan Shaw. It was produced by Ernest G. Roy. The film was shot at ...

'' (1951). His final film at Kay's was '' Marilyn'' (1953).Chibnall & McFarlane p. 66 He died at Hastings in 1977.

Selected filmography

* '' The Hills of Donegal'' (1947) * ''

Master of Bankdam ''Master of Bankdam'' (called ''The Master of Bankdam'' in its own credits) is a 1947 British historical film directed by Walter Forde and based on the 1940 novel ''The Crowthers of Bankdam'' by Thomas Armstrong. It stars Anne Crawford, Dennis ...

'' (1947) * ''

Calling Paul Temple ''Calling Paul Temple'' is a 1948 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley, Dinah Sheridan and Margaretta Scott. It was the second in a series of four Paul Temple films distributed by Butcher's Film Service. The fi ...

'' (1948) * '' The Monkey's Paw'' (1948) * ''

The Story of Shirley Yorke ''The Story of Shirley Yorke'' is a 1948 British drama film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring Derek Farr, Dinah Sheridan and Margaretta Scott. The film was based on the play '' The Case of Lady Camber'' by Horace Annesley Vachell. It w ...

'' (1948) * '' Dark Secret'' (1949) * '' Paul Temple's Triumph'' (1950) * ''

Scarlet Thread ''Scarlet Thread'' is a 1951 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and produced by Ernest G. Roy. Plot Two criminals plan a jewellery robbery. The robbery goes wrong and an innocent man is shot. Cast * Kathleen Byron as Josephine * Laur ...

'' (1951) * ‘’

Hammer the Toff ''Hammer the Toff'' is a 1952 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley and Patricia Dainton. The film was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the 17th in the series featuring upper-class sle ...

’’ (1952) * ''

'' (1951) * ''

Madame Louise ''Madame Louise'' (also titled "The Madame Gambles"), is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers and produced by Ernest G. Roy and starring Richard Hearne, Petula Clark, Garry Marsh and Richard Gale. It is loosely based on the 1945 ...

'' (1951) * ''

Paul Temple Returns ''Paul Temple Returns'' is a 1952 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley, Patricia Dainton and Peter Gawthorne. Known in the U.S. as ''Bombay Waterfront'', it was the fourth and last in the series of Paul Templ ...

'' (1952) * ''

Operation Diplomat During World War II, Operation Diplomat was an Allied naval training operation. It was executed in March 1944 by the British Eastern Fleet to practice operational procedures that would be used by ships allocated to the British Pacific Fleet. Pa ...

'' (1953) * '' Marilyn'' (1953) * ''

There Was a Young Lady ''There Was a Young Lady'' is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray and Sydney Tafler. It was made at Walton Studios and on location in London. The film's sets were designed by the ...

'' (1953) * '' The Broken Horseshoe'' (1953)

References

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Steve. ''The British 'B' Film''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Ernest G. 1893 births 1977 deaths British film producers People from Clerkenwell