Richard Thorpe

Born: 1896-02-24 in Hutchinson, Kansas, USA

Died: 1991-05-01

Known For: Directing

Biography

Richard Thorpe (February 24, 1896 - May 1, 1991) was an American film director. Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, he began his entertainment career performing in vaudeville and onstage. In 1921 he began in motion pictures as an actor and directed his first silent film in 1923. He went on to direct more than one hundred and eighty films. The first full length motion picture he directed for MGM was Last of the Pagans (1935) starring Ray Mala. After directing The Last Challenge in 1967, he retired from the film industry. He died in Palm Springs, California in 1991. Thorpe is also known as the original director of The Wizard of Oz. He was fired after two weeks of shooting, because it was felt that his scenes did not have the right air of fantasy about them. Thorpe notoriously gave Judy Garland a blonde wig and cutesy "baby-doll" makeup that made her look like a girl in her late teens rather than an innocent Kansas farm girl of about thirteen. Both makeup and wig were discarded at the suggestion of George Cukor, who was brought in temporarily. Stills from Thorpe's work on the film survive today. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Thorpe has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Blvd. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Filmography

1963

Fun in Acapulco ... (Director)
Follow the Boys ... (Director)

1962

How the West Was Won ... (Special Guest Director)
The Horizontal Lieutenant ... (Director)

1961

The Tartars ... (Director)
The Honeymoon Machine ... (Director)

1959

Killers of Kilimanjaro ... (Director)
The House of the Seven Hawks ... (Director)

1957

Jailhouse Rock ... (Director)
Ten Thousand Bedrooms ... (Director)
Tip on a Dead Jockey ... (Director)

1955

The Prodigal ... (Director)
Quentin Durward ... (Director)
Bedevilled ... (Director)

1954

Athena ... (Director)
The Student Prince ... (Director)

1953

Knights of the Round Table ... (Director)
All the Brothers Were Valiant ... (Director)
The Girl Who Had Everything ... (Director)

1952

Ivanhoe ... (Director)
The Prisoner of Zenda ... (Director)
Carbine Williams ... (Director)

1951

The Great Caruso ... (Director)
Vengeance Valley ... (Director)
It's a Big Country ... (Director)
The Unknown Man ... (Director)

1950

Three Little Words ... (Director)
Black Hand ... (Director)

1949

Malaya ... (Director)
Big Jack ... (Director)
The Sun Comes Up ... (Director)
Challenge to Lassie ... (Director)

1948

On an Island with You ... (Director)
A Date with Judy ... (Director)

1947

Fiesta ... (Director)
This Time for Keeps ... (Director)

1945

Thrill of a Romance ... (Director)
Her Highness and the Bellboy ... (Director)
What Next, Corporal Hargrove? ... (Director)

1944

Two Girls and a Sailor ... (Director)
The Thin Man Goes Home ... (Director)

1943

Above Suspicion ... (Director)
Three Hearts for Julia ... (Director)
Cry 'Havoc' ... (Director)

1942

Tarzan's New York Adventure ... (Director)
Joe Smith, American ... (Director)
Apache Trail ... (Director)
White Cargo ... (Director)

1941

Tarzan's Secret Treasure ... (Director)
The Bad Man ... (Director)
Barnacle Bill ... (Director)

1940

The Earl of Chicago ... (Director)
20 Mule Team ... (Director)
Wyoming ... (Director)

1939

Tarzan Finds a Son! ... (Director)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ... (Director)

1938

Love Is a Headache ... (Director)
The Toy Wife ... (Director)
Three Loves Has Nancy ... (Director)
The First Hundred Years ... (Director)
Man-Proof ... (Director)
The Crowd Roars ... (Director)

1937

Dangerous Number ... (Director)
Night Must Fall ... (Director)
Double Wedding ... (Director)
Lest We Forget ... (Director)

1936

Tarzan Escapes ... (Director)
The Voice of Bugle Ann ... (Director)

1935

Last of the Pagans ... (Director)

1934

Cheating Cheaters ... (Director)
The Quitter ... (Director)
Secret of the Chateau ... (Director)
Stolen Sweets ... (Director)
Strange Wives ... (Director)
City Park ... (Director)
Green Eyes ... (Director)

1933

Forgotten ... (Director)
A Man of Sentiment ... (Director)
Murder on the Campus ... (Director)
Strange People ... (Director)
Notorious But Nice ... (Director)
Rainbow Over Broadway ... (Director)
I Have Lived ... (Director)

1932

Beauty Parlor ... (Director)
Women Won't Tell ... (Director)
Murder at Dawn ... (Director)
The Secrets of Wu Sin ... (Director)
Escapade ... (Director)
The King Murder ... (Director)
Probation ... (Director)
Slightly Married ... (Director)
The Midnight Lady ... (Director)
Thrill of Youth ... (Director)
Cross-Examination ... (Director)

1931

King of the Wild ... (Director)
The Lady from Nowhere ... (Director)
Grief Street ... (Director)
Neck and Neck ... (Director)
Wild Horse ... (Director)
The Devil Plays ... (Director)
Forgotten Women ... (Director)
The Sky Spider ... (Director)
The Lawless Woman ... (Director)

1930

The Lone Defender ... (Director)
The Dude Wrangler ... (Director)
The Thoroughbred ... (Director)
Under Montana Skies ... (Director)
Wings of Adventure ... (Director)
The Utah Kid ... (Director)

1929

The King of the Kongo ... (Director)
The Fatal Warning ... (Director)
Border Romance ... (Director)
The Bachelor Girl ... (Director)

1928

Vultures of the Sea ... (Director)
The Shady Lady ... (Story)
The Valley Of Hunted Men ... (Director)
The Ballyhoo Buster ... (Director)
The Flyin' Buckaroo ... (Director)
The Vanishing West ... (Director)

1927

Skedaddle Gold ... (Director)
Roarin' Broncs ... (Director)
The Soda Water Cowboy ... (Director)
The Ridin' Rowdy ... (Director)
The Desert of the Lost ... (Director)
The Obligin' Buckaroo ... (Director)
Tearin' Into Trouble ... (Director)
The Meddlin' Stranger ... (Director)
Between Dangers ... (Director)

1926

Double Daring ... (Director)
Twisted Triggers ... (Director)
Easy Going ... (Director)
Josselyn's Wife ... (Director)
College Days ... (Director)
Ridin' Rivals ... (Director)
The Fighting Cheat ... (Director)
The Interferin' Gent ... (Director)
The Roaring Rider ... (Director)

1925

The Desert Demon ... (Director)
Tearin' Loose ... (Writer)
On the Go ... (Director)
Red Clay ... (Scenario Writer)

1924

Thundering Romance ... (Director)
Bringin' Home the Bacon ... (Director)
Fast and Fearless ... (Director)
Hard-Hittin' Hamilton ... (Director)
Flames of Desire as Dick Langton

1923

Three O'Clock in the Morning as Clayton Webster

1921

Burn 'Em Up Barnes as Stephen Thompson