Richard Thorpe
Known for
Richard Thorpe belongs to the production side of the business, as an American director who belongs to the crew side of the business rather than the cast. The industry looked different when this career started. Most of this work was done in rooms the audience never sees. 'Ivanhoe' is the one title here with a genuinely wide audience. 'Jailhouse Rock' is another credit worth naming.
Richard Thorpe
138 Directed
Richard Thorpe belongs to the production side of the business, as an American director who belongs to the crew side of the business rather than the cast. The industry looked different when this career started. Most of this work was done in rooms the audience never sees. 'Ivanhoe' is the one title here with a genuinely wide audience. 'Jailhouse Rock' is another credit worth naming.
Movies
Director
Jailhouse Rock
1957
Director
Ivanhoe
1952
Director
Beauty Parlor
1932
Director
Tarzan Escapes
1936
Director
Vengeance Valley
1951
Director
Knights of the Round Table
1953
Director
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1939
Director
The Toy Wife
1938
Director
The Prisoner of Zenda
1952
Director
Two Girls and a Sailor
1944
Director
Tarzan's Secret Treasure
1941
Director
Athena
1954
Director
The Prodigal
1955
Director
Tarzan's New York Adventure
1942
Director
Fun in Acapulco
1963
Director
Ten Thousand Bedrooms
1957
Director
The Last Challenge
1967
Director
Forgotten
1933
Director
All the Brothers Were Valiant
1953
Director
Tarzan Finds a Son!
1939
Director
Fiesta
1947
Director
Her Highness and the Bellboy
1945
Director
The Thin Man Goes Home
1944
Director
A Date with Judy
1948
Director
Big Jack
1949
Director
It's a Big Country
1951
Director
Above Suspicion
1943
Director
Thrill of a Romance
1945
Director
Bedevilled
1955
Director
Malaya
1949
Director
The Unknown Man
1951
Director
What Next, Corporal Hargrove?
1945
Director
Black Hand
1950
Director
Three Little Words
1950
Director
The Great Caruso
1951
Director
Cry 'Havoc'
1943
Director
On an Island with You
1948
Director
Thrill of Youth
1932
Director
Double Wedding
1937
Director
The Earl of Chicago
1940
Director
That Funny Feeling
1965
Director
The Truth About Spring
1965
Director
Quentin Durward
1955
Director
Murder at Dawn
1932
Director
Three Loves Has Nancy
1938
Director
Carbine Williams
1952
Director
Apache Trail
1942
Director
White Cargo
1942
Director
The Tartars
1961
Director
Killers of Kilimanjaro
1959
Full Filmography
The Last Challenge
Director
1967
Film
That Funny Feeling
Director
1965
Film
The Truth About Spring
Director
1965
Film
The Golden Head
Director
1964
Film
Fun in Acapulco
Director
1963
Film
Follow the Boys
Director
1963
Film
The Horizontal Lieutenant
Director
1962
Film
The Honeymoon Machine
Director
1961
Film
The Tartars
Director
1961
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Richard Thorpe still alive?
Richard Thorpe passed away on May 1, 1991 at age 95.
What are the most famous roles of Richard Thorpe?
Richard Thorpe is best known for directing Ivanhoe, Jailhouse Rock, Tarzan Escapes.
How many movies has Richard Thorpe directed?
Over a 67-year career (since 1924), Richard Thorpe has directed or written 138 films and worked on 0 TV shows.
What was Richard Thorpe's first movie?
The career of Richard Thorpe began with The Bonanza Buckaroo ().
What is Richard Thorpe's most recent movie or series?
Richard Thorpe's most recent release is The Scorpio Letters, which premiered on September 1, 1967.
Richard Thorpe
1896-02-24 · Hutchinson, Kansas, USA
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.