Boulting Brothers

John Boulting
Roy (left) and John (right) Boulting, 1952
Born	Joseph Edward John Boulting (1913-11-21)21 November 1913 Bray, Berkshire, England
Died	17 June 1985(1985-06-17) (aged 71) Sunningdale, Berkshire, England
Occupation	Film producer and director
Spouse(s)	Veronica Davidson (1938–?) Jacqueline Duncan (1952–1966) Ann Marion (1972–?) Anne Josephine (1977–1985)
Children	6

John Edward Boulting (21 November 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 November 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for their popular series of satirical comedies in the 1950s and 1960s. They produced many of their films through their own production company, Charter Film Productions, which they set up in 1937.

The twin brothers were born to Arthur Boulting and his wife Rosetta (Rose) née Bennett in Bray, Berkshire, England on 21 November 1913 (though both brothers later gave their birthday as 21 November in Who's Who and elsewhere). John was the elder by half an hour. John was named Joseph Edward John Boulting and Roy was named Alfred Fitzroy Clarence Boulting. Their elder brother Sydney Boulting became an actor and stage producer as Peter Cotes; he was the original director of The Mousetrap. A younger brother, Guy, died aged eight. Both twins were educated at Reading School, where they formed a film society. They were extras in Anthony Asquith's 1931 film Tell England while still at school. During the Spanish Civil War, John served with the International Brigades as an ambulance driver.

The brothers worked together as producer and director whenever they could, and often alternated these duties depending on the nature of each film, although they also made films separately. They also had a hand in the scripts of many of their films.

They began with serious, tight, economical drama films such as Seven Days to Noon (1950) and Graham Greene's Brighton Rock (1947), both with Roy producing and John directing. They then became known for a series of satirical comedy films, such as Private's Progress (1956), Lucky Jim (1957) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). John Boulting co-wrote the films. The Boultings used the same actors in many of their films, including Ian Carmichael, Richard Attenborough, Terry-Thomas, Dennis Price, John Le Mesurier, Irene Handl, and Miles Malleson. I'm All Right Jack featured Peter Sellers, boosting his film career, winning him a BAFTA Best Actor Award. In 1985, Roy Boulting directed an episode of the Miss Marple mysteries for BBC Television.