Ray Rigby (1916, Rochford – 1995, Guadalajara, Mexico) was a British screenwriter and novelist. He is mainly known for '' The Hill'', a searing account of an abusive military prison, which was directed by Sidney Lumet and was greeted with critical acclaim, winning the Best Screenplay award at the

1965 Cannes Film Festival The 18th Cannes Film Festival was held from 3 to 16 May 1965. Olivia de Havilland became the first woman president of the jury. The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to '' The Knack …and How to Get It'' by Richard Lester. The ...

, an honour also bestowed by the

Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The un ...

the following year, when it also won a BAFTA for Best Screenplay. The film was inspired by Rigby's own experience in a British military prison in World War II when he spent two terms in field punishment detention centres. He co-wrote the film ''

Operation Crossbow ''Crossbow'' was the code name in World War II for Anglo-American operations against the German long range reprisal weapons (V-weapons) programme. The main V-weapons were the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket – these were launched against Brita ...

'', also released in 1965. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s he worked for several of the major Hollywood studios writing for top TV series, including ''

Starr and Company ''Starr and Company'' was a BBC television drama series aired in 1958. It was a soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by ...

'' and '' The Avengers''. Rigby published a novel of the story of ''The Hill'' in 1965. ''Hill of Sand'' was written as a follow-up. ''Jackson's War'' dealt with similar themes. Other novels include ''Jackson's Peace'' and ''Jackson's England''. Author Tony Burton, who knew Rigby, said he was "a born raconteur, with keen street-smarts and a ready wit. Author Alex Gratton was not exaggerating when he described Ray in a memorial piece as a "world class wit and a fabulous story teller"." Rigby left Hollywood behind in 1972 and moved to Mexico, settling in Guadalajara, where he married for the fifth and final time, and lived until his death in 1995, at the age of 78.

References

British male screenwriters 1916 births 1995 deaths People from Rochford British Army personnel of World War II Prisoners and detainees of the British military 20th-century British screenwriters Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay winners British expatriates in the United States British expatriates in Mexico Military personnel from Essex British Army soldiers {{screenwriter-stub