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

1959

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

1957

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

1955

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

1954

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

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

1950

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

1949

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

1948

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

1947

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

1945

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

1944

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

1943

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

1942

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

1941

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

1940

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

1939

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

1938

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

1937

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

1936

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

1935

Last of the Pagans ... (Director)

1934

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

1933

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

1932

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

1931

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

1930

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

1929

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

1928

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

1927

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

1926

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

1925

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

1924

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

1923

Three O'Clock in the Morning as Clayton Webster

1921

Burn 'Em Up Barnes as Stephen Thompson