Richard Thorpe (24 February 1896 – 1 May 1991) was a Hollywood film director of the Golden Age, and the second director to labor on the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. Thorpe directed 180 films from 1923 to 1967; he also earned credits as screenwriter and editor. He was named as Norman Taurog's replacement on the Oz film in the first week of September 1938. Thorpe "had a reputation for bringing in pictures on budget and on schedule, which must have been a real attraction as the studio watched preproduction costs mount on The Wizard of Oz."