---
name: "James Kevin McGuinness"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-kevin-mcguinness"
fi1m_id: "james-kevin-mcguinness"
imdb_id: "nm0570130"
tmdb_id: 10807
wikidata_id: "Q3161203"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "19 December 1893"
died: "4 December 1950"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-25T04:57:17.336700+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 Kevin McGuinness

## Identity

James Kevin McGuinness

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/james-kevin-mcguinness
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** james-kevin-mcguinness
- **IMDb ID:** nm0570130
- **TMDB ID:** 10807
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3161203
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kevin_McGuinness, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3161203, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570130/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10807

Writer. Born 19 December 1893 in Ireland. Died 4 December 1950.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 19 December 1893, Ireland
- **Died:** 4 December 1950
- **Active:** 1935–1950
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 84 (1), 1950s 74 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kevin_McGuinness, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3161203, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0570130/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10807

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Rio Grande*](https://film.one/film/rio-grande.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

James Kevin McGuinness was an American screenwriter and film producer. He wrote or contributed to dozens of films from the late 1920s until his death, including the story for *A Night at the Opera* (1935) and the screenplay for *Rio Grande* (1950). He also received credits on *Tarzan and His Mate* (1934), *China Seas* (1935) and *The Battle of Midway* (1942).

McGuinness began his career in journalism, contributing to *The New Yorker* in the mid-1920s. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1920s and worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a writer, story supervisor and executive producer. In 1947 he testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

He died in New York City on 4 December 1950.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Rio Grande* (1950), Fi1m 74, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/rio-grande.md)
- *A Night at the Opera* (1935), Fi1m 84, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/a-night-at-the-opera.md)

## Complete filmography (35)

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

- *That's Entertainment, Part II* (1976), Thanks
- *Rio Grande* (1950), Screenplay — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/rio-grande.md)
- *December 7th* (1943), as Narrator (voice)
- *The Battle of Midway* (1942), Writer
- *Men of Boys Town* (1941), Screenplay
- *Florian* (1940), Writer
- *I Take This Woman* (1940), Screenplay
- *The Ice Follies of 1939* (1939), Screenplay
- *Lord Jeff* (1938), Writer
- *Arsène Lupin Returns* (1938), Screenplay, Story
- *Madame X* (1937), Screenplay, Producer
- *A Night at the Opera* (1935), Story — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/a-night-at-the-opera.md)
- *China Seas* (1935), Screenplay
- *West Point of the Air* (1935), Story
- *What Every Woman Knows* (1934), Screenplay
- *Tarzan and His Mate* (1934), Screenplay
- *The Solitaire Man* (1933), Screenplay
- *Cocktail Hour* (1933), Original Story
- *When Strangers Marry* (1933), Writer
- *This Sporting Age* (1932), Story
- *Attorney for the Defense* (1932), Story
- *State's Attorney* (1932), Associate Producer
- *West of Broadway* (1931), Dialogue
- *Men on Call* (1930), Writer
- *Born Reckless* (1930), Associate Producer
- *The Three Sisters* (1930), Screenplay, Story
- *Men Without Women* (1930), Story
- *Salute* (1929), Screenplay
- *Not Quite Decent* (1929), Producer
- *The Black Watch* (1929), Dialogue
- *Strong Boy* (1929), Writer
- *A Girl in Every Port* (1928), Writer
- *Woman Wise* (1928), Writer
- *Very Confidential* (1927), Story
- *The Secret Studio* (1927), Writer

---
© 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-kevin-mcguinness