Richard Thorpe
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.
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Movies (158)
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976 · Thanks
The Scorpio Letters
1967 · Director, Producer
The Last Challenge
1967 · Director, Producer
That Funny Feeling
1965 · Director
The Truth About Spring
1965 · Director
The Golden Head
1964 · Director
Fun in Acapulco
1963 · Director
Follow the Boys
1963 · Director
How the West Was Won
1962 · Special Guest Director
The Horizontal Lieutenant
1962 · Director
The Honeymoon Machine
1961 · Director
The Tartars
1961 · Director
The House of the Seven Hawks
1959 · Director
Killers of Kilimanjaro
1959 · Director
Tip on a Dead Jockey
1957 · Director
Ten Thousand Bedrooms
1957 · Director
Jailhouse Rock
1957 · Director
Quentin Durward
1955 · Director
The Prodigal
1955 · Director
Bedevilled
1955 · Director
Athena
1954 · Director
The Student Prince
1954 · Director
Knights of the Round Table
1953 · Director
All the Brothers Were Valiant
1953 · Director
The Girl Who Had Everything
1953 · Director
The Prisoner of Zenda
1952 · Director
Ivanhoe
1952 · Director
Carbine Williams
1952 · Director
It's a Big Country
1951 · Director
The Unknown Man
1951 · Director
The Great Caruso
1951 · Director
Vengeance Valley
1951 · Director
Three Little Words
1950 · Director
Black Hand
1950 · Director
Malaya
1949 · Director
Challenge to Lassie
1949 · Director
The Sun Comes Up
1949 · Director
Big Jack
1949 · Director
A Date with Judy
1948 · Director
On an Island with You
1948 · Director
This Time for Keeps
1947 · Director
Fiesta
1947 · Director
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
1945 · Director
Her Highness and the Bellboy
1945 · Director
Thrill of a Romance
1945 · Director
The Thin Man Goes Home
1944 · Director
Two Girls and a Sailor
1944 · Director
Cry 'Havoc'
1943 · Director
Above Suspicion
1943 · Director
Three Hearts for Julia
1943 · Director
White Cargo
1942 · Director
Apache Trail
1942 · Director
Tarzan's New York Adventure
1942 · Director
Joe Smith, American
1942 · Director
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
1941 · Director
Barnacle Bill
1941 · Director
The Bad Man
1941 · Director
Wyoming
1940 · Director
20 Mule Team
1940 · Director
The Earl of Chicago
1940 · Director
Tarzan Finds a Son!
1939 · Director
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1939 · Director
Three Loves Has Nancy
1938 · Director
The Crowd Roars
1938 · Director
The Toy Wife
1938 · Director
The First Hundred Years
1938 · Director
Love Is a Headache
1938 · Director
Man-Proof
1938 · Director
Double Wedding
1937 · Director
Lest We Forget
1937 · Director
Night Must Fall
1937 · Director
Dangerous Number
1937 · Director
Tarzan Escapes
1936 · Director
The Voice of Bugle Ann
1936 · Director
Last of the Pagans
1935 · Director
Secret of the Chateau
1934 · Director
Strange Wives
1934 · Director
Cheating Cheaters
1934 · Director
Green Eyes
1934 · Director
City Park
1934 · Director
Stolen Sweets
1934 · Director
The Quitter
1934 · Director
Murder on the Campus
1933 · Director
Rainbow Over Broadway
1933 · Director
A Man of Sentiment
1933 · Director
Notorious But Nice
1933 · Director
Strange People
1933 · Director
I Have Lived
1933 · Director
Forgotten
1933 · Director
The Secrets of Wu Sin
1932 · Director
Women Won't Tell
1932 · Director
Slightly Married
1932 · Director
The King Murder
1932 · Director
Thrill of Youth
1932 · Director
Beauty Parlor
1932 · Director
The Midnight Lady
1932 · Director
Escapade
1932 · Director
Probation
1932 · Director
Murder at Dawn
1932 · Director
Cross-Examination
1932 · Director
The Devil Plays
1931 · Director, Editor
Forgotten Women
1931 · Director
Neck and Neck
1931 · Director
Grief Street
1931 · Director, Editor
The Sky Spider
1931 · Director
Wild Horse
1931 · Director
The Lady from Nowhere
1931 · Director, Editor
The Lawless Woman
1931 · Director
King of the Wild
1931 · Director
The Utah Kid
1930 · Director
Under Montana Skies
1930 · Director
The Thoroughbred
1930 · Director
Wings of Adventure
1930 · Director
The Dude Wrangler
1930 · Director
The Lone Defender
1930 · Director
The King of the Kongo
1929 · Director
Border Romance
1929 · Director
The Bachelor Girl
1929 · Director
The Fatal Warning
1929 · Director
The Shady Lady
1928 · Story
The Flyin' Buckaroo
1928 · Director, Writer
The Vanishing West
1928 · Director
Vultures of the Sea
1928 · Director
The Valley Of Hunted Men
1928 · Director, Writer
The Cowboy Cavalier
1928 · Director, Story
The Ballyhoo Buster
1928 · Director, Writer
The Desert of the Lost
1927 · Director, Writer
Roarin' Broncs
1927 · Director, Writer
The Obligin' Buckaroo
1927 · Director, Writer
The Soda Water Cowboy
1927 · Director
Skedaddle Gold
1927 · Director, Writer
The Meddlin' Stranger
1927 · Director
The Ridin' Rowdy
1927 · Director, Writer
Tearin' Into Trouble
1927 · Director
Between Dangers
1927 · Director, Writer
The Cyclone Cowboy
1927 · Director
Josselyn's Wife
1926 · Director
College Days
1926 · Director
The Interferin' Gent
1926 · Director
The Bonanza Buckaroo
1926 · Director
Twisted Triggers
1926 · Director
Double Daring
1926 · Director, Writer
Easy Going
1926 · Director
Ridin' Rivals
1926 · Director
The Fighting Cheat
1926 · Director
The Roaring Rider
1926 · Director
Galloping On
1925 · Director, Scenario Writer
The Desert Demon
1925 · Director
Tearin' Loose
1925 · Writer, Director
Red Clay
1925 · Scenario Writer
On the Go
1925 · Director, Writer
Thundering Romance
1924 · Director
Flames of Desire
1924 · Dick Langton
Bringin' Home the Bacon
1924 · Director
Hard-Hittin' Hamilton
1924 · Director
Fast and Fearless
1924 · Director
Three O'Clock in the Morning
1923 · Clayton Webster
Burn 'Em Up Barnes
1921 · Stephen Thompson
TV shows (0)
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