---
name: "James Bell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-bell"
fi1m_id: "james-bell"
imdb_id: "nm0068257"
tmdb_id: 84935
wikidata_id: "Q6129613"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "30 November 1891"
died: "26 October 1973"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-25T03:31:41.917832+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# James Bell

## Identity

James Bell

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/james-bell
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** james-bell
- **IMDb ID:** nm0068257
- **TMDB ID:** 84935
- **Wikidata ID:** Q6129613
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bell_(actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6129613, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0068257/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/84935

Actor. Born 30 November 1891 in Suffolk, Virginia, USA. Died 26 October 1973.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 30 November 1891, Suffolk, Virginia, USA
- **Died:** 26 October 1973
- **Also known as:** James Harlee Bell
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 85 (1), 1940s 84 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bell_(actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6129613, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0068257/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/84935

## Biography

James Bell, also credited as James Harlee Bell, was an American actor who appeared in around 150 films and television productions between 1932 and 1964. Born in Suffolk, Virginia, he graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a degree in electrical engineering before making his Broadway debut in 1920. He worked steadily on stage through the early 1940s.

Bell's first film role was an uncredited part in *I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang* (1932). He is known for supporting roles in *Holiday Inn* (1942), *I Walked with a Zombie* (1943) as Dr. Maxwell, *The Spiral Staircase* (1946), *Marty* (1955) as Mr. Snyder, and *The Glenn Miller Story* (1954). His television credits include four guest appearances on *Perry Mason*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

### Performed in (1) — the average rests on these

- *I Walked with a Zombie* (1943), Fi1m 84, as Dr. Maxwell — [page](https://film.one/film/i-walked-with-a-zombie.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang* (1932), Fi1m 85, as Red (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/i-am-a-fugitive-from-a-chain-gang.md)

## Complete filmography (90)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Twilight of Honor* (1963), as Charles Crispin
- *Claudelle Inglish* (1961), as Josh
- *Posse from Hell* (1961), as Benson
- *Checkmate* (1960), series, as Old Ben
- *Escape to Sonoita* (1960), as Andy Davis
- *The Shape of the River* (1960), as John Briggs
- *-30-* (1959), as Ben Quinn
- *The Oregon Trail* (1959), as Jeremiah Cooper
- *The Trap* (1959), as Clint Edwards
- *In Love and War* (1958), as Sidney Lenaine
- *Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse* (1958), series, as Alex
- *Bronco* (1958), series, as Station Agent (uncredited)
- *Wanted: Dead or Alive* (1958), series, as Boniface Terry
- *The Tin Star* (1957), as Judge Thatcher
- *Johnny Trouble* (1957), as Rev. Harrington
- *Perry Mason* (1957), series, as P. E. Overbrook, J. J. Stanley
- *Wagon Train* (1957), series, as Reverend Peters
- *Back from the Dead* (1957), as Mr. Bradley
- *The Lonely Man* (1957), as Judge Hart
- *Four Girls in Town* (1957), as Walter Conway
- *Whirlybirds* (1957), series, as Walt Elliott
- *Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre* (1956), series, as Judge Garrison
- *The Search for Bridey Murphy* (1956), as Hugh Lynn Cayce
- *Huk!* (1956), as Stephen Rogers
- *A Day of Fury* (1956), as Doc Logan
- *Tribute to a Bad Man* (1956), as L.A. Peterson
- *Man on the Ledge* (1955), as Mr. Cosick
- *Texas Lady* (1955), as Clay Ballard (Clarion owner)
- *A Lawless Street* (1955), as Asaph Dean
- *Sincerely Yours* (1955), as Grandpa Hunt
- *Teen-Age Crime Wave* (1955), as Thomas Paul Grant
- *The 20th Century Fox Hour* (1955), series, as Mr. Cosick
- *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, as Andy Davis
- *Lay That Rifle Down* (1955), as Mr. Fetcher
- *The Tilted Tenderfoot* (1955), as Jim Corbett, trapper
- *Marty* (1955), as Mr. Snyder (uncredited)
- *Black Tuesday* (1954), as John Norris
- *About Mrs. Leslie* (1954), as Mr. Herbert Poole
- *Riding Shotgun* (1954), as Doc Winkler
- *The Glenn Miller Story* (1954), as Mr. Burger
- *Crime Wave* (1953), as Daniel O'Keefe
- *Devil's Canyon* (1953), as Dr. Betts
- *Hannah Lee: An American Primitive* (1953), as Man at Carousel
- *The Last Posse* (1953), as Will Romer
- *Million Dollar Mermaid* (1952), as Judge
- *Ride the Man Down* (1952), as John Evarts
- *The Ford Television Theatre* (1952), series, as Cass Martin, Pop Latshaw
- *Wild Horse Ambush* (1952), as Sheriff Tom White
- *Crossroads - U.S.A.* (1952), as Mr. Farnum
- *Japanese War Bride* (1952), as Ed Sterling
- *Arizona Manhunt* (1951), as Sheriff Tom White
- *Flying Leathernecks* (1951), as Colonel
- *Red Mountain* (1951), as Dr. Terry
- *The Dakota Kid* (1951), as Sheriff Tom White
- *Buckaroo Sheriff of Texas* (1951), as Tom White
- *The Company She Keeps* (1951), as Mr. Neeley
- *Dial 1119* (1950), as Harrison D. Barnes
- *Streets of Laredo* (1949), as Ike
- *Roughshod* (1949), as Pa (Ed) Wyatt
- *Sealed Verdict* (1948), as Mr. Hockland
- *Black Eagle* (1948), as Frank Hayden
- *I, Jane Doe* (1948), as Judge Bertrand
- *Killer McCoy* (1947), as Father Patrick Ryan
- *Driftwood* (1947), as Sheriff Bolton
- *Philo Vance's Secret Mission* (1947), as Sheriff Harry Madison
- *Brute Force* (1947), as Crenshaw
- *The Millerson Case* (1947), as Ezra Minnich
- *The Sea of Grass* (1947), as Sam Hall
- *Blind Spot* (1947), as Det. Lt. Fred Applegate
- *Dead Reckoning* (1946), as Father Logan
- *The Unknown* (1946), as Edward Martin
- *The Spiral Staircase* (1946), as Constable
- *The Girl of the Limberlost* (1945), as Wesley Sinton
- *Blood on the Sun* (1945), as Charley Sprague
- *Thunderhead: Son of Flicka* (1945), as Gus
- *I Love a Soldier* (1944), as Williams
- *Gangway for Tomorrow* (1943), as Tom Burke
- *So Proudly We Hail* (1943), as Col. White
- *My Friend Flicka* (1943), as Gus
- *The Leopard Man* (1943), as Dr. Galbraith
- *I Walked with a Zombie* (1943), as Dr. Maxwell — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/i-walked-with-a-zombie.md)
- *Holiday Inn* (1942), as Dunbar
- *Student Tour* (1934), as Indian Fakir
- *White Woman* (1933), as Hambly
- *Day of Reckoning* (1933), as Slim Williams
- *Storm at Daybreak* (1933), as Peter (uncredited)
- *Private Detective 62* (1933), as Whitey
- *Infernal Machine* (1933), as Spencer
- *The King's Vacation* (1933), as Anderson
- *I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang* (1932), as Red (uncredited) — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/i-am-a-fugitive-from-a-chain-gang.md)

## Gallery

- ![James Bell](https://film.one/media/person/1226307/gallery-b4d49a3c36c6.jpg) James Bell — Film screenshot (United Artists), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/James_Bell_in_Blood_on_the_Sun_%281945%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![James Bell](https://film.one/media/person/1226307/gallery-af13df9179be.jpg) James Bell — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/james-bell