---
name: "John Briley"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-briley"
fi1m_id: "john-briley"
imdb_id: "nm0109300"
tmdb_id: 11845
wikidata_id: "Q1699413"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "25 June 1925"
died: "14 December 2019"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-04T20:14:00.617605+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."
---

# John Briley

## Identity

John Briley

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-briley
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-briley
- **IMDb ID:** nm0109300
- **TMDB ID:** 11845
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1699413
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Briley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1699413, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0109300/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11845

Writer. Born 25 June 1925 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. Died 14 December 2019.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 25 June 1925, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
- **Died:** 14 December 2019
- **Active:** 1982–1987
- **Frequently works with:** [Richard Attenborough](https://film.one/person/richard-attenborough.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Briley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1699413, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0109300/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11845

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Gandhi*](https://film.one/film/gandhi.md) (73)

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

## Biography

Richard John Briley (1925–2019) was an American screenwriter. Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, he studied at the University of Michigan, earning a BA and MA, and later a PhD in Elizabethan drama from the University of Birmingham. He served in the US Army Air Forces and worked in public relations before becoming a staff writer at MGM-British in the early 1960s.

Briley specialised in biographical screenplays. He wrote the screenplay for *Gandhi* (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough, which won him the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. His other credits include *Cry Freedom* (1987), also with Attenborough, *The Medusa Touch* (1978), *Children of the Damned* (1964), *Enigma* (1982) and *Christopher Columbus: The Discovery* (1992). He also wrote for television and theatre, and published novels.

Briley died in Sarasota, Florida, aged 94.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Cry Freedom* (1987), Fi1m 72, Screenplay, Co-Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/cry-freedom.md)
- *Gandhi* (1982), Fi1m 73, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/gandhi.md)

## Complete filmography (17)

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

- *Molokai: The Story of Father Damien* (1999), Writer, Associate Producer
- *Christopher Columbus: The Discovery* (1992), Screenplay
- *Sandino* (1990), Screenplay
- *Cry Freedom* (1987), Screenplay, Co-Producer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/cry-freedom.md)
- *Tai-Pan* (1986), Screenplay
- *Marie: A True Story* (1985), Screenplay
- *Gandhi* (1982), Writer — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/gandhi.md)
- *Enigma* (1982), Screenplay
- *Eagle's Wing* (1979), Screenplay
- *The Medusa Touch* (1978), Screenplay
- *That Lucky Touch* (1975), Screenplay
- *Pope Joan* (1972), Screenplay, Producer
- *Hammerhead* (1968), Adaptation
- *Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious* (1965), as Sergeant (uncredited)
- *Children of the Damned* (1964), Screenplay
- *Postman's Knock* (1962), Screenplay
- *Invasion Quartet* (1961), Screenplay

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won

- 1983: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (won), for *Gandhi*

*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/john-briley