---
name: "James R. Webb"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/james-r-webb"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "4 October 1910"
died: "27 September 1974"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 62
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T04:14:35.179482+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 R. Webb

Writer. Born 4 October 1910 in Denver, Colorado, USA. Died 27 September 1974.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 4 October 1910, Denver, Colorado, USA
- **Died:** 27 September 1974
- **Active:** 1962–2026
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 62, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 62 (1), 2020s 63 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Webb, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q505675, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0916139/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/69104

## Biography

James R. Webb was an American screenwriter. Born in Denver, Colorado, he graduated from Stanford University in 1930. He wrote fiction for national magazines including Collier's, Cosmopolitan and The Saturday Evening Post from 1936, and began screenwriting two years later.

Webb wrote the screenplay for *How the West Was Won* (1962), which earned him an Academy Award for Best Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. His other credits include *The Big Country* (1958), *Cape Fear* (1962), *Pork Chop Hill* (1959) and *Cheyenne Autumn* (1964). He served as a major in the US Army in the European theatre during the Second World War and held leadership roles in the Writers Guild of America.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Cape Fear* (2026), Fi1m 63, Original Film Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/cape-fear.md)
- *How the West Was Won* (1962), Fi1m 62, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/how-the-west-was-won.md)

## Complete filmography (34)

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

- *Cape Fear* (2026), series, Original Film Writer — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/cape-fear.md)
- *Smash Cuts! Super Sci-Fi Shorts Fest* (2001), Thanks
- *Cape Fear* (1991), Original Film Writer
- *The Organization* (1971), Writer
- *They Call Me Mister Tibbs!* (1970), Screenplay
- *The Hawaiians* (1970), Screenplay
- *Alfred the Great* (1969), Story
- *Sinful Davey* (1969), Writer
- *Guns for San Sebastian* (1967), Screenplay
- *Cheyenne Autumn* (1964), Screenplay
- *Kings of the Sun* (1963), Screenplay
- *How the West Was Won* (1962), Writer — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/how-the-west-was-won.md)
- *Cape Fear* (1962), Screenplay
- *Pork Chop Hill* (1959), Screenplay
- *The Big Country* (1958), Screenplay
- *Trapeze* (1956), Screenplay
- *Illegal* (1955), Screenplay
- *Vera Cruz* (1954), Screenplay
- *Apache* (1954), Writer
- *Phantom of the Rue Morgue* (1954), Writer
- *The Charge at Feather River* (1953), Screenplay
- *The Iron Mistress* (1952), Screenplay
- *Operation Secret* (1952), Screenplay
- *The Big Trees* (1952), Screenplay
- *Close to My Heart* (1951), Screenplay, Novel
- *Raton Pass* (1951), Screenplay
- *Montana* (1950), Screenplay
- *South of St. Louis* (1949), Writer
- *California Firebrand* (1948), Story
- *South of Santa Fe* (1942), Screenplay
- *Jesse James at Bay* (1941), Screenplay
- *Bad Man of Deadwood* (1941), Writer
- *Rags to Riches* (1941), Writer
- *Nevada City* (1941), Writer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won

- 1964: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (won), for *How the West Was 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-r-webb