Torin Thatcher
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- January 15, 1905
- Died
- March 4, 1981
- Birthplace
- Bombay, British India, India
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.
Filmography
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1968
as Sir Turnbull
The King's Pirate 1967
as Captain Cullen
- The Sweet and the Bitter
The Sweet and the Bitter 1967
Actor
Hawaii 1966
as Reverend Thorn
The Sandpiper 1965
as le juge Thompson
The Holy Terror 1965
as Dr. Poole
Hell of Borneo 1964
as Mr. Bellflower
Decision at Midnight 1963
as Southstream
Drums of Africa 1963
as Jack Cuortemayn
Mutiny on the Bounty 1962
as Staines
Jack the Giant Killer 1962
as Pendragon
The Canadians 1961
as Superintendent Walker
The Citadel 1960
as Sir Robert Abbey
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad 1958
as Sokurah the Magician
Darby's Rangers 1958
as Sergeant McTavish
Witness for the Prosecution 1957
as Mr. Myers
Band of Angels 1957
as Capt. Canavan
Istanbul 1957
as Douglas Fielding
So Soon to Die 1957
as Inspector Galloway
The Deadly Riddle 1956
as The Red Knight
Helen of Troy 1956
as Ulysses
Diane 1956
as Louis - Count de Breze
Lady Godiva of Coventry 1955
as Lord Godwin
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing 1955
as Humphrey Palmer-Jones
Bengal Brigade 1954
as Colonel Morrow
The Black Shield of Falworth 1954
as Sir James
Knock on Wood 1954
as Godfrey Langston
The Robe 1953
as Sen. Gallio
Houdini 1953
as Otto
The Desert Rats 1953
as Col. Barney White
Blackbeard, the Pirate 1952
as Sir Henry Morgan
The Crimson Pirate 1952
as Humble Bellows
The Snows of Kilimanjaro 1952
as Johnson
Affair in Trinidad 1952
as Inspector Smythe
The Black Rose 1950
as Harry
Now Barabbas 1949
as Customs Officer
Bonnie Prince Charlie 1948
as Colonel Ker
The Fallen Idol 1948
as Policeman
The End of the River 1947
as Lisboa
- When The Bough Breaks
When The Bough Breaks 1947
as Adams
Jassy 1947
as Bob Wicks
The Man Within 1947
as Jailer
Great Expectations 1946
as Bentley Drummle
I See a Dark Stranger 1946
as Police Constable
The Captive Heart 1946
as Repatriation Official (uncredited)
The Next of Kin 1942
as German General
Saboteur 1942
as Man (uncredited)
Major Barbara 1941
as Todger Fairmile
Gasbags 1941
as SS Man
Saloon Bar 1940
as Mr. Garrod
The Case of the Frightened Lady 1940
as Jim Tilling, the Groundsman
Night Train to Munich 1940
Actor
Let George Do It! 1940
as U-Boat Commander
Law and Disorder 1940
as Karl Bergsen
Contraband 1940
as Sailor
The Lion Has Wings 1939
as Seaman Receiving Information About German Activity
- The Kindled Flame
The Kindled Flame 1939
as Festus
- Old Mother Riley, MP
Old Mother Riley, MP 1939
as Jack Nelson
The Spy in Black 1939
as Submarine Officer
Climbing High 1938
as Jim Castle
The Challenge 1938
as Young Officer (uncredited)
Young and Innocent 1937
as Nobby's Lodging House Caretaker (uncredited)
Sabotage 1936
as Mr. Verloc's Visitor (uncredited)
Crime Over London 1936
Actor
The Man Who Could Work Miracles 1936
as Observer
- The Common Round
The Common Round 1936
as Martin
Drake of England 1935
Actor
Red Wagon 1933
as Eddie Prince
Credits from TMDB.