Directors: Roy Rowland–Background, Career, Awards, Filmography

August 12, 2022

Roy Rowland Career Summation

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Roy Rowland (December 31, 1910 – June 29, 1995) was American film director. The New York-born director helmed a number of films in the 1950s and 1960s including Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Meet Me in Las Vegas, Rogue Cop, The 5000 Fingers of Doctor T, and The Girl Hunters.

Rowland married Ruth Cummings, the niece of Louis B. Mayer and sister of Jack Cummings (MGM producer/director). They had one son, Steve Rowland, born in 1932, who later became a music producer in the UK.

Roy Rowland was born in Brooklyn, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. The family moved to Edendale, California, when Roy was ten.

USC

He graduated from the University of Southern California with a law degree before beginning his career at MGM as a script clerk.

He then began working as prop man, grip, and assistant cameraman.

In 1927 he met Ruth Cummings at the Santa Monica Beach Club. She was the niece of Louis B. Mayer and the sister of producer Jack Cummings. Her family disapproved of Rowlands, so they eloped. This resulted in Rowland being blacklisted. But Ruth Cummings arranged a rapprochement with Mayer.

He was assistant director on most of the Tarzan films, starring Johnny Weissmuller in the 1930s.

Rowland made his reputation directing short films, particularly the “How to” series of shorts starring Robert Benchley. One of them, How to Sleep (1937), won an Academy Award.

He also worked with producer Pete Smith as the director of several of short films in the Pete Smith Specialties series, and directed short films in the Crime Does Not Pay series.

Rowland’s debut feature was A Stranger in Town (1943).

He made 3 films with the child actress Margaret O’Brien: Lost Angel (1943), Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945), and Tenth Avenue Angel (1948).

He also directed musicals such as Hit the Deck (1955), Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), and The Seven Hills of Rome (1957).

He also made The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953), from a story by Dr. Seuss.

He directed Many Rivers to Cross with Robert Taylor and Gun Glory (1957) with Stewart Granger and Rowland’s son Steve.

Rowland was survived by his wife Ruth and their son.

Partial Filmography

Hollywood Party (1934) co-director
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs (1936) – short
Cinema Circus (1937) – short
Hollywood Party (1937) – short
Song of Revolt (1937) – short
How to Start the Day (1937) – short
A Night at the Movies (1937) short film with Robert Benchley
Music Made Simple (1938) – short
An Evening Alone (1938) – short
How to Raise a Baby (1938) – short
The Courtship of the Newt (1938) – short
How to Read (1938) – short
How to Watch Football (1938) – short
Opening Day (1938) – short
Mental Poise (1938) – short
How to Sub-Let (1939) – short
An Hour for Lunch (1939) – short
Dark Magic (1939) – short
Home Early (1939) – short
How to Eat (1939) – short
Think First (1939) – short
Jack Pot (1940) – short
Please Answer (1940) – short (documentary)
You, the People (1940) – short
Sucker List (1941) – short
Changed Identity (1941) – short

Features

A Stranger in Town (1943) feature debut
Lost Angel (1943)
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945)
Boys’ Ranch (1946)
The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947)
Killer McCoy (1947)
Tenth Avenue Angel (1948)
Scene of the Crime (1949)

1950s

The Outriders (1950)
Two Weeks with Love (1950)
Excuse My Dust (1951)
Bugles in the Afternoon (1952)
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953)
Affair with a Stranger (1953)
The Moonlighter (1953)
Rogue Cop (1954)
Witness to Murder (1954)
Light’s Diamond Jubilee (1954, TV special, 6 other directors)
Many Rivers to Cross (1955)
Hit the Deck (1955)
Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956)
These Wilder Years (1956)
Slander (1956)
Gun Glory (1957)
Seven Hills of Rome (1957)
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1959–60) (TV series), also producer

1960s

The Girl Hunters (1963) – also writer
Gunfighters of Casa Grande (1964)
Sie nannten ihn Gringo (1965)
The Sea Pirate (1966) – also producer
Il grande colpo di Surcouf (1966)

Land Raiders (1970) – associate producer only

Roy Rowland Filmography

Hollywood Party (1934)

A Night at the Movies (1937)

A Stranger in Town (1943)

Lost Angel (1943)

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945)

Boys’ Ranch (1946)

The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947)

Killer McCoy (1947)

Tenth Avenue Angel (1948)

Scene of the Crime (1949)