James Newill
Actor · Died July 31, 1975, aged 63 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Newill, one of Hollywood's largely unsung singing cowboys, began his career as a tenor with the Los Angeles Light Opera company in the early 30's. By the middle of the decade, he fronted the microphone as a vocalist with various society orchestras, including those of Gus Arnheim, Phil Harris and Eddy Duchin. He was briefly on air with the Burns & Allen radio show (broadcast by CBS) and also had a spell in vaudeville. In 1937, he was spotted by one of the myriad of talent scouts roaming the state and so commenced on the Hollywood western trail. His first port of call was Poverty Row outfit Grand National, a studio which inaugurated filming the popular boys adventure yarn Renfrew of the Royal Mounted. After the initial two instalments, Newill appeared as the titular hero in another five (with ever-declining production values) for Monogram. He was briefly on loan-outs to Fox and RKO between 1941 and 1942 and made Decca recordings with the Victor Young Orchestra. He then popped up as Texas Ranger Jim Steele in 14 episodic low-budget westerns for bottom-of-the-drawer company PRC. In between filming, he and co-star Dave O'Brien also tried their hand at goat farming. In 1944, Newill was replaced by Tex Ritter and left the range (and screen acting) for greener pastures on the New York stage. In the 1950's and 60's, he undertook a variety of occupations: operating a sawmill, disk-jockeying for a classical radio station, running a kiddies ride business and even trying his hand (without much financial success) at making fiberglass speedboats. He retired in 1971.
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Biography from IMDb.
- August 12, 1911
- July 31, 1975 (aged 63)
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Actor
- 12 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
What are James Newill's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 10
Light 10 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
Grounded 8 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 6 · Charged 4 · Intense 0
Steady 8 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 8 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 0
Casual 8 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 10 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 0
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 7 of 10 analyzed roles.
Show the 10 rolesHide the roles
- Heroas Sergeant Renfrew in Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (1937)
- Heroas Sergeant Renfrew in On the Great White Trail (1938)
- Heroas Sergeant Renfrew in Fighting Mad (1939)
- Heroas Sergeant Renfrew in Yukon Flight (1940)
- Shadowas Paul Harrington in The Falcon's Brother (1942)
- Heroas Jim Steele in Brand of the Devil (1944)
- Heroas Jim Steele in Guns of the Law (1944)
- Heroas Jim Steele in Gunsmoke Mesa (1944)
- Allyas Jim Steele in Outlaw Roundup (1944)
- Allyas Jim Steele in Spook Town (1944)
Moods and endings
- Happy9
- Bittersweet1
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 Newill's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
Subscription and free streaming for James Newill's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits 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
27 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.
Gunsmoke Mesa(1944)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Brand of the Devil(1944)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Spook Town(1944)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Pinto Bandit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)
Guns of the Law(1944)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Outlaw Roundup(1944)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Boss of Rawhide (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
The Return of the Rangers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
Trail of Terror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
Fighting Valley (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
Border Buckaroos (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
Bombardier(1943)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
West of Texas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
Bad Men of Thunder Gap (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
The Rangers Take Over (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
The Falcon's Brother(1942)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
The Great American Broadcast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)
Sky Bandits (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
Murder on the Yukon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
Danger Ahead (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
Yukon Flight(1940)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Crashing Thru (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)
Fighting Mad(1939)
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
On the Great White Trail(1938)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Something to Sing About(1937)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Sing While You're Able (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Career shape
A full career of 27 titles from 1937 to 1944.
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 Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do James Newill's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 20th percentile, the median of all 12; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 30th percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th7
Shape of the crowd
9 of their 12 titles are Mixed.
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed9
Reviewers score the acting 47/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles; fans 61, detractors 39. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; 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 Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove 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 Newill work with?
People who share at least 2 of James Newill's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dave O'Brien shares the most, 7.
Directors
- Harry L. FraserShared titles: Brand of the Devil (1944), Gunsmoke Mesa (1944), Outlaw Roundup (1944)See all 3 shared titles with Harry L. Fraser
- Elmer CliftonShared titles: Brand of the Devil (1944), Guns of the Law (1944), Gunsmoke Mesa (1944), Outlaw Roundup (1944), Spook Town (1944)See all 5 shared titles with Elmer Clifton
- Albert HermanShared titles: On the Great White Trail (1938), Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (1937)See all 2 shared titles with Albert Herman
Writers
- Laurie York ErskineShared titles: Yukon Flight (1940), Fighting Mad (1939), On the Great White Trail (1938), Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (1937)See all 4 shared titles with Laurie York Erskine
- Charles LogueShared titles: On the Great White Trail (1938), Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (1937)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Logue
Actors
- Dave O'BrienShared titles: Brand of the Devil (1944), Guns of the Law (1944), Gunsmoke Mesa (1944), Outlaw Roundup (1944), Spook Town (1944), Yukon Flight (1940), Fighting Mad (1939)See all 7 shared titles with Dave O'Brien
- Charles KingShared titles: Brand of the Devil (1944), Guns of the Law (1944), Outlaw Roundup (1944), Spook Town (1944), On the Great White Trail (1938)See all 5 shared titles with Charles King
- Guy WilkersonShared titles: Brand of the Devil (1944), Guns of the Law (1944), Gunsmoke Mesa (1944), Outlaw Roundup (1944), Spook Town (1944)See all 5 shared titles with Guy Wilkerson
- Jack IngramShared titles: Guns of the Law (1944), Gunsmoke Mesa (1944), Outlaw Roundup (1944)See all 3 shared titles with Jack Ingram
Cinematographers and editors
- Charles Henkel Jr.Shared titles: Brand of the Devil (1944), Guns of the Law (1944), Gunsmoke Mesa (1944), Outlaw Roundup (1944), Spook Town (1944)See all 5 shared titles with Charles Henkel Jr.
- Ira H. MorganShared titles: Gunsmoke Mesa (1944), Outlaw Roundup (1944), On the Great White Trail (1938)See all 3 shared titles with Ira H. Morgan
- Edward A. KullShared titles: Brand of the Devil (1944), Guns of the Law (1944)See all 2 shared titles with Edward A. Kull
- Martin G. CohnShared titles: Yukon Flight (1940), Fighting Mad (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Martin G. Cohn
Producers
- Alfred SternShared titles: Brand of the Devil (1944), Gunsmoke Mesa (1944), Outlaw Roundup (1944), Spook Town (1944)See all 4 shared titles with Alfred Stern
- Arthur AlexanderShared titles: Brand of the Devil (1944), Guns of the Law (1944), Gunsmoke Mesa (1944), Spook Town (1944)See all 4 shared titles with Arthur Alexander
- Philip N. KrasneShared titles: Yukon Flight (1940), Fighting Mad (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Philip N. Krasne