Richard Thorpe
Directing
Born: February 24, 1896 · Hutchinson, Kansas, USA
Died: May 1, 1991 (aged 95)
Highest Rated
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
Known for
How the West Was Won
1962
Ivanhoe
1952
Jailhouse Rock
1957
Tarzan Escapes
1936
The Thin Man Goes Home
1944
Tarzan Finds a Son!
1939
Tarzan's New York Adventure
1942
Knights of the Round Table
1953
Fun in Acapulco
1963
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
1941
The Prisoner of Zenda
1952
Vengeance Valley
1951
Photos (1)
Movies (3)
Directing (141)
How the West Was Won
Special Guest Director
Jailhouse Rock
Director
The Great Caruso
Director
Ivanhoe
Director
Tarzan Finds a Son!
Director
Knights of the Round Table
Director
Two Girls and a Sailor
Director
Tarzan's New York Adventure
Director
The Prisoner of Zenda
Director
All the Brothers Were Valiant
Director
The Thin Man Goes Home
Director
On an Island with You
Director
Fun in Acapulco
Director
Tarzan Escapes
Director
Malaya
Director
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
Director
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Director
Vengeance Valley
Director
Athena
Director
Thrill of a Romance
Director
The First Hundred Years
Director
It's a Big Country
Director
A Date with Judy
Director
The Earl of Chicago
Director
Above Suspicion
Director
The Last Challenge
Director
Her Highness and the Bellboy
Director
Fiesta
Director
Three Loves Has Nancy
Director
Black Hand
Director
The Girl Who Had Everything
Director
The Truth About Spring
Director
Tip on a Dead Jockey
Director
The Prodigal
Director
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
Director
The Honeymoon Machine
Director
Ten Thousand Bedrooms
Director
Beauty Parlor
Director
The Sun Comes Up
Director
Carbine Williams
Director
Cry 'Havoc'
Director
Love Is a Headache
Director
This Time for Keeps
Director
That Funny Feeling
Director
The Unknown Man
Director
Three Hearts for Julia
Director
The Voice of Bugle Ann
Director
The Toy Wife
Director
Three Little Words
Director
Bedevilled
Director
The House of the Seven Hawks
Director
Cheating Cheaters
Director
Challenge to Lassie
Director
Killers of Kilimanjaro
Director
King of the Wild
Director
The King of the Kongo
Director
Double Wedding
Director
Big Jack
Director
Quentin Durward
Director
Skedaddle Gold
Director
The Bad Man
Director
Secret of the Chateau
Director
The Tartars
Director
Forgotten
Director
Last of the Pagans
Director
The Horizontal Lieutenant
Director
Thundering Romance
Director
Double Daring
Director
Night Must Fall
Director
The Crowd Roars
Director
Murder at Dawn
Director
The Student Prince
Director
Joe Smith, American
Director
White Cargo
Director
A Man of Sentiment
Director
Women Won't Tell
Director
The Secrets of Wu Sin
Director
The Desert of the Lost
Director
Follow the Boys
Director
The Lady from Nowhere
Director
Dangerous Number
Director
The Scorpio Letters
Director
Apache Trail
Director
Escapade
Director
Roarin' Broncs
Director
The Dude Wrangler
Director
Easy Going
Director
20 Mule Team
Director
Barnacle Bill
Director
Wyoming
Director
The Soda Water Cowboy
Director
Murder on the Campus
Director
The Ridin' Rowdy
Director
Vultures of the Sea
Director
College Days
Director
Notorious But Nice
Director
Man-Proof
Director
The Ballyhoo Buster
Director
Lest We Forget
Director
Wild Horse
Director
Stolen Sweets
Director
Border Romance
Director
Probation
Director
Grief Street
Director
Tearin' Into Trouble
Director
Thrill of Youth
Director
Bringin' Home the Bacon
Director
The Midnight Lady
Director
Strange Wives
Director
Under Montana Skies
Director
The Golden Head
Director
Josselyn's Wife
Director
The Flyin' Buckaroo
Director
The King Murder
Director
The Lone Defender
Director
The Bachelor Girl
Director
Slightly Married
Director
The Thoroughbred
Director
The Sky Spider
Director
Fast and Fearless
Director
Forgotten Women
Director
Cross-Examination
Director
The Quitter
Director
Hard-Hittin' Hamilton
Director
Neck and Neck
Director
Strange People
Director
Wings of Adventure
Director
The Devil Plays
Director
The Fatal Warning
Director
City Park
Director
Rainbow Over Broadway
Director
The Vanishing West
Director
Tearin' Loose
Director
The Meddlin' Stranger
Director
The Utah Kid
Director
Green Eyes
Director
The Desert Demon
Director
Between Dangers
Director
The Interferin' Gent
Director
I Have Lived
Director
The Lawless Woman
Director
Writing (10)
Skedaddle Gold
Writer
Double Daring
Writer
The Desert of the Lost
Writer
Roarin' Broncs
Writer
The Ridin' Rowdy
Writer
The Ballyhoo Buster
Writer
The Shady Lady
Story
The Flyin' Buckaroo
Writer
Tearin' Loose
Writer
Between Dangers
Writer
