Richard Murphy (May 8, 1912 – May 19, 1993) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

screenwriter, film director and producer. His screenplays for '' Boomerang'' (1947) and '' The Desert Rats'' (1953) were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay, respectively.

Biography

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Murphy worked for '' Literary Digest'' in the 1930s before leaving in 1937 to work in the short film department at MGM. Murphy's first screenwriting credit was for providing the story for ''Back in the Saddle'', a 1941

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

western. While in the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during World War II, Murphy reached the rank of captain seeing action in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

countries of New Guinea and the Philippines. Murphy returned to the States and started working for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. In 1947 he wrote the award-winning film '' Boomerang''. He received the first of two Oscar nominations for this screenplay, with his second in 1953 for the World War II film '' The Desert Rats''. He also directed a few films before moving into television in the 1960s when he wrote and created television series. Murphy's last screenplay was for '' The Kidnapping of the President'' in 1980.

Filmography

Writer

* ''Life in Sometown, U.S.A.'' (1938) * ''Back in the Saddle'' (1941) * ''The Singing Hill'' (1941) * ''Flying Blind'' (1941) * ''The Apache Kid'' (1941) * ''Jesse James, Jr.'' (1942) * ''

The Cyclone Kid The Cyclone Kid may refer to: *The Cyclone Kid (1931 film) ''The Cyclone Kid'' is a 1931 American Western film directed by J.P. McGowan and starring Buzz Barton, Francis X. Bushman Jr. and Caryl Lincoln.Pitts, p. 62. Cast * Buzz Barton as Budd ...

'' (1942) * ''I Live on Danger'' (1942) * ''Wildcat'' (1942) * ''X Marks the Spot'' (1942) * ''Wrecking Crew'' (1942) * ''

Boomerang! ''Boomerang!'' is a 1947 American crime semidocumentary film based on the true story of a vagrant accused of murder who is found not guilty through the efforts of the prosecutor. It stars Dana Andrews, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy and ...

'' (1947) * ''Deep Waters'' (1948) * '' Cry of the City'' (1948) * '' Slattery's Hurricane'' (1949) * '' Panic in the Streets'' (1950) * '' You're in the Navy Now'' (1951) * '' Les Misérables'' (1952) * '' The Desert Rats'' (1953) * '' Broken Lance'' (1954) * ''

Three Stripes in the Sun ''Three Stripes in the Sun'' is a 1955 American war film directed by Richard Murphy and starring Aldo Ray, Philip Carey and Dick York. It is a story of an American sergeant stationed in Japan after World War II who falls for a local girl. Plot ...

'' (1955) * '' Compulsion'' (1959) * ''

The Last Angry Man ''The Last Angry Man'' is a 1959 drama film that tells the story of a television producer who profiles the life of a physician. It stars Paul Muni (in his last film appearance), David Wayne, Betsy Palmer, Billy Dee Williams (in his film debut), a ...

'' (1959) * '' The Wackiest Ship in the Army'' (1960) * ''The Mystery of the Chinese Junk'' (1967) * '' Felony Squad'' (73 episodes, 1966–1969) * ''The Kidnapping of the President'' (1980)

Director

* ''

'' (1955) * '' The Wackiest Ship in the Army'' (1960)

Producer

* ''The Mystery of the Chinese Junk'' (1967)

Awards and nominations

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Richard 1912 births 1993 deaths Williams College alumni American male screenwriters Film producers from Massachusetts American film directors United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Writers from Boston Writers Guild of America Award winners 20th-century American businesspeople Screenwriters from Massachusetts 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters United States Army Air Forces officers