Roy Rowland

'Roy Rowland' (qv) studied law at the University of Southern California, then joined MGM as a script clerk. As if getting that job wasn't enough good luck in the middle of the Depression, he also married the niece of MGM chief 'Louis B. Mayer' (qv).He sharpened his directing chops at MGM with a series of shorts starting in the 1930s, then moved up to features in 1943. He spent quite a bit of time at the studio, from 1943-51 and again from 1954-58. While not one of the studio's top-rank directors, he could be counted on to deliver sold "B" pictures--which, at MGM, were often better than most other studios' "A" pictures--and an occasional "A" production, in a variety of genres, including musicals (_Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956)_ (qv)) and dramas (_Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945)_ (qv)). He was also responsible for the tough, fast-paced _Rogue Cop (1954)_ (qv), one of the few MGM films that could be considered "film noir".The last film he made at MGM was a "B" western with 'Stewart Granger' (qv), _Gun Glory (1957)_ (qv), after which he made an action picture for independent release based on a 'Mickey Spillane' (qv) "Mike Hammer" novel starring Spillane himself (_The Girl Hunters (1963)_ (qv)), and then he traveled to Europe for a string of Italian-made westerns and costume dramas. His final film as director was a somewhat cheesy pirate movie (he was uncredited; his Italian co-director 'Sergio Bergonzelli' (qv) got sole credit)) called _Donner über dem indischen Ozean (1966)_ (qv). He was associate producer on 'Nathan Juran' (qv)'s Italian-shot _Land Raiders (1970)_ (qv), after which he retired. He was the father of actor 'Steve Rowland' (qv).'Roy Rowland' (qv) died in 1995, at age 84, in Orange, California..::A. Nonymous