---
name: "John Dunning"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-d-dunning"
fi1m_id: "john-d-dunning"
imdb_id: "nm0242950"
tmdb_id: 10006
wikidata_id: "Q176929"
roles: ["Editor"]
born: "5 May 1916"
died: "25 February 1991"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-20T02:25:38.100829+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 Dunning

## Identity

John Dunning

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-d-dunning
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** john-d-dunning
- **IMDb ID:** nm0242950
- **TMDB ID:** 10006
- **Wikidata ID:** Q176929
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dunning_(film_editor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q176929, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0242950/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10006

Editor. Born 5 May 1916 in Los Angeles. Died 25 February 1991.

## Details

- **Work:** Editor
- **Born:** 5 May 1916, Los Angeles
- **Died:** 25 February 1991
- **Active:** 1949–1960
- **Also known as:** John D. Dunning
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 1 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 80 (1), 1950s 76 (2), 1960s 57 (1)
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, History 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, War 1, Western 1
- **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $179m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dunning_(film_editor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q176929, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0242950/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10006

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Ben-Hur*](https://film.one/film/ben-hur.md) (76), [*Julius Caesar*](https://film.one/film/julius-caesar.md) (76)

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

## Biography

John D. Dunning (1916–1991) was an American film editor contracted to MGM Studios. He began his career as an apprentice editor while studying at the University of California, Los Angeles, and later assisted on Frank Capra’s *Why We Fight* propaganda series during the Second World War.

Dunning’s feature credits include *Battleground* (1949), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing, *Show Boat* (1951), *Julius Caesar* (1953), *Raintree County* (1957) and *Cimarron* (1960). In 1959 he shared the Academy Award for Best Film Editing with Ralph E. Winters for William Wyler’s *Ben-Hur*.

He later worked in television as supervising film editor on *The Man from U.N.C.L.E.* and other series before retiring from MGM in 1970.

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

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Cimarron* (1960), Fi1m 57, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/cimarron.md)
- *Ben-Hur* (1959), Fi1m 76, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/ben-hur.md)
- *Julius Caesar* (1953), Fi1m 76, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/julius-caesar.md)
- *Battleground* (1949), Fi1m 80, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/battleground.md)

## Complete filmography (24)

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

- *The Mask of Sheba* (1970), Editor
- *Rowan & Martin at the Movies* (1968), Editorial Manager
- *Cimarron* (1960), Editor — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/cimarron.md)
- *Ben-Hur* (1959), Editor — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/ben-hur.md)
- *The Brothers Karamazov* (1958), Editor
- *Raintree County* (1957), Editor
- *The Swan* (1956), Editor
- *It's a Dog's Life* (1955), Editor
- *The Tender Trap* (1955), Editor
- *Interrupted Melody* (1955), Editor
- *The Last Time I Saw Paris* (1954), Editor
- *Betrayed* (1954), Editor
- *Take the High Ground!* (1953), Editor
- *Julius Caesar* (1953), Editor — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/julius-caesar.md)
- *My Man and I* (1952), Editor
- *Washington Story* (1952), Editor
- *The Wild North* (1952), Editor
- *Across the Wide Missouri* (1951), Editor
- *Show Boat* (1951), Editor
- *The Happy Years* (1950), Editor
- *The Next Voice You Hear...* (1950), Editor
- *Battleground* (1949), Editor — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/battleground.md)
- *Julia Misbehaves* (1948), Editor
- *Homecoming* (1948), Editor

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- 1960: Best Film Editing (won), for *Ben-Hur*
- 1950: Best Film Editing (nominated), for *Battleground*

*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-d-dunning