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Richard Thorpe is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Producer, Co-Director and Editor American born on 24 february 1896 at Kansas (USA)

Richard Thorpe

Richard Thorpe
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Birth name Rollo Smolt Thorpe
Nationality USA
Birth 24 february 1896 at Kansas (USA)
Death 1 may 1991 (at 95 years) at California (USA)

Richard Thorpe (February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Biography

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 on May 1, 1991.

His two favourite films were Night Must Fall (1937) and Two Girls and a Sailor (1944).


Wizard of Oz
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. Further, it is understood that bits of his filmed footage of Toto escaping from the Wicked Witch's castle are still featured in the film, albeit uncredited.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Thorpe has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Blvd. In 2003 a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California was dedicated to him and his son, Jerry.

Best films

How the West Was Won (1962)
(Director)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
(Director)
Ivanhoe (1952)
(Director)
The Great Caruso (1951)
(Director)
Knights of the Round Table (1954)
(Director)
Fiesta (1947)
(Director)

Usually with

M.A. Anderson
M.A. Anderson
(21 films)
Cedric Gibbons
Cedric Gibbons
(44 films)
Lafe McKee
Lafe McKee
(33 films)
Jay Wilsey
Jay Wilsey
(29 films)
Slim Whitaker
Slim Whitaker
(23 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Richard Thorpe (196 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

The Iron Maiden, 1h38
Directed by Gerald Thomas
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy
Themes Transport films, Aviation films
Actors Michael Craig, Anne Helm, Jeff Donnell, Alan Hale Jr., Noel Purcell, Cecil Parker
Roles Harry Markham
Rating63% 3.196363.196363.196363.196363.19636
The film follows Jack Hopkins (played by Michael Craig), an aircraft designer with a passion for traction engines. His boss (played by Cecil Parker) is eager to sell a new supersonic jet plane that Jack has designed to American millionaire Paul Fisher (Alan Hale, Jr.). The first encounter between Fisher and Jack goes badly, and tensions only heighten after Fisher's daughter Kathy (Anne Helm) damages Jack's prize traction engine "The Iron Maiden", rendering it impossible to drive solo. Jack is desperate to enter the annual Woburn Abbey steam rally with the machine, but his fireman is injured and unable to participate. When all seems lost the millionaire himself is won over by Jack's plight and joins him in driving the engine; the two soon become firm friends.
Bitter Harvest, 1h36
Directed by Peter Graham Scott
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama
Actors Janet Munro, John Stride, Alan Badel, Dame Thora Hird, Vanda Godsell, Richard Thorpe
Rating61% 3.050023.050023.050023.050023.05002
Jennie Jones hails from the countryside when she decides to the travel to the big city. There, she is continually befriended by the wrong crowd and finds herself down on her luck and ultimately contemplating her own demise.
Rough Ridin'
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Origin USA
Genres Western
Actors Buddy Roosevelt, Richard Thorpe
Roles Dick Ross

Buddy Benson innocente Dick Ross, le frère de Mary, sa bien-aimée, accusé par un contremaître peu scrupuleux.
Restless Wives
Directed by Gregory La Cava
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Actors Doris Kenyon, James Rennie, Montagu Love, Edmund Breese, Richard Thorpe, Burr McIntosh

Polly, is a wealthy wife neglected by her husband James Benson. When a business engagement causes James to miss their wedding anniversary, Polly goes with admirer Curtis Wilbur to a cabaret, and later she decides to go live with her father. James, who is desperate for reconciliation, kidnaps Polly while she's with Wilbur and takes her to his lodge in the mountains. James is shot by a drunken servant and when he falls, he knocks over a lamp and sets the place on fire. Polly drags him out of the lodge to safety, and the couple is reunited.

Director

The Last Challenge, 1h45
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Origin USA
Genres Western
Actors Glenn Ford, Angie Dickinson, Chad Everett, Gary Merrill, Jack Elam, Delphi Lawrence
Rating60% 3.0030653.0030653.0030653.0030653.003065
Depuis qu'il a décidé de passer du côté de la loi, le shérif Dan Blaine fait tout pour oublier son passé de pistolero. Pourtant, sa réputation de fin tireur attire l'attention de jeunes hors-la-loi qui aimeraient se mesurer à lui dans un duel. Cette même ambition pousse Lot McGuire à s'installer dans la ville. Malgré la solide amitié qui s'est construite entre le shérif et le jeune voyou et les multiples tentatives de Lisa, la propriétaire du saloon, pour l'empêcher, le duel a finalement lieu...
The Last Challenge, 1h45
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Origin USA
Genres Western
Actors Glenn Ford, Angie Dickinson, Chad Everett, Jack Elam, Robert Horton, Kevin Hagen
Rating60% 3.0030653.0030653.0030653.0030653.003065
A cocky young man from Tennessee, Lot McGuire (Chad Everett), seeks to back up his notion that he's the fastest gun there is. "If a man is second best, he might as well be dead," says McGuire. He travels to a town with the intention of forcing a duel with Marshal Dan Blaine (Ford), who's renowned for his skill with a gun.
The Truth About Spring, 1h42
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Adventure
Actors Hayley Mills, John Mills, James MacArthur, Lionel Jeffries, Harry Andrews, Niall MacGinnis
Rating63% 3.198943.198943.198943.198943.19894
Spring lives with her father aboard a run-down sail boat in the Florida Keys. She has lived a simple, carefree and isolated life and has never felt desire or love until Ashton joins in with them for a zany adventure involving buried treasure. In the end no treasure is found, only a long-sunken slaver. However, Spring does find love and a husband.
That Funny Feeling, 1h33
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, Donald O'Connor, Leo G. Carroll, Nita Talbot, Larry Storch
Rating65% 3.2920153.2920153.2920153.2920153.292015
Joan Howell intends to be an actress, but for now she's working as a maid. Three different times, she accidentally bumps into Tom Milford, a successful publishing executive, who then asks her for a date.
The Golden Head, 1h42
Directed by Richard Thorpe, James Hill (réalisateur britannique)
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Comedy thriller
Actors George Sanders, Buddy Hackett, Robert Coote, Douglas Wilmer, Sándor Pécsi
Rating59% 2.957722.957722.957722.957722.95772
The children of a British policemen holidaying in Hungary track down a priceless art treasure which has recently been stolen.
Fun in Acapulco, 1h37
Directed by Richard Thorpe, Michael D. Moore
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Elvis Presley, Ursula Andress, Paul Lukas, Elsa Cárdenas, Teri Garr, Darlene Tompkins
Rating58% 2.9015352.9015352.9015352.9015352.901535
Mike Windgren works on a boat in Acapulco, Mexico. When Janie Harkins, the bratty daughter of the boat owner, gets him fired, Mike must find new work. A Mexican boy named Raoul helps him get a job as a lifeguard and singer at a local hotel. Clashes abound when Mike runs into a rival lifeguard, who is the champion diver of Mexico. He is angry at Mike for taking some of his hours, and for stealing his woman.
Follow the Boys, 1h35
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Romantic comedy, Musical, Romance
Themes Seafaring films, Films about music and musicians, La provence, Transport films, Musical films
Actors Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, Dany Robin, Janis Paige, Russ Tamblyn, Richard Long
Rating53% 2.6598052.6598052.6598052.6598052.659805
Quatre jeunes femmes suivent la côte depuis Cannes jusqu'en Italie, leurs maris ou amis étant embarqués sur un navire de guerre américain...
How the West Was Won, 2h35
Directed by John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Historical, Western
Themes Political films
Actors James Stewart, Carroll Baker, Debbie Reynolds, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Carolyn Jones
Rating70% 3.5487253.5487253.5487253.5487253.548725
Zebulon Prescott (Karl Malden) and his family set out west for the frontier via the Erie Canal, the “west” at this time being the Illinois country. On the journey, they meet mountain man Linus Rawlings (James Stewart), who is traveling east to Pittsburgh to trade his furs. He and Zebulon's daughter Eve (Carroll Baker) are attracted to each other, but Linus is not ready to settle down.
The Horizontal Lieutenant, 1h30
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Origin USA
Genres War, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Military humor in film, Seafaring films, Transport films, Political films
Actors Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Jack Carter, Jim Backus, Charles McGraw, Miyoshi Umeki
Rating59% 2.9508752.9508752.9508752.9508752.950875
Merle Wye, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army stationed in Hawaii, is attracted to nurse Molly Blue, but she barely gives him the time of day.
The Horizontal Lieutenant, 1h30
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Origin USA
Genres War, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Jim Backus, Charles McGraw, Jack Carter, Miyoshi Umeki
Rating59% 2.9508752.9508752.9508752.9508752.950875
À Hawaï, Merle Wye, un lieutenant du service de renseignement de l'armée, tombe amoureux d'une infirmière, Molly Blue, une ancienne camarade d'école. À cause de ses faibles aptitudes au baseball, il est transféré dans l'île de Rotohan, avec la mission de capturer un certain Kobayashi, un Japonais qui vole des denrées "vitales" à l'armée, comme du poisson ou du soda. Après plusieurs tentatives infructueuses, il est sur le point d'être transféré vers un poste encore plus éloigné lorsqu'il découvre par hasard avec Molly, nouvellement affectée à l'hôpital de la base, la cachette du voleur.