Roy Drew

Roy Drew was recruited as a cutter for Gaumont Sound News in June 1929 and literally learnt to cut sound on the job, probably under John Seabourne who was certainly chief cutter in the autumn of 1929. It is likely that Drew became chief cutter with Seabourne’s departure. According to David Lean [qv], Drew ‘made a fatal mistake’: ‘Roy Drew cut in a shot of the Graf Zeppelin upside down. It was an easy mistake to make, but all the copies had to be reprinted and he was fired.' In fact Drew was replaced by Lean, and became his deputy. In October 1930 they worked together to cut the story of the R101 disaster for the Gaumont Sound News. By 1945 Drew was listed as chief cutter of the Gaumont British News, and in 1947 John Huntley noted that Drew was also responsible for selecting its music. His greatest achievement was the express editing of the official film of the 1948 Olympic Games, held in London, ‘XIVth Olympiad - The Glory of Sport’, produced by Castleton Knight [qv]. When Gaumont British News finished in February 1959, Roy Drew went on to become editor of the new weekly colour cinemagazine that would take its place, Look at Life, and continued in the position until its last issue, released in February 1969.

Sources

Kine Year Book 1946 (1945), p.275: J. Huntley ‘British Film Music’ (London, 1947), p.134: K. Brownlow ‘David Lean’ (London, 1996), pp.61-2, 69-70; Roy Drew interview at the Imperial War Museum.