James P. Cavanagh (1922 – September 25, 1971) was an American television writer. He wrote numerous episodes for Alfred Hitchcock Presents and won a Primetime Emmy in 1957 for his teleplay Fog Closing In. Cavanagh wrote the first script for the 1960 film Psycho. Though the script was rejected by Hitchcock it contained many similarities with the final version, written by Joseph Stefano.