Directing

Richard Thorpe

Born February 24, 1896 · Hutchinson, Kansas, USA

Died May 1, 1991 · aged 95

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…

Known For

How the West Was Won

How the West Was Won · 1962

How the West Was Won

The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.

Three Little Words

Three Little Words · 1950

Three Little Words

MovieMusicComedy

Song-and-dance man Bert Kalmar can't continue his stage career after an injury, so he has to earn his money as a lyricist. By chance, he meets composer Harry Ruby and their first song is a hit. Ruby gets Kalmar to marry his former partner Jessie Brown, and Kalmar and Jessie prevent Ruby from getting married to the wrong girls. But due to the fact that Ruby has caused a backer's withdrawal for a Kalmar play, they end their professional relationship.

Black Hand

Black Hand · 1950

MovieCrimeDrama

In turn-of-the-century New York, an Italian seeks vengeance on the mobsters who killed his father.

Jailhouse Rock

Jailhouse Rock · 1957

MovieMusicDrama

Young convict Vince Everett, serving time for manslaughter, discovers his musical talent in prison and becomes a rock and roll star after his release, navigating fame and relationships.

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II · 1976

That's Entertainment, Part II

MovieDocumentaryMusic

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.

Knights of the Round Table

Knights of the Round Table · 1953

Knights of the Round Table

MovieRomanceAction

In Camelot, kingdom of Arthur and Merlin, Lancelot is well known for his courage and honor. But one day he must quit Camelot and the Queen Guinevere's love, leaving the Round Table without protection.

Athena

MovieRomanceComedy

A stuffy young lawyer's outlook on life drastically changes when he meets a perky health food enthusiast and her wacky family.

The Great Caruso

The Great Caruso · 1951

The Great Caruso

MovieDramaMusic

Enrico Caruso's only passion is to sing. For that, he leaves his hometown of Naples, Italy, and travels to America to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. At first, his lack of education and poor background make him an outcast in the high-class opera world. Eventually, his voice wins him both fans and the hand of his love, Dorothy. But his nonstop pace and desire to perform at any cost eventually take their toll on the singer's health.

Filmography

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How the West Was Won

How the West Was Won · 1962

How the West Was Won

The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.

Special Guest Director

Three Little Words

Three Little Words · 1950

Three Little Words

MovieMusicComedy

Song-and-dance man Bert Kalmar can't continue his stage career after an injury, so he has to earn his money as a lyricist. By chance, he meets composer Harry Ruby and their first song is a hit. Ruby gets Kalmar to marry his former partner Jessie Brown, and Kalmar and Jessie prevent Ruby from getting married to the wrong girls. But due to the fact that Ruby has caused a backer's withdrawal for a Kalmar play, they end their professional relationship.

Director

Black Hand

Black Hand · 1950

MovieCrimeDrama

In turn-of-the-century New York, an Italian seeks vengeance on the mobsters who killed his father.

Director

Jailhouse Rock

Jailhouse Rock · 1957

MovieMusicDrama

Young convict Vince Everett, serving time for manslaughter, discovers his musical talent in prison and becomes a rock and roll star after his release, navigating fame and relationships.

Director

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II · 1976

That's Entertainment, Part II

MovieDocumentaryMusic

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.

Thanks

Knights of the Round Table

Knights of the Round Table · 1953

Knights of the Round Table

MovieRomanceAction

In Camelot, kingdom of Arthur and Merlin, Lancelot is well known for his courage and honor. But one day he must quit Camelot and the Queen Guinevere's love, leaving the Round Table without protection.

Director

Athena

MovieRomanceComedy

A stuffy young lawyer's outlook on life drastically changes when he meets a perky health food enthusiast and her wacky family.

Director

The Great Caruso

The Great Caruso · 1951

The Great Caruso

MovieDramaMusic

Enrico Caruso's only passion is to sing. For that, he leaves his hometown of Naples, Italy, and travels to America to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. At first, his lack of education and poor background make him an outcast in the high-class opera world. Eventually, his voice wins him both fans and the hand of his love, Dorothy. But his nonstop pace and desire to perform at any cost eventually take their toll on the singer's health.

Director

All the Brothers Were Valiant

All the Brothers Were Valiant · 1953

All the Brothers Were Valiant

In the South Pacific islands, two brothers, one good and one bad, fight over the same girl and over a bag of pearls.

Director

Tarzan's New York Adventure

Tarzan's New York Adventure · 1942

Tarzan's New York Adventure

MovieActionAdventure

Circus owner Buck Rand kidnaps Boy to perform in his show. He forces a pilot to fly him, Boy and his animal trainer out of the jungle. Tarzan and Jane follow them to New York.

Director

Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe · 1952

MovieAdventureRomance

Sir Walter Scott's classic story of the chivalrous Ivanhoe who joins with Robin of Locksley in the fight against Prince John and for the return of King Richard the Lionheart.

Director

Carbine Williams

Carbine Williams · 1952

Carbine Williams

MovieCrimeDrama

David Marshall Williams is sent to a prison farm where he works in the tool shop and eventually develops the precursor of the famous M-1 Carbine automatic rifle used in World War II.

Director

Big Jack

Big Jack · 1949

MovieAdventureWestern

Wallace Beery, in his final film, plays a bandit in this period drama set in Colonial America.

Director

Tarzan Escapes

Tarzan Escapes · 1936

MovieActionAdventure

White hunter Captain Fry tries to take Tarzan back to civilization, caged for public display. He arrives in the jungle with Jane's cousins, Eric and Rita, who want Jane's help in claiming a fortune left her.

Director

Tarzan Finds a Son!

Tarzan Finds a Son! · 1939

Tarzan Finds a Son!

MovieActionAdventure

A young couple die in a plane crash in the jungle. Their son is found by Tarzan and Jane who name him Boy and raise him as their own. Five years later a search party comes to find the young heir to millions of dollars. Jane agrees, against Tarzan's will, to lead them to civilization.

Director

Fun in Acapulco

Fun in Acapulco · 1963

Fun in Acapulco

MovieMusicComedy

Mike Windgren works on a boat in Acapulco, but when the bratty daughter of its owner gets him fired, Mike finds new work as a lifeguard and singer at a local hotel. Tensions increase when Mike runs afoul of the rival lifeguard—also the champion diver of Mexico.

Director

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn · 1939

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

MovieAdventureDrama

Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

Director

The Unknown Man

The Unknown Man · 1951

The Unknown Man

MovieCrimeDrama

A scrupulously honest lawyer discovers that the client he's gotten off was really guilty.

Director

The Last Challenge

The Last Challenge · 1967

The Last Challenge

An upstart outlaw baits a legendary gunslinger, now a marshal in love with a saloon keeper.

Director

The Prisoner of Zenda

The Prisoner of Zenda · 1952

The Prisoner of Zenda

A kingdom's ascending heir, marked for assassination, switches identities with a lookalike, who takes his place at the coronation. When the real king is kidnapped, his followers try to find him, while the stand-in falls in love with the king's intended bride, the beautiful Princess Flavia.

Director

Vengeance Valley

Vengeance Valley · 1951

Vengeance Valley

A cattle baron takes in an orphaned boy and raises him, causing his own son to resent the boy. As they get older the resentment festers into hatred, and eventually the real son frames his stepbrother for fathering an illegitimate child that is actually his, seeing it as an opportunity to get his half-brother out of the way so he can have his father's empire all to himself.

Director

Two Girls and a Sailor

Two Girls and a Sailor · 1944

Two Girls and a Sailor

MovieMusicComedy

A U.S. Navy sailor helps two sisters start up a service canteen. The sailor soon becomes taken with gorgeous sister Jean, unaware that her sibling Patsy is also in love with him.

Director

Tarzan's Secret Treasure

Tarzan's Secret Treasure · 1941

Tarzan's Secret Treasure

MovieActionAdventure

A scientific expedition happens to discover that gold exists on Tarzan's escarpment. The villainous Medford and Vandermeer kidnap Jane and Boy to extort from Tarzan the location of the gold.

Director

The Prodigal

The Prodigal · 1955

MovieDramaAdventure

A wealthy young Hebrew traveling in Damascus renounces his faith after he is seduced by an alluring pagan priestess and cheated of his fortune by the High Priest as well.

Director