{{Short description|Kenyan film producer (1923–2011)}} {{Infobox person | name = Eva Monley | birth_date = 29 April 1923 | birth_place = Berlin, Germany | death_date = 12 November 2011 | citizenship = Kenyan | occupation = Location scout, production manager and film producer }}

'''Eva Monley''' (April 29, 1923&nbsp;– November 12, 2011) was a Kenyan location scout, production manager and film producer.<ref name=variety>{{cite news|title=Eva Monley dies at 88 |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118046383|work=Variety |date=2011-11-21 |access-date=2011-12-11}}</ref> Monley, an expert on filming in Africa, helped many of Hollywood's best known film directors and producers film on location throughout the continent, including Steven Spielberg, Otto Preminger, John Ford, and David Lean.<ref name=thr>{{cite news|title=Production manager, location scout and producer worked on such films as "The African Queen," "Lawrence of Arabia" and "A Far Off Place." |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/eva-monley-hollywoods-expert-africa-263629|work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2011-11-18 |access-date=2011-12-11}}</ref>

==Biography==

===Early life=== Monley was born in Berlin, Germany on April 29, 1923.<ref name=thr/> She fled Nazi Germany with her mother, eventually settling in Kenya Colony,<ref name=variety/> which later became the independent nation of Kenya. Over time, Monley achieved fluency in the Swahili language and became an expert on East African cultures.<ref name=variety/>

===Film career=== Monley took a position as a secretary in Nairobi.<ref name=variety/> While working that job, Monley was hired in her first job involving film.<ref name=variety/> Monley worked as a script supervisor and assistant for the 1950 movie, ''King Solomon's Mines''.<ref name=variety/> ''King Solomon's Mines'' shot on location throughout Kenya Colony, Belgian Congo and Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania).<ref name=variety/> Once production had finished, Monley was hired in a similar position as assistant and script supervisor for the 1951 film ''The African Queen'', directed by John Huston.<ref name=variety/> A string of behind-the-scenes positions for American and British film productions soon followed including ''The Snows of Kilimanjaro'' in 1952, ''White Witch Doctor'' in 1953, and ''Mogambo'', a 1953 movie directed by John Ford.<ref name=variety/>

In addition to her work with productions based in Africa, Monley worked outside Africa as well. She worked on two films produced in India, ''The Rains of Ranchipur'', which was directed by Jean Negulesco and starred Lana Turner, and 1956's ''Bhowani Junction'', a George Cukor-directed film adaptation of the novel.<ref name=variety/> She also worked as the location manager for ''Lawrence of Arabia'' for two years.

In 1960, Monley began a five film collaboration with director Otto Preminger as his production manager for ''Exodus''. Monley subsequently worked as production manager for - ''The Cardinal'' in 1963, ''In Harm's Way'' in 1965, ''Bunny Lake Is Missing'' in 1965 and ''Hurry Sundown'' in 1967.<ref name=variety/>

Monley switched to associate producer for a number of films later in her career. Her associate production credits included the 1977 horror film ''The Pack''; 1979's The Promise by Gilbert Cates; ''Champions'' in 1983; and ''Highlander'' in 1986.<ref name=variety/> She used her expertise as both an associate producer and film scout for ''Mister Johnson'', which was shot on location in Nigeria by Bruce Beresford.<ref name=variety/>

Monley produced the 1993 Walt Disney Pictures and Amblin Entertainment film, ''A Far Off Place'', which starred Reese Witherspoon.<ref name=variety/> The movie was adapted from the book of the same name, written by South African writer, Laurens van der Post.

Her numerous other credits in other production roles included ''Billion Dollar Brain'' in 1967, ''The Black Windmill'' in 1974, ''The Man Who Would Be King'' in 1975, Sydney Pollack's ''Out of Africa'' in 1985, and Steven Spielberg's 1987 film adaption, Empire of the Sun.<ref name=variety/>

Monley was a recipient of the British Film Institute's lifetime achievement award.<ref name=variety/> She donated her papers and writings related to her film work to the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.<ref name=variety/>

Eva Monley died at her home in Nanyuki, Kenya, on November 12, 2011, at the age of 88.

The Location Managers Guild of America honored the memory of Eva Monley at their inaugural award show in 2013 by naming their honorary award to an industry professional that has demonstrated ‘above and beyond’ support of the work of location professionals after her.<ref name=LMGA>[http://locationmanagers.org/about-the-lmga-eva-monley-honorary-award About the Eva Monley Award] ''Location Managers Guild of America'' Retrieved 2014-12-11</ref> The first recipient of the award went to multiple Academy Award winning Director Alexander Payne for his masterful use of location as another character in movies such as ''Sideways'', ''The Descendants'', and ''Nebraska''.

==References== {{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Monley, Eva}} Category:1923 births Category:2011 deaths Category:Film people from Berlin Category:Kenyan film producers Category:Film location scouts Category:Emigrants from Nazi Germany Category:People from Rift Valley Province