---
name: "James Hilton"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-hilton"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "9 September 1900"
died: "20 December 1954"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 75
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-20T00:57:42.746404+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 Hilton

Writer. Born 9 September 1900 in Leigh, Lancashire, England, UK. Died 20 December 1954.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 9 September 1900, Leigh, Lancashire, England, UK
- **Died:** 20 December 1954
- **Active:** 1937–1943
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 6: 1 acting, 5 writing
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as writer, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 75 (2), 1940s 74 (4)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 74 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Romance 4, Action 1, Adventure 1, Fantasy 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $25m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hilton_(novelist), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q43227, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0385264/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/33273

## Biography

James Hilton (9 September 1900 – 20 December 1954) was an English novelist and screenwriter. Born in Leigh, Lancashire, he was educated at The Leys School and Christ's College, Cambridge, where he wrote his first novel. He worked as a journalist before achieving success with novels including *Lost Horizon* (1933) and *Goodbye, Mr. Chips* (1934).

Several of his books were adapted into films, among them *Lost Horizon* (1937), *Goodbye, Mr. Chips* (1939) and *Random Harvest* (1942). In the mid-1930s he moved to Hollywood, where he wrote or co-wrote screenplays including that for *Mrs. Miniver* (1942), for which he shared an Academy Award. He became a British-American citizen and died in Long Beach, California.

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

## On Fi1m (6)

### Performed in (1)

- *Madame Curie* (1943), Fi1m 72, as Narration Spoken By (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/madame-curie.md)

### Wrote (5) — the average rests on these

- *Mrs. Miniver* (1942), Fi1m 73, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/mrs-miniver.md)
- *Random Harvest* (1942), Fi1m 76, Novel — [page](https://film.one/film/random-harvest.md)
- *Foreign Correspondent* (1940), Fi1m 76, Dialogue — [page](https://film.one/film/foreign-correspondent.md)
- *Goodbye, Mr. Chips* (1939), Fi1m 82, Novel — [page](https://film.one/film/goodbye-mr-chips.md)
- *Lost Horizon* (1937), Fi1m 68, Novel — [page](https://film.one/film/lost-horizon.md)

## Complete filmography (21)

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

- *Goodbye, Mr. Chips* (2002), Novel
- *Goodbye Mr Chips* (1984), series, Novel
- *Lost Horizon* (1973), Novel
- *Goodbye, Mr. Chips* (1969), Novel
- *Mrs. Miniver* (1960), Original Film Writer
- *So Well Remembered* (1947), as Narrator (voice) · Novel
- *Cluny Brown* (1946), as Additional Writing
- *The Story of Dr. Wassell* (1944), Story
- *Madame Curie* (1943), as Narration Spoken By (voice) — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/madame-curie.md)
- *Forever and a Day* (1943), Writer
- *Random Harvest* (1942), Novel — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/random-harvest.md)
- *Mrs. Miniver* (1942), Screenplay — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/mrs-miniver.md)
- *The Tuttles of Tahiti* (1942), Adaptation
- *Rage in Heaven* (1941), Novel
- *Foreign Correspondent* (1940), Dialogue — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/foreign-correspondent.md)
- *We Are Not Alone* (1939), Novel, Screenplay
- *Espionage Agent* (1939), Additional Dialogue
- *Goodbye, Mr. Chips* (1939), Novel — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/goodbye-mr-chips.md)
- *Knight Without Armour* (1937), Novel
- *Lost Horizon* (1937), Novel — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/lost-horizon.md)
- *Camille* (1936), Screenplay

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won

- 1943: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won), for *Mrs. Miniver*

### Other awards — 1 won

- Hawthornden Prize 1934: Hawthornden Prize (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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-hilton