Torin Thatcher

Born: 1905-01-15

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Torin Thatcher (15 January 1905 - 4 March 1981) was an English actor born in Bombay, British India, India), to English parents. He was an imposing, powerfully built figure noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains. He was educated in England at Bedford School and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He worked as a schoolmaster before first appearing on the London stage in 1927 and then entering British films in 1934. He appeared in the 1937 Old Vic stage production of Hamlet, in which Laurence Olivier made his first appearance in the title role, opposite Vivien Leigh as Ophelia. During the Second World War, he served with the Royal Artillery and was demobilized with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Thatcher appeared in classic British films of the late 1930s and 1940s, including Major Barbara (1941) and Great Expectations (1946), in which he played Bentley Drummle. He moved to Hollywood in the 1950s. He was constantly in demand, invariably lending his looming figure and baleful countenance to sinister or stern roles in popular costume thrillers such as The Crimson Pirate (1952), Blackbeard the Pirate (1952), The Robe (1953) (as the disapproving father of Richard Burton's character), The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), Helen of Troy (1956), Darby's Rangers (1958), and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). He also appeared in the Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard 1962 remake of Mutiny on the Bounty. He returned to the stage quite frequently, notably on Broadway, in such esteemed productions as Edward, My Son (1948), That Lady (1949) and Billy Budd (1951). In 1959, he portrayed Captain Keller in the award-winning play The Miracle Worker with Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. All of these plays were filmed, but Thatcher did not appear in the movie versions. Also a steady fixture on television, he appeared in such made-for-TV films as adaptations of A. J. Cronin's Beyond This Place (1957) and The Citadel (1960),Bonanza(1961), and Brenda Starr (1976). He also played the title role in a Philco Television Playhouse version of Othello and acted in a CBS production of Beyond This Place (1957). Thatcher died of cancer on March 4, 1981, in Thousand Oaks, California, in the Los Angeles area.


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The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

as Sokurah the Magician
Released: 1958-12-05

When a princess is shrunken by an evil wizard, Sinbad must undertake a quest to an island of...

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Young and Innocent

as Nobby's Lodging House Caretaker (uncredited)
Released: 1937-11-01

Robert Tisdall finds on the beach the corpse of a woman he knew. Others wrongly conclude that he...

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Mutiny on the Bounty

as Staines
Released: 1962-11-08

The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit....

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Witness for the Prosecution

as Mr. Myers
Released: 1957-12-17

When Leonard Vole is arrested for the sensational murder of a rich, middle-aged widow, the...

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The Robe

as Sen. Gallio
Released: 1953-09-16

Marcellus is a tribune in the time of Christ. He is in charge of the group that is assigned to...

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Knock on Wood

as Godfrey Langston
Released: 1954-04-06

Ventriloquist Jerry Morgan has failed with another love affair. The reason: when the...

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Sabotage

as Mr. Verloc's Visitor (uncredited)
Released: 1937-01-08

Karl Anton Verloc and his wife own a small cinema in a quiet London suburb where they live...

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The Crimson Pirate

as Humble Bellows
Released: 1952-09-27

Burt Lancaster plays a pirate with a taste for intrigue and acrobatics who involves himself in...

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The Snows of Kilimanjaro

as Johnson
Released: 1952-10-08

Writer Harry Street reflects on his life as he lies dying from an infection while on safari in...

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Great Expectations

as Bentley Drummle
Released: 1946-12-26

In this Dickens adaptation, orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious...

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Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

as Humphrey Palmer-Jones
Released: 1955-08-18

A widowed doctor of both Chinese and European descent falls in love with a married American...

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Affair in Trinidad

as Inspector Smythe
Released: 1952-07-29

A nightclub singer enlists her brother-in-law to track down her husband's killer.

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Jack the Giant Killer

as Pendragon
Released: 1962-05-18

The terrible and trecherous Pendragon plans to gain the throne of Cornwall by getting the king...

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Hawaii

as Reverend Thorn
Released: 1966-10-10

Abner Hale, a rigid and humorless New England missionary, marries the beautiful Jerusha Bromley...

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The Desert Rats

as Col. Barney White
Released: 1953-05-20

In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel and his troops have successfully fended off British...

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The Fallen Idol

as Policeman
Released: 1948-09-30

Phillipe, the son of an ambassador in London, idolizes Baines, his father's butler, a kind of...

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Houdini

as Otto
Released: 1953-07-02

By the early 1900s, the extraordinary Houdini earned an international reputation for his...

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The Black Shield of Falworth

as Sir James
Released: 1954-09-02

In the days of King Henry IV, stalwart young Myles and his sister Meg have been raised as...

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Night Train to Munich

as uncredited
Released: 1940-08-31

Czechoslovakia, March 1939, on the eve of World War II. As the German invaders occupy Prague,...

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Helen of Troy

as Ulysses
Released: 1956-01-26

Prince Paris of Troy, shipwrecked on a mission to the king of Sparta, meets and falls for Queen...

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The Sandpiper

as le juge Thompson
Released: 1965-06-23

A free-spirited single mother forms a connection with the wedded headmaster of an Episcopalian...

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The Spy in Black

as Submarine Officer
Released: 1939-08-03

A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.

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Bengal Brigade

as Colonel Morrow
Released: 1954-11-06

Year 1856, British India. Capt. Jeffrey Claybourne is severely punished after disobeying an...

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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

as Sir Turnbull
Released: 1968-01-07

In this Dan Curtis production of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, Jack Palance stars as Dr....

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Istanbul

as Douglas Fielding
Released: 1957-01-23

A suspected diamond smuggler returns to Istanbul and finds the lady love he thought was...

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Band of Angels

as Capt. Canavan
Released: 1957-08-03

Living in Kentucky prior to the Civil War, Amantha Starr is a privileged young woman. Her...

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Blackbeard, the Pirate

as Sir Henry Morgan
Released: 1952-12-24

Honest Robert Maynard finds himself serving as ship's surgeon under the infamous pirate Blackbeard.

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Lady Godiva of Coventry

as Lord Godwin
Released: 1955-11-02

Fictionalized account of events leading up the famous nude ride (alas, her hair covers...

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Diane

as Louis - Count de Breze
Released: 1956-01-12

Asked by Francis I to tutor his son, Diane de Poitiers becomes the future King Henry II's...

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Darby's Rangers

as Sergeant McTavish
Released: 1958-02-12

Stationed in Scotland, Maj. William Darby and the men under his command are trained by British...

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The Black Rose

as Harry
Released: 1950-09-01

In the 13th century, Walter of Gurnie, a disinherited Saxon youth, is forced to flee England....

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The Man Who Could Work Miracles

as Observer
Released: 1936-07-23

An ordinary man, while vigorously asserting the impossibility of miracles, suddenly discovers...

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Contraband

as Sailor
Released: 1940-05-11

When a neutral Danish merchant ship is forced to put into port after trying to evade British...

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I See a Dark Stranger

as Police Constable
Released: 1946-07-04

Determined, independent Bridie Quilty comes of age in 1944 Ireland thinking all Englishmen are...

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Major Barbara

as Todger Fairmile
Released: 1941-05-14

Idealistic young Barbara is the daughter of rich weapons manufacturer Andrew Undershaft. She...

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Bonnie Prince Charlie

as Colonel Ker
Released: 1948-10-26

Scotland, 1745. After decades of exile, Prince Charles Edward Stuart secretly lands with the...

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The Captive Heart

as Repatriation Official (uncredited)
Released: 1946-04-29

A series of stories about the lives and loves of nine men in a Prisoner of War Camp over five...

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Crime Over London

as uncredited
Released: 1936-10-21

With the police on their tail, a gang of New York criminals decided to relocate to London where...

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Let George Do It!

as U-Boat commander
Released: 1940-07-12

Shortly after the start of World War II, a ukelele player (George) takes the wrong boat and...

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Now Barabbas

as Customs Officer
Released: 1949-05-24

A prison governor deals with a variety of different prisoners, including a charming murderer.

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The Next of Kin

as German General
Released: 1942-06-15

Wartime propaganda piece giving the warning "Be like Dad, Keep Mum". A gossipy housewife is...

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Saloon Bar

as Mr. Garrod
Released: 1940-11-02

A bookmaker with a fancy for detective work attempts to prevent the execution of a potentially...

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The Canadians

as Superintendent Walker
Released: 1961-03-11

When the Sioux come to Canada, the Canadians permit them to stay in Canada if they come...

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Drums of Africa

as Jack Cuortemayn
Released: 1963-05-15

David Moore is in East Africa to get to his employer's railway construction site. He's...

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The End of the River

as Lisboa
Released: 1947-12-01

A South American Indian is taken from his jungle home into the world of the White Man where he...

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The Lion Has Wings

as Seaman Receiving Information About German Activity
Released: 1939-11-03

This early, influential propaganda film blends documentary and studio footage to show the...

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The Citadel

as Sir Robert Abbey
Released: 1960-02-19

The good doctor is on trial before the British Medical Association Council, if he is found...

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Gasbags

as SS Man
Released: 1941-02-01

It's war time London and the Crazy Gang (Flanagan & Allen, Nervo & Knox, Naughton &...

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Climbing High

as Jim Castle
Released: 1938-10-31

Wealthy Nicky finds himself engaged to gold-digger Lady Constance, but he really loves scatty...

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The King's Pirate

as Captain Cullen
Released: 1967-07-20

Handsome British officer, Lt. Brian Fleming is sent undercover to infiltrate a lively band of...

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Jassy

as Bob Wicks
Released: 1947-08-13

In 19th century England, Jassy is a young Gypsy girl blessed with the gift of second sight....

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The Case of the Frightened Lady

as Jim Tilling, the Groundsman
Released: 1940-09-28

A classic British thriller set in a sinister old house, based on a story by Edgar Wallace.

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The Holy Terror

as Dr. Poole
Released: 1965-04-07

A television dramatization based on the life and work of Florence Nightingale. The story, set in...

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Red Wagon

as Eddie Prince
Released: 1933-12-06

Adapted from Lady Eleanor Smith’s novel, this 1934 feature tells the story of Joe Prince, an...

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Drake of England

as uncredited
Released: 1935-05-16

Imposing Canadian-born stage actor and playwright Matherson Lang was one of the twentieth...

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Hell of Borneo

as Mr. Bellflower
Released: 1964-01-01

A wealthy mercenary lives in blissful solitude on his private island in the Philippines, until...

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The Man Within

as Jailer
Released: 1947-05-19

A man goes on the run from hardened smugglers.

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Mission: Impossible

as uncredited
First aired: 1966-09-17

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by...

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The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

as Alva Hardwicke
First aired: 1962-09-20

A continuation of the anthology series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, hosted by the master of...

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Perry Mason

as Walter Frazer
First aired: 1957-09-21

The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most...

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Star Trek

as Marplon
First aired: 1966-09-08

Space. The Final Frontier. The U.S.S. Enterprise embarks on a five year mission to explore the...

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The Philco Television Playhouse

as uncredited
First aired: 1948-10-03

The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC...

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The Philco Television Playhouse

as Othello
First aired: 1948-10-03

The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC...

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Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

as Ab Richards
First aired: 1956-10-05

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American...

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One Step Beyond

as Earl of Culdane
First aired: 1959-01-20

Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond is an American anthology series created by Merwin Gerard. The...

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Lost in Space

as The Space Trader
First aired: 1965-09-15

The space family Robinson is sent on a five-year mission to find a new planet to colonise. The...

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The 20th Century Fox Hour

as uncredited
First aired: 1955-10-05

The 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States...

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Adventures in Paradise

as Michael Cameron
First aired: 1959-10-05

Adventures in Paradise is an American television series created by James Michener which ran on...

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Land of the Giants

as Dr. Berger
First aired: 1968-09-22

Set fifteen years in the then-future year 1983, the series tells the tale of the crew and...

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The Time Tunnel

as Dr. Everett Holland
First aired: 1966-09-09

The Time Tunnel is a 1966–1967 U.S. color science fiction TV series, written around a theme of...

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Night Gallery

as Captain of the Lusitania (segment "Lone Survivor")
First aired: 1970-12-16

Rod Serling narrates an anthology of fantasy, horror and sci-fi stories from a set resembling a...

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The Guns of Will Sonnett

as uncredited
First aired: 1967-09-08

The Guns of Will Sonnett is a Western television series

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Constable Johnson
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Felix Edward Manbridge
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

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The Great Adventure

as General Howe
First aired: 1963-09-27

The Great Adventure is a historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963-1964...

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The Great Adventure

as Colonel Lewis Washington
First aired: 1963-09-27

The Great Adventure is a historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963-1964...

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Get Smart

as uncredited
First aired: 1965-09-18

Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created...

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Daniel Boone

as President John Adams
First aired: 1964-09-24

Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel...

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Daniel Boone

as Cyrus Blake / Enoch Blake
First aired: 1964-09-24

Daniel Boone is an American action-adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel...

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Climax!

as John Philippson
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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Climax!

as Fred Beresford
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen

as King Bendigo
First aired: 1958-09-26

Make way for the reluctant detective. It's Ellery Queen, the suave, debonair and brilliant hero...

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Peter Gunn

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-09-22

Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series. Filmed in a film noir atmosphere and...

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Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Dr. Poole
First aired: 1951-12-24

Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark...

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Thriller

as Jeremy Teal
First aired: 1960-09-13

Thriller is an American anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62...

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Telephone Time

as uncredited
First aired: 1956-04-08

Telephone Time is an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS in 1956, and on ABC from...

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Petrocelli

as uncredited
First aired: 1974-09-11

Petrocelli is an American legal drama which ran for two seasons on NBC from September 11, 1974...

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Search

as uncredited
First aired: 1972-09-13

Search is an American science fiction series that aired on Wednesday nights on NBC at 10 pm ET,...

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Gunsmoke

as John Tyson
First aired: 1955-09-10

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...

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The Millionaire

as Max MacIntyre
First aired: 1955-01-19

An anthology series that explored the ways sudden and unexpected wealth changed life for better...

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