John Colton (December 31, 1887 – December 26, 1946) was an American playwright and screenwriter born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He spent the first 14 years of his life in Japan where his English father was a diplomat. After returning to the US he soon worked for a Minneapolis newspaper. His 1933 play Nine Pine Street, written with , was based around the Lizzie Borden story. Lizzie Borden's character was changed to "Effie Holden", played by Lillian Gish. It ran for only 28 performances.