Richard Murphy (May 8, 1912 – May 19, 1993) was an American screenwriter, film director and producer. His screenplays for ''

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...

'' (1947) and '' The Desert Rats'' (1953) were nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay Film adaptation, adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include st ...

and

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

, respectively.

Biography

Born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, Murphy worked for ''

Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current ...

'' in the 1930s before leaving in 1937 to work in the short film department at

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. Murphy's first screenwriting credit was for providing the story for ''Back in the Saddle'', a 1941 Gene Autry

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. While in the Army Air Forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Murphy reached the rank of captain seeing action in the Pacific theater countries of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. 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 ''

''. He received the first of two

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

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 ''The Kidnapping of the President'' is a 1980 Canadian-American political thriller film starring William Shatner, Hal Holbrook, Van Johnson and Ava Gardner. It was produced and directed by George Mendeluk and co-produced by John Ryan from a scree ...

'' 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'' (1942) * ''I Live on Danger'' (1942) * ''Wildcat'' (1942) * ''X Marks the Spot'' (1942) * ''Wrecking Crew'' (1942) * '' Boomerang!'' (1947) * ''Deep Waters'' (1948) * ''

Cry of the City ''Cry of the City'' is a 1948 American film noir starring Victor Mature, Richard Conte, and Shelley Winters. Directed by Robert Siodmak, it is based on the novel by Henry Edward Helseth, ''The Chair for Martin Rome''. The screenwriter Ben Hecht ...

'' (1948) * ''

Slattery's Hurricane ''Slattery's Hurricane'' is a 1949 American drama film directed by Andre DeToth and starring Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell and Veronica Lake. It is based on a story submitted by Herman Wouk, who also coauthored the screenplay and published a no ...

'' (1949) * '' Panic in the Streets'' (1950) * ''

You're in the Navy Now ''You're in the Navy Now'' is a 1951 American war drama film about the United States Navy in the first months of World War II. The film was directed by Henry Hathaway and stars Gary Cooper as a new officer wanting duty at sea but who is instead a ...

'' (1951) * ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' (1952) * '' The Desert Rats'' (1953) * ''

Broken Lance ''Broken Lance'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Sol C. Siegel. The film stars Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, and Katy Jurado. Shot in Technicolor and CinemaScope, the fil ...

'' (1954) * '' Three Stripes in the Sun'' (1955) * ''

Compulsion Compulsion may refer to: * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by i ...

'' (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), ...

'' (1959) * '' The Wackiest Ship in the Army'' (1960) * ''The Mystery of the Chinese Junk'' (1967) * ''

Felony Squad ''The Felony Squad'' is a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966, to January 31, 1969, a span encompassing seventy-three episodes. Overview The program starred Howard Duff (as Sergeant ...

'' (73 episodes, 1966–1969) * ''The Kidnapping of the President'' (1980)

Director

* '' Three Stripes in the Sun'' (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