---
name: "James Neilson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-neilson"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "1 October 1909"
died: "9 December 1979"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T15:59:18.386191+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 Neilson

Director. Born 1 October 1909 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. Died 9 December 1979.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 1 October 1909, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
- **Died:** 9 December 1979

## Biography

James Neilson (1 October 1909 – 9 December 1979) was an American film and television director. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, he began his career in theatre as a stage manager on Broadway before directing for television and feature films from the 1950s onwards.

He directed episodes of numerous series including *The Fugitive* (1966), *Batman* (1966), *Bonanza* (from 1959), *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (from 1955), *Leave It to Beaver* (from 1957) and *Adam-12* (from 1968). His feature films include *Night Passage* (1957), *Summer Magic* (1963), *The Moon-Spinners* (1964) and several Walt Disney productions such as *Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow* (1963) and *The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin* (1967).

Neilson received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1959 for his work on *General Electric Theater*. He died in Flagstaff, Arizona.

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

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Fugitive* (1963), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-fugitive-1963.md)

## Also known for

- *Batman* (1966), Director
- *Bonanza* (1959), Director
- *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), Director
- *Leave It to Beaver* (1957), Director
- *Night Passage* (1957), Director
- *Return of the Gunfighter* (1967), Director
- *The Moon-Spinners* (1964), Director
- *Summer Magic* (1963), Director

---
© 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-neilson