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(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above from L-to-R are Kenne Duncan, Newill and Reed Howes in a scene from BORDER BUCKAROOS (PRC, 1943).


 James Newill Filmography
Special thanks to Les Adams for providing this filmography


Release
Date		 Title Company Director Star Leading
Lady		 Newill
Role
3/6/37 READY, WILLING AND ABLE Warners Ray Enright Ruby Keeler N/A Ross Alexander singing voice
3/10/37 SING WHILE YOU'RE ABLE Conn Prod. Marshall Neilan Pinky Tomlin N/A Himself
8/31/37 SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT Grand National Victor Schertzinger James Cagney N/A Himself, Orchestra Singer
9/29/37 RENFREW OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED Grand National Al Herman Jim Newill Carol Hughes Sergeant Renfrew
7/22/38 ON THE GREAT WHITE TRAIL Grand National Al Herman Jim Newill Terry Walker Sergeant Renfrew
1/16/39 CRASHING THRU Monogram Elmer Clifton Jim Newill Jean Carmen Sergeant Renfrew
12/1/39 YUKON FLIGHT Monogram Ralph Staub Jim Newill Louise Stanley Sergeant Renfrew
12/13/39 FIGHTING MAD Monogram Sam Newfield Jim Newill Sally Blaine Sergeant Renfrew
1/10/40 DANGER AHEAD Monogram Ralph Staub Jim Newill Dorothea Kent Sergeant Renfrew
2/25/40 MURDER ON THE YUKON Monogram Louis Gasnier Jim Newill Polly Ann Young Sergeant Renfrew
7/3/40 SKY BANDITS Monogram Ralph Staub Jim Newill Louise Stanley Sergeant Renfrew
5/9/41 GREAT AMERICAN BROADCAST, THE 20th-Fox Archie Mayo Alice Faye N/A Jimmy
11/6/42 FALCON'S BROTHER, THE RKO Stanley Logan Tom Conway N/A Paul
12/25/42 RANGERS TAKE OVER, THE P.R.C. Al Herman Texas Rangers Iris Meredith Texas Ranger Jim Steele
3/5/43 BAD MEN OF THUNDER GAP P.R.C. Al Herman Texas Rangers Janet Shaw (Ellen Clancy) Texas Ranger Jim Steele
3/31/43 GUNS OF THE LAW P.R.C. Elmer Clifton Texas Rangers Jennifer Holt Texas Ranger Jim Steele
5/10/43 WEST OF TEXAS P.R.C. Oliver Drake Texas Rangers Frances Gladwin Texas Ranger Jim Steele
5/13/43 BOMBARDIER RKO Richard Wallace Pat O'Brien N/A Captain Rand
6/15/43 BORDER BUCKAROOS P.R.C. Oliver Drake Texas Rangers Christine McIntyre Texas Ranger Jim Steele
8/8/43 FIGHTING VALLEY P.R.C. Oliver Drake Texas Rangers Patti McCarty Texas Ranger Jim Steele
9/7/43 TRAIL OF TERROR P.R.C. Oliver Drake Texas Rangers Patricia Knox Texas Ranger Jim Steele
10/26/43 RETURN OF THE RANGERS, THE P.R.C. Elmer Clifton Texas Rangers Nell O'Day Texas Ranger Jim Steele
11/20/43 BOSS OF RAWHIDE P.R.C. Elmer Clifton Texas Rangers Nell O'Day Texas Ranger Jim Steele
1/3/44 GUNSMOKE MESA P.R.C. Harry Fraser Texas Rangers Patti McCarty Texas Ranger Jim Steele
2/10/44 OUTLAW ROUNDUP P.R.C. Harry Fraser Texas Rangers Helen Chapman Texas Ranger Jim Steele
4/27/44 PINTO BANDIT, THE P.R.C. Elmer Clifton Texas Rangers Mady Lawrence Texas Ranger Jim Steele
6/3/44 SPOOK TOWN P.R.C. Elmer Clifton Texas Rangers Mady Lawrence Texas Ranger Jim Steele
7/30/44 BRAND OF THE DEVIL P.R.C. Harry Fraser Texas Rangers Ellen Hall Texas Ranger Jim Steele


On the left is a blowup of Newill's well decorated gunbelt (which housed a pearl-handled sixgun) from the above BORDER BUCKAROOS photo.

He also wore what I call 'Bob Livingston pants' (see photo above) in remembrance of Livingston's drawers from many of his Three Mesquiteers films --- both Livingston and Newill had 'hero britches' with a lighter colored cuff.

On the trail of Newill ... Newall ... Jimmy Newell ...

Author Michael R. Pitts adds some tidbits on Newill:
"He appeared on Broadway in 1944 in the musical version of RAIN called SADIE THOMPSON, and in the early 1950s he did a 10" LP for Decca records, "The Lord is My Shepherd".  "The Lord is My Shepherd" was originally recorded August 19-20, 1941, about a decade before the LP was released. The eight songs he did were originally issued in two separate series of 78s:
18243 / 28004 The 23rd Psalm/The Lord's Prayer
18244 / 28005 The Rosary/Ave Maria
18245 / 28006 Goin' Home/The Lost Chord
18246 / 28007 Beautiful Isle of Somewhere/Abide With Me
John Brooker wrote an article about Newill in a 1972 issue of Film Collectors Registry and it contains a few quotes. The writeup notes that Newill asked to leave the PRC series in order to do the Broadway show SADIE THOMPSON. There is also mention of his wife (not named) doing movies in Europe in which he maybe appeared, but it's vague.

The AFI Catalog 1931-40 to the contrary, I believe the Jimmy Newell who appeared in Grand National's SING WHILE YOU'RE ABLE in 1937 is the same person as Jim Newill.  I have a couple of vocals by Jimmy Newell from 1933 with Abe Lyman's Orchestra and it sounds like Jim Newill to me.  As Newill he was in SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT, also for Grand National in 1937.  I also found a radio show for a Jimmy NEWALL called "Love and a Story" but there was no broadcast date mentioned.

Newill also appeared in a dozen of the Snader Telescription musical shorts (billed as James Newell), and these are mentioned in the Soundies book from McFarland. These were made circa 1950-1952 and were 3+ minutes in length. Snader sold these to TV stations where they were broadcast individually or several were strung together to provide 'filler' for a time slot."

The Renfrew TV series

I remember reading about a TV series based on the Renfrew character, and I also recalled that Newill was the star. I asked Boyd Magers for some details on the TV show. Boyd adds:
"RENFREW OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED with Newill was syndicated in '53 (carrying a '52 copyright date). It was produced by Max and Arthur Alexander Productions. The episode I have, GET YOUR MAN, begins with the standard movie song, "Mounted Men", and is edited from the first movie in 1937 with a new wrap-around added of James Newill telling a kid named Dickie a story. Newill appears to have aged quite well. My TV film source book for 1966 says 73 films were available. Since there are only eight movies, I don't know how they could have produced that many TV shows unless some completely new episodes were done. You can't edit 73 half hours out of eight movies. We may never know the answer to this one. There was also a Renfrew TV pilot made starring Arthur Franz. Didn't sell."

The Renfrew Radio Program

There was a Renfrew radio program which starred House Jameson as 'Sgt. Douglas Renfrew' and was broadcast from 1936 through 1940. Jameson is probably best remembered as "Sam Aldrich", the father of Henry Aldrich on both radio and early TV. Renfrew was originally a 15 minute adventure which ran 3 times a week over CBS, but it later became a 30 minute series over the NBC Blue Network. My understanding is that there are less than a half-dozen of these programs in circulation. I have three, two of which are 15 minute broadcasts which are narrated by Laurie York Erskine, author and creator of Renfrew. Am not sure whether this is really Erskine or a radio performer playing the role of Erskine. Beginning in the mid 1920s, NBC owned and operated two radio networks which were called NBC Red and NBC Blue. Due to a Supreme Court ruling regarding unfair competition, NBC kept the Red Network and sold/divested the Blue Network in 1943. Blue became the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).

Newill and Dave O'Brien --- and the Jack Ingram Movie Ranch

Bobby Copeland provides some info and trivia on Dave O'Brien, Jim Newill, and movie bad guy Jack Ingram ... and what would ultimately become the Jack Ingram movie location ranch:

"Prior to Jack Ingram owning the land, it was purchased by two other movie cowboys as a scheme to avoid being drafted by the Army during World War II. The land was also once part of the Charlie Chaplin estate. Apparently, Jim Newill and Dave O'Brien heard about some provision by the government that provided deferment to those owning ranches and raising animals. They decided to buy the land and raise goats. They did not have the property long, until they were called for physicals --- both were classified 4-F. They immediately started looking for a buyer, and sold the ranch to Jack Ingram (in 1944), who had worked with Newill and O'Brien in some of their Texas Rangers features at PRC. Ingram, in an economy move, bought an old bulldozer and enlisted the help of several other movie badman friends to clear the site."

Newill and Dave O'Brien --- Western song writers

Les Adams came up with an interesting tidbit on Newill and Dave O'Brien.  They were credited (sometimes collectively as 'Tex Coe') with a lot of the songs in the Texas Rangers films.  Many others also wrote tunes for the series, including Cal Shrum and Oliver Drake.  Below are a list of songs by O'Brien and Newill:

From BAD MEN OF THUNDER GAP (as Tex Coe):
Medicine Man
The Moon is Yellow
West Winds

From BORDER BUCKAROOS:
Stay on the Right Trail
You're Here to Stay
Driftin'

From BOSS OF RAWHIDE:
High in the Saddle

From GUNS OF THE LAW:
Ranger A'Riding

From RANGERS TAKE OVER (as Tex Coe):
Campfire on the Prairie
The Rangers Take Over
High in the Saddle 		  From RETURN OF THE RANGERS:
Heading Westward
Paradise Trail

From SPOOK TOWN:
Sleepy Hollow
El Lobo

From TRAIL OF TERROR:
Sleepy Hollow
Jog Along
Along the Rio Grande

From WEST OF TEXAS:
Tired of Ramblin'
Whistle a Song
Como Esta


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