Raymond Perrin ("Ray")

Ray Perrin worked as a film editor at British Movietone News from at least 1931, although his first credit is for ‘GRACIE FIELDS EDITS MOVIETONE’S CHRISTMAS NUMBER... Assembled by Raymond Perrin,' in No.499 of December 1938. The editor of Movietone, Gerald Sanger [qv], recalled that during the war he worked closely with Perrin and Peter Whale [qv] making official films, and that ‘the chief sponsor was the Ministry of Information who took delivery of 35 films edited by Raymond Perrin, including three long compilations in the nature of ‘war history,' which were translated into European languages for the liberated peoples.' Perrin is known to have directed ‘Fighter Pilot’ (1940) and ‘Heirs of Tomorrow’ (1944). He also edited ‘Alert in the East’ (1941), ‘From D-Day to Paris’ (1945), ‘From Paris to the Rhine’ (1945), ‘New Zealand was there’ (1945), and ‘From Italy to D-Day’ (1946). Perrin also worked upon ‘War Review No.1’ (1943), a short compilation edited by Sanger, and he is known to have been involved with other productions noted on the issue sheets as ‘Aid to Russia,' ‘After Dunkirk,' and ‘Tank Quiz.' The latter was presumably one of the tank identification film which Movietone produced for the War Office, with Paul Wyand [qv] as cameraman. In April 1941 Perrin appeared with Paul Wyand as amateur gardeners in a comic item ''ALLOTMENT EASTER’,' in British Movietone News No.619A.

After the war Perrin continued working for Movietone as a film editor, and Terry Gallacher [qv], who joined Movietone in 1945, remembered him as ‘specialising in the various shorts and documentaries they produced, mainly on royal subjects and sometimes for the Conservative Party.' Perrin is known to have worked on a short entitled ‘House of Windsor’ (1948). He was listed in the Movietone staff list for October 1951, and the issue sheets have references to his working on the British Movietone News as late as November 1952. Perrin is also known to have edited ‘The Flight of the White Heron’ (1954), the company’s film of the Royal Tour of the Commonwealth, and Peter Hampton [qv] also recalled him working in the Library. In 1955 Perrin left Movietone to join ITN, where he was in charge of post-production.

Sources

G. Sanger ‘The Story of British Movietone News in the War Years,' c.1946, copy in BUFVC: Reg Sutton’s typescript autobiography, copy in BUFVC: K. Brownlow ‘David Lean’ (London, 1996), p.75: BUFVC, T. M. Gallacher, ‘Additional Notes,' October 1998: Information from Peter Hampton, March 1999.