Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913, Bray, Berkshire — 5 November 2001, Oxford) was a prolific British filmmaker known for collaborating with his twin brother,
[url=https://discogs.com/artist/13665145]John Edward Boulting[/url] (1913—1985). They primarily worked as
The Boulting Brothers duo, with Roy directing over 30 films (while John was more active as a producer). He was divorced five times and had seven children, all sons, including film director
Laurence Boulting and musician
Crispian Mills. Roy is the uncle of
Jody Boulting and the great-uncle of
Jordan Stephens.
Technically "younger," Roy was born half an hour after John. The twins debuted in
Anthony Asquith's 1931 film
Tell England at eighteen while attending Berkshire's Reading School. Roy spent a few years in Canada, returning home around 1933. Following Roy's debut as an assistant director on
Apron Fools comedy quickie in 1936, the brothers established
Charter Film Productions and began making shorts. Boultings came to prominence in 1940 with
Pastor Hall,
Martin Niemöller's anti-nazi biopic based on
Ernst Toller's eponymous play. During the Second World War, Roy made several military documentaries with the Army Film Unit, including
Desert Victory (1941), which earned him the Academy Award. The brothers co-produced and co-directed several movies, including the Golden Lion-nominee thriller
Seven Days to Noon in 1950. Roy also made a few Hollywood movies independently from John, starting with the WWII naval epic
Sailor of the King with [url=https://discogs.com/artist/8239264]Jeffrey Hunter[/url], produced in 1953 for 20th Century Fox. Between 1956 and 1959, they filmed a series of critically acclaimed satirical comedies with a star cast of
Richard Attenborough,
Terry-Thomas, [url=https://discogs.com/artist/791410]Ian Carmichael[/url], and
Peter Sellers.
In 1966, Roy directed
The Family Way, a well-accepted comedy starring [url=https://discogs.com/artist/1390467]John Mills[/url] and his 20-year-old daughter, a former 20th Century Fox child star
Hayley Mills; Roy began dating Hayley, who was 33 years younger, right on the movie set. Roy's next movie in 1968, psychological thriller
Twisted Nerve starring
Hywel Bennett,
Billie Whitelaw, and
Frank Finlay and produced by
George W. George/
Frank Granat duo, caused a notable controversy as it essentially implied that people with Down syndrome (still known as "mongoloids") are prone to violence and crime. The National Association for Mental Health and
David Ennals, then Minister for the State of Health, sent complaints to BBFC (British Board of Film Censors);
Twisted Nerve's medical adviser, renowned psychiatrist
Lionel Penrose, asked to remove his name from the credits. Shocked and upset, Roy Boulting added an opening disclaimer trying to backpedal on the film's message, which only fueled more criticism in the British press. (Since John was merely an executive producer, all uproar fell on Roy, whose reputation was already somewhat tamed as he continued publicly dating Hayley Mills, yet they weren't married.)
In 1970, Roy bounced back with
There's a Girl in My Soup romantic comedy, co-produced by John with
M. J. Frankovich and starring
Peter Sellers and
Goldie Hawn; it became their last notable success. The following comedy,
Soft Beds, Hard Battles, became a massive commercial flop despite a prominent cast of Sellers,
Curd Jürgens,
Lila Kedrova, and
Jenny Hanley, and caused Roy significant financial losses; it was John's last job in Hollywood. Roy directed one more comedy in 1979,
The Last Word, which saw only limited release and performed even worse in the UK's box office. After John died of cancer in 1985, he stopped making films.
