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James Hill

Director, writer and producer · Died October 7, 1994, aged 75 · Eldwick, Yorks, England, UK

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia James ("Jimmy") Hill (1 August 1919 - 7 October 1994) was a British film and television director, screenwriter and producer whose career spanned 52 years between 1937–1989, best remembered for his documentaries and short subjects such as Giuseppina and The Home Made Car, and as director of the internationally acclaimed Born Free. Hill also directed, produced and/or wrote such diverse films as Black Beauty, A Study in Terror, Every Day's a Holiday, The Lion at World's End (aka Christian the Lion), Captain Nemo and the Underwater City, The Man from O.R.G.Y., and the children's television series' Worzel Gummidge and Worzel Gummidge Down Under. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Hill (British director), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
July 9, 1919
Died
October 7, 1994 (aged 75)
From
Eldwick, Yorks, England, UK
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
9 on Motif · 45 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 10% in 30 days

What are James Hill's films like?

Across their 7 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Bonds.

Genres

Adventure3 titlesTypical Motif score: 31st percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Motif score: 44th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies

Their Motif films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Motif score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Power
32%
Bonds
24%
Morality
14%
Ideas
12%
Survival
8%
Society
6%
Self
4%
Freedom3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeNature2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 3 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 4 · Charged 2 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 6 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Warm
4
Tense
3
Thrilling
2
Hopeful
2
Contemplative
2
Other
4

How their films linger

Hopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet4
  • Other1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch James Hill's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 9 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for James Hill's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

45 credits, 9 with a Motif page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • The Alaska Kid (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1993)

    Show 13 episodes · Director

  • Worzel Gummidge Down Under (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1987)

    Show 15 episodes · Director · Writer

  • Prospects (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1986)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • C.A.T.S. Eyes (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1985)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Owain Glyndŵr - Prince of Wales (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1983)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • A Cup O' Tea An' A Slice O' Cake - Worzel Gummidge Christmas Special (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1980)

    Director · Producer

  • The Wild and the Free (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1980)

    Director

  • Mr. Selkie (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1979)

    Writer

  • Worzel Gummidge (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1979)

    Show 30 episodes · Director

  • The New Avengers (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1976)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • The Man from Nowhere(1976)

    Director

    Motif score: 58th percentile of all films

  • London Conspiracy (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1974)

    Director

  • The Belstone Fox (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1973)

    Director · Writer

  • The Persuaders!(1971)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Motif score: 90th percentile of all shows

  • Black Beauty(1971)

    Director · Writer

    Motif score: 29th percentile of all films

  • The Lion at World's End (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1971)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • The Man from O.R.G.Y. (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1970)

    Director

  • Captain Nemo and the Underwater City(1969)

    Director

    Motif score: 31st percentile of all films

  • The Lions Are Free(1969)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Motif score: 95th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • An Elephant Called Slowly (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1969)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Journey to the Unknown (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1968)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Journey Into Darkness (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1968)

    Director

  • The Corrupt Ones(1967)

    Director

    Motif score: 22nd percentile of all films

  • The Specialist (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1966)

    Director

  • Born Free(1966)

    Director

    Motif score: 85th percentile of all films

  • A Study in Terror(1965)

    Director

    Motif score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Every Day's a Holiday (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1965)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Gideon's Way (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1965)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • The Home-Made Car (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1963)

    Director

  • The Human Jungle (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1963)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

  • The Saint (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1962)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

  • The Dock Brief (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1962)

    Director

  • Lunch Hour (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1962)

    Director

  • A Sunday in September (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1961)

    Director

  • The Kitchen (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1961)

    Director

  • The Avengers (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1961)

    Show 8 episodes · Director

  • Giuseppina (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1960)

    Director · Producer · Script

  • Mystery in the Mine (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1959)

    Director

  • Skyhook (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1958)

    Director

  • Reach for the Sky(1956)

    Second Unit Director

    Motif score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Peril for the Guy (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1956)

    Director · Writer

  • The Clue of the Missing Ape (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1953)

    Director · Writer

  • The Stolen Plans (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1952)

    Director

  • The Hoodlum Saint (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1946)

    Writer

  • Fly Away Peter (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1942)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 45 titles from 1942 to 1993.

Biggest box office

Born Free (1966)

$143 worldwide

Highest rated

Born Free (1966)

Motif 85th

Most popular right now

A Study in Terror (1965)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing42 of 45: 31 only directing, 11 with another role · typical Motif score60thWriting11 of 45: 2 only writing, 9 with another roleProducing5 of 45: 0 only producing, 5 with another roleOther crew2 of 45: 1 only other crew, 1 with another role

45 titles, 11 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 9 of them.

By decade

1940s2 · crew1950s6 · crew1960s20 · crew1970s10 · crew1980s6 · crew1990s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

How do James Hill's films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 60th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

59thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

46thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Motif score across 9 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 9 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · director, writer, producer

The Lions Are Free (1969)

80th percentile spread · 13% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

The Persuaders! (1971)

Motif 90th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 73/100 and the pacing 57/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does James Hill work with?

People who share at least 2 of James Hill's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bill Travers shares the most, 2.

Actors

Cinematographers

Producers