Robert Westerby (3 July 1909 in Hackney, England – 16 November 1968 in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

, California, United States), was a writer of novels (published by Arthur Barker of London) and screenwriter for films and television. An amateur boxer in his youth, he wrote many early magazine articles and stories centred around that sport. As a writer of screenplays, he was employed at Disney's Burbank studio from 1961 until his death in 1968. Westerby's 1937 novel ''Wide Boys Never Work'', a story of the criminal underworld before 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 ...

, was the an early published use of the term " wide boy".

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

(1989) Second Edition In 1956 the book was made into the British film ''

Soho Incident ''Soho Incident'', released in the United States as ''Spin a Dark Web'', is a 1956 British film noir directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Faith Domergue and Lee Patterson.

'' (released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as ''Spin a Dark Web''). In 2008 London Books republished ''Wide Boys Never Work'' as part of their London Books classics series. Before then, M. Benny had published, in 1936, the novel 'Low Company', (published by 'P. Davies', of London). His account of his early life was entitled ''A Magnum for my Mother'' (1946). To the British public, a ''magnum'' just meant a large bottle of

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

. However, in the USA it could suggest a type of handgun, so it was retitled ''Champagne for Mother'' (1947).

Bibliography

*''Wide Boys Never Work'' (1937) *''Only Pain is Real'' (1937) *''In These Quiet Streets'' (1938) *''French for Funny, and Other Stories'' (1938) *''Polish Gold'' (1940) *''The Small Voice'' (1940) *''Tomorrow Started Yesterday'' (1940) *''Hunger Allows No Choice'' (1941) *''Mad in Pursuit'' (1945) *''A Magnum for my Mother'' (1946) *''Champagne for Mother'' (1947) *''An Awful Lot of Coffee'' (1950) *''Five-Day Crossing'' (1952) *''In the Money'' (1952)

Partial filmography

*'' Night Beat'' (1947) * ''

The White Unicorn ''The White Unicorn'' is a 1947 British drama film directed by Bernard Knowles and starring Margaret Lockwood, Joan Greenwood, Ian Hunter and Dennis Price. Kyra Vayne appeared as the singer. It was made at Walton Studios by the independent prod ...

'' (1947) *'' Woman Hater'' (1948) *''

Don't Ever Leave Me ''Don't Ever Leave Me'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Petula Clark, Jimmy Hanley, Hugh Sinclair, Edward Rigby, and Anthony Newley. Produced by Betty Box during her stint at Gainsborough Pictures, it wa ...

'' (1949) *'' The Spider and the Fly'' (1949) *''

Prelude to Fame ''Prelude to Fame'' is a 1950 British drama film set in Italy, directed by Fergus McDonell and starring Guy Rolfe, Kathleen Byron and Kathleen Ryan. It is based on the 1924 story "Young Archimides" by Aldous Huxley, about a mathematical prodigy w ...

'' (1950) *'' The Adventurers'' (1951) *''

Appointment in London ''Appointment in London'' (known as ''Raiders in the Sky'' in the U.S.) is a 1953 British war film set during the Second World War and starring Dirk Bogarde. The film was directed by Philip Leacock and based on a story by John Wooldridge, who a ...

'' (1953) *''

South of Algiers ''South of Algiers'' (U.S. ''The Golden Mask'') is a 1953 British travel adventure film, directed by Jack Lee and starring Van Heflin, Wanda Hendrix and Eric Portman. It is based on an original screenplay by Robert Westerby, and was partly ...

'' (1953) *''

The Square Ring ''The Square Ring'' is a 1953 British tragi-comic drama, directed by Basil Dearden and made at Ealing Studios. It stars Jack Warner, Robert Beatty and Bill Owen. The film, based on a stage play by Ralph Peterson, centres on one night at a fa ...

'' (1953) *''

They Who Dare ''They Who Dare'' is a 1954 British Second World War war film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Dirk Bogarde, Denholm Elliott and Akim Tamiroff. The story is based on Operation Anglo that took place during World War II in the Dodecanese ...

'' (1954) *'' Malaga'' (1954) * '' Before I Wake'' (1955) *''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'' (1956) *''

The Surgeon's Knife ''The Surgeon's Knife'' is a 1957 British crime film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Donald Houston, Adrienne Corri and Lyndon Brook. It is an adaptation of the 1940 novel '' The Wicked Flee'' by Anne Hocking. Synopsis When his patient ...

'' (1957) *''

Sea of Sand ''Sea of Sand'' (released in the US as ''Desert Patrol'') is a 1958 British war film starring Richard Attenborough, John Gregson and Michael Craig (actor), Michael Craig. The film, which was directed by Guy Green (filmmaker), Guy Green, is abou ...

'' (1958) *'' Cone of Silence'' (1960) *'' Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog'' (1961) *''

The Devil's Agent ''The Devil's Agent'' (german: Im Namen des Teufels) is a 1962 drama film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Peter van Eyck, Marianne Koch, Christopher Lee and Macdonald Carey. It was a co-production between Britain, West Germany and ...

'' (1962) *'' Kali Yug: Goddess of Vengeance'' (1963) *''

The Three Lives of Thomasina ''The Three Lives of Thomasina'' is a 1963 fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey, starring Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, child actor Matthew Garber and child actress Karen Dotrice in a story about a cat and her influence on a family. The s ...

'' (1963) *''

The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh The Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn is the smuggler hero of a series of novels by Russell Thorndike. The first book, ''Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh'' was published in 1915. The story idea came from smuggling in the 18th-century Romney ...

'' (1963) *''

The Fighting Prince of Donegal ''The Fighting Prince of Donegal'' is a 1966 adventure film starring Peter McEnery and Susan Hampshire, based on the novel ''Red Hugh: Prince of Donegal'' by Robert T. Reilly. It was released by the Buena Vista Distribution Company. Plot Set i ...

'' (1966)

Television

*''Disneyland'' *''

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was re ...

'' *''

Sword of Freedom ''Sword of Freedom'' was a 1958 drama adventure series for a family audience. Like several of its predecessors (most notably ''The Adventures of Robin Hood''), it was produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment and fitted into the same sw ...

'' *''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in ''Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devote ...

References

External links

*
London Books: Robert Westerby
biography

(essay review by Martin Knight, 2008)
British Film Institute
Robert Westerby 1909 births 1968 deaths People from the London Borough of Hackney British expatriates in the United States British male screenwriters British writers 20th-century British screenwriters {{screen-writer-stub