
Maurice Elvey was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England, the oldest son of William Clarence Folkard, an inspecting engineer, and Sarah Anna Seward Folkard (formerly Pearce). He never had a formal education, and was working on the streets of London by the age of nine after having run away from home. For a time he worked as a page boy in the Hyde Park Hotel, and a lucky encounter with a wealthy American set him on the road to a career in first the theatre and then in films. It was while in New York when working as a stage producer that he saw his first film, The Flying Dutchman (1923). This made such an impression on him that when he came back to England he was determined to produce and direct films; thus began a career spanning 44 years, during which time he made over 300 feature films and innumerable shorts. Amongst the "firsts" that Maurice Elvey can claim as a director are: Gaumont's first talking film (High Treason (1929)) and the first British colour film Sons of the Sea (1939)). Carol Reed and David Lean began their distinguished careers in film by working for him, and he directed Gracie Fields in her first movie, Sally in Our Alley (1931). Maurice Elvey was the older brother of Fred V. Merrick, and during the 1920s and 1930s they worked on a number of films together. In May 1996 the world premiere of a long-lost film about David Lloyd George, directed by Elvey, took place in Cardiff more than 70 years later than scheduled. The three-hour film was suppressed on the eve of its release under circumstances that have still not been fully explained. The film was acclaimed by cinema historians as a milestone in film making, and it is believed that had it been released in 1918, as originally planned, it may well have changed the course of British cinema. Maurice Elvey was married three times. His first marriage took place on 31st December 1910 to Adeline Maud Charlton Preston (aka actress 'Philippa Preston'. This marriage ended in divorce. He then married Florence Hill Clarke (a sculptor) on 2nd February 1916. This marriage, too, ended in divorce. On 13th January 1923 he married Isabella Reed (aka actress Isobel Elsom), but this marriage also ended in divorce. As Elvey's niece and god-daughter I was privileged to unveil a plaque in April 1997 at the Green Dragon Museum, Stockton-on-Tees as part of the Centenary of Cinema Celebrations.

Silent Sherlock: Three Classic Cases

The Wandering Jew

Love, Life and Laughter

Dry Rot

Hindle Wakes

Princess Charming

The Man in the Mirror

Sons of the Sea

Beware of Pity

The Gay Dog

Medal for the General

The Late Edwina Black

Who Goes Next?

What Every Woman Wants

The Clairvoyant

House of Blackmail

The Harassed Hero

The Water Gipsies

The Great Game

The Third Visitor

Strawberry Roan

The Life Story of David Lloyd George

High Treason

The Man with the Twisted Lip

The Happiness of Three Women

The Sign of Four

The Return of the Frog

Second Fiddle

The Dying Detective

I Lived with You

The Lamp Still Burns

The Tunnel

The Lodger

Under Your Hat

You Lucky People!

The Devil's Foot

Fun at St. Fanny's

Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?

The Swindler

Stars in Your Eyes

A Honeymoon Adventure

Sally in Our Alley

This Week of Grace

My Song for You

My Wife's Lodger

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Room in the House

Maria Marten, or Murder in the Red Barn

Bleak House

Curlytop

A Romance in Flanders

Heat Wave

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Florence Nightingale

You Know What Sailors Are

Balaclava

The Flag Lieutenant

The Lost Chord

Dick Turpin's Ride to York

The School for Scandal

Soldiers of the King

Diamond Cut Diamond

Potiphar's Wife

Sally Bishop

Human Law

Salute John Citizen

Comradeship

Palais De Danse

The Suicide Club

God's Good Man

Innocent

Mademoiselle from Armentieres

Roses of Picardy

The Glad Eye

The Flight Commander

虚栄地獄

A Scandal in Bohemia

The Hundredth Chance

Every Man's Wife

She Wolves

My Husband's Wives

Room for Two