
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

Barnacle Bill

The Thin Man Goes Home

The King of the Kongo

Night Must Fall

The Prisoner of Zenda

Ivanhoe

The Truth About Spring

Malaya

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Wild Horse

Border Romance

The Crowd Roars

Double Wedding

The Honeymoon Machine

Carbine Williams

Her Highness and the Bellboy

Apache Trail

The Sun Comes Up

The Last Challenge

Tarzan's New York Adventure

Tarzan Escapes

Cry 'Havoc'

20 Mule Team

Thrill of a Romance

Joe Smith, American

The Earl of Chicago

Jailhouse Rock

Black Hand

That Funny Feeling

Tarzan Finds a Son!

Three Little Words

The Student Prince

Tip on a Dead Jockey

Above Suspicion

The House of the Seven Hawks

Knights of the Round Table

The Desert of the Lost

Forgotten

Big Jack

Killers of Kilimanjaro

The First Hundred Years

Three Hearts for Julia

Last of the Pagans

Fun in Acapulco

A Date with Judy

Wyoming

All the Brothers Were Valiant

Tarzan's Secret Treasure

The Girl Who Had Everything

White Cargo

On an Island with You

Two Girls and a Sailor

The Great Caruso

I tartari

Love Is a Headache

Athena

Quentin Durward

Fiesta

Murder on the Campus

Notorious But Nice

Slightly Married

Thrill of Youth

The Bad Man

It's a Big Country

The Midnight Lady

Wings of Adventure

Az aranyfej

Vengeance Valley

This Time for Keeps

Green Eyes

Secret of the Chateau

The Voice of Bugle Ann

Ten Thousand Bedrooms

Probation

Beauty Parlor

Strange People

Challenge to Lassie

The Unknown Man

ホリゾンタル・ルテナント

Bedevilled

Murder at Dawn

The Thoroughbred

Cross-Examination

The Secrets of Wu Sin

Dangerous Number

The Toy Wife

Man-Proof

The Devil Plays

The King Murder

The Prodigal

What Next, Corporal Hargrove?

Rainbow Over Broadway

Women Won't Tell

The Scorpio Letters

Follow the Boys

Grief Street

Three Loves Has Nancy

King of the Wild

Stolen Sweets

The Utah Kid

The Fatal Warning

The Sky Spider

The Vanishing West

The Lone Defender

City Park

A Man of Sentiment

I Have Lived

The Lady from Nowhere

Forgotten Women

Under Montana Skies

The Ridin' Rowdy

The Ballyhoo Buster

Tearin' Into Trouble

The Meddlin' Stranger

Vultures of the Sea

Lest We Forget

Strange Wives

The Quitter

Cheating Cheaters

College Days

Easy Going

Neck and Neck

Escapade

The Bachelor Girl

The Dude Wrangler

Josselyn's Wife

Thundering Romance

Fast and Fearless

Bringin' Home the Bacon

Tearin' Loose

Double Daring

The Flyin' Buckaroo

The Lawless Woman

The Desert Demon

Between Dangers

Hard-Hittin' Hamilton

The Interferin' Gent

Roarin' Broncs

Skedaddle Gold

The Soda Water Cowboy