
Torin Thatcher
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.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 0.088 |
Birthday | 1905-01-15 |
Place of Birth | Bombay, British India, India |
Also Known As | Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher, Lt. Torin Thatcher R.A., T. Atkinson, Торин Тэтчер, 托林·撒切尔, |

1968

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
6.2/10
In this Dan Curtis production of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, Jack Palance stars as Dr. Henry Jekyll, a scientist experimenting to reveal the h...
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1952

The Snows of Kilimanjaro
5.929/91
Writer Harry Street reflects on his life as he lies dying from an infection while on safari in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.
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The Snows of Kilimanjaro

1948

The Fallen Idol
7.2/169
Phillipe, the son of an ambassador in London, idolizes Baines, his father's butler, a kind of hero in the eyes of the child, whose perception changes...
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The Fallen Idol

1952

The Crimson Pirate
6.9/142
Burt Lancaster plays a pirate with a taste for intrigue and acrobatics who involves himself in the goings on of a revolution in the Caribbean in the l...
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The Crimson Pirate

1954

The Black Shield of Falworth
6.2/24
In the days of King Henry IV, stalwart young Myles and his sister Meg have been raised as peasants, without any knowledge of who their father really w...
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The Black Shield of Falworth

1960

The Citadel
0/0
The good doctor is on trial before the British Medical Association Council, if he is found guilty, he will no longer be allowed to practice medicine....
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The Citadel

1962

Jack the Giant Killer
6.4/49
The terrible and trecherous Pendragon plans to gain the throne of Cornwall by getting the king to abdicate and to marry his lovely daughter. To help h...
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Jack the Giant Killer

1963

Decision at Midnight
6/1
Adaptation of the play Music at Midnight, set in the Iron Curtain.
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Decision at Midnight

1946

I See a Dark Stranger
6.3/24
Proud Irishwoman Bridie Quilty journeys to Dublin while World War II rages across Europe. During her travels, she encounters J. Miller, who recruits h...
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I See a Dark Stranger

1953

The Desert Rats
6.3/91
In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel and his troops have successfully fended off British forces, and now intend to take Tobruk, an important p...
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The Desert Rats

1953

The Robe
6.7/244
Drunk and disillusioned Roman, Marcellus Gallio, wins Jesus' robe in a dice game after the crucifixion. Marcellus has never been a man of faith like h...
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The Robe

1956

Helen of Troy
6.3/49
Prince Paris of Troy, shipwrecked on a mission to the king of Sparta, meets and falls for Queen Helen before he knows who she is. Rudely received by t...
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Helen of Troy

1957

Witness for the Prosecution
8.2/1452
An ailing famous barrister agrees to defend a man in a sensational murder trial where his self-possessed wife's unconvincing testimony confuses him.
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Witness for the Prosecution

1957

Band of Angels
6.2/42
Living in Kentucky prior to the Civil War, Amantha Starr is a privileged young woman. Her widowed father, a wealthy plantation owner, dotes on her and...
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Band of Angels

1953

Houdini
6.5/70
By the early 1900s, the extraordinary Houdini earned an international reputation for his theatrical tricks and daring feats of extrication from shackl...
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Houdini

1952

Affair in Trinidad
6.3/50
A nightclub singer enlists her brother-in-law to track down her husband's killer.
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Affair in Trinidad

1958

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
6.9/276
When a princess is shrunken by an evil wizard, Sinbad must undertake a quest to an island of monsters to cure her and prevent a war.
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The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

1933

Red Wagon
0/0
Adapted from Lady Eleanor Smith’s novel, this 1934 feature tells the story of Joe Prince, an orphan child of circus people who, after many struggles,...
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Red Wagon

1958

Darby's Rangers
5.9/9
Stationed in Scotland, Maj. William Darby and the men under his command are trained by British commandos, becoming the U.S. Army's 1st Ranger Battalio...
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Darby's Rangers

1955

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
6/83
A widowed doctor of both Chinese and European descent falls in love with a married American correspondent in Hong Kong during China's Communist revolu...
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Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

1947

The Man Within
5.7/3
A man goes on the run from hardened smugglers.
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The Man Within

1954

Knock on Wood
6.6/30
Ventriloquist Jerry Morgan has failed with another love affair. The reason: when the relationship reaches the point when it is time to discuss marriag...
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Knock on Wood

1948

Bonnie Prince Charlie
4.7/5
Scotland, 1745. After decades of exile, Prince Charles Edward Stuart secretly lands with the purpose of revolting the Highland chieftains against the...
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Bonnie Prince Charlie

1965

The Sandpiper
6.4/47
A free-spirited single mother forms a connection with the wedded headmaster of an Episcopalian boarding school in Monterey, California.
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The Sandpiper

1952

Blackbeard, the Pirate
5.9/44
Honest Robert Maynard finds himself serving as ship's surgeon under the infamous pirate Blackbeard.
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Blackbeard, the Pirate

1955

Lady Godiva of Coventry
5.5/15
Fictionalized account of events leading up the famous nude ride (alas, her hair covers everything) of the militant Saxon lady.
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Lady Godiva of Coventry

1949

Now Barabbas
6.5/2
A prison governor deals with a variety of different prisoners, including a charming murderer.
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Now Barabbas

1957

Istanbul
6/8
A suspected diamond smuggler returns to Istanbul and finds the lady love he thought was dead...or does he?
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Istanbul

1940

Night Train to Munich
7.2/80
Czechoslovakia, March 1939, on the eve of World War II. As the German invaders occupy Prague, inventor Axel Bomasch manages to flee and reach England;...
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Night Train to Munich

1956

Diane
5.7/9
Asked by Francis I to tutor his son, Diane de Poitiers becomes the future King Henry II's mistress in 1500s France.
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Diane

1954

Bengal Brigade
5.3/10
Year 1856, British India. Capt. Jeffrey Claybourne is severely punished after disobeying an order. Feeling unworthy of his fiancée Vivian Morrow, the...
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Bengal Brigade

1947

When The Bough Breaks
6.333/3
The bewildered wife of a bigamist allows her child to be adopted and then regrets it.
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When The Bough Breaks

1964

Hell of Borneo
5/2
A wealthy mercenary lives in blissful solitude on his private island in the Philippines, until it's invaded by pirates, mobsters, and smugglers.
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Hell of Borneo

1947

Jassy
5.4/10
In 19th century England, Jassy is a young Gypsy girl blessed with the gift of second sight. Pursued by superstitious villagers, she is rescued by the...
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Jassy

1961

The Canadians
6.5/2
When the Sioux come to Canada, the Canadians permit them to stay in Canada if they come peacefully. However, some cowboys kill all inhabitants of one...
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The Canadians

1967

The King's Pirate
7/2
Handsome British officer, Lt. Brian Fleming is sent undercover to infiltrate a lively band of pirates.
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The King's Pirate

1946

The Captive Heart
6.4/24
A series of stories about the lives and loves of men in a Prisoner of War camp over five years. The main story is of Hasek (Redgrave) a Czech soldier...
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The Captive Heart

1947

The End of the River
5/2
A South American Indian is taken from his jungle home into the world of the White Man where he is forced to stand trial for murder.
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The End of the River

1939

The Spy in Black
6.4/61
A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.
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The Spy in Black

1940

Let George Do It!
5.792/12
Shortly after the start of World War II, a ukelele player (George) takes the wrong boat and finds himself in (still uninvaded) Norway. He is mistaken...
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Let George Do It!

1940

Saloon Bar
6.5/4
A bookmaker with a fancy for detective work attempts to prevent the execution of a potentially innocent man.
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Saloon Bar

1940

The Case of the Frightened Lady
6.5/14
A classic British thriller set in a sinister old house, based on a story by Edgar Wallace.
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The Case of the Frightened Lady

1940

Contraband
6.9/18
When a neutral Danish merchant ship is forced to put into port after trying to evade British wartime contraband control, its captain becomes involved...
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Contraband

1939

Old Mother Riley, MP
5.6/5
Old Mother Riley loses her laundry job and then battles her ex-boss in a parliamentary election.
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Old Mother Riley, MP

1942

Saboteur
6.9/509
Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane flees across the United States after he is wrongly accused of starting the fire that killed his best friend.
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Saboteur

1938

Climbing High
6.167/3
Wealthy Nicky finds himself engaged to gold-digger Lady Constance, but he really loves scatty model Diana. Complications, slapstick and mountaineering...
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Climbing High

1942

The Next of Kin
5/6
Lots of slogans such as "Be like Dad, Keep Mum" and "Keep it under your Hat" are visible on the walls in various scenes to reinforce the plot of this...
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The Next of Kin

1935

Drake of England
7/3
Imposing Canadian-born stage actor and playwright Matherson Lang was one of the twentieth century's great Shakespearean players, and became Britain's...
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Drake of England

1939

The Kindled Flame
0/0
A short British film, based on "The Proconsul" by Seaward Beddow and produced by Religious Films, Ltd.
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The Kindled Flame

1936

The Common Round
0/0
"The Common Touch" tells of an elderly headmaster (George Zucco) whose Christian beliefs are re-affirmed when he hears news from two of his ex-pupils...
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The Common Round

1963

Drums of Africa
2.3/3
David Moore is in East Africa to get to his employer's railway construction site. He's accompanied by the owner's son Brian and they've lined up Jack...
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Drums of Africa

1941

Gasbags
5.5/7
It's war time London and the Crazy Gang (Flanagan & Allen, Nervo & Knox, Naughton & Gold) are doing their bit for the war effort by runnin...
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Gasbags

1941

Major Barbara
6.7/20
Idealistic young Barbara is the daughter of rich weapons manufacturer Andrew Undershaft. She rebels against her estranged father by joining the Salvat...
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Major Barbara

1946

Great Expectations
7.3/342
In this Dickens adaptation, orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman....
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Great Expectations

1936

Crime Over London
6/1
With the police on their tail, a gang of New York criminals decided to relocate to London where they plan a major robbery on a department store.
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Crime Over London

1939

The Lion Has Wings
6.154/13
This early, influential propaganda film blends documentary and studio footage to show the valiant efforts of the Royal Air Force to defend the British...
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The Lion Has Wings

1937

Young and Innocent
6.6/234
Robert Tisdall finds on the beach the corpse of a woman he knew. Others wrongly conclude that he is the murderer. Fleeing, he desperately attempts to...
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Young and Innocent

1966

Hawaii
6.4/44
Abner Hale, a rigid and humorless New England missionary, marries the beautiful Jerusha Bromley and takes her to the exotic island kingdom of Hawaii,...
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Hawaii

1950

The Black Rose
6.5/21
In the 13th century, Walter of Gurnie, a disinherited Saxon youth, is forced to flee England. With his friend, Tristram, he falls in with the army of...
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The Black Rose

1937

Sabotage
6.7/335
Karl Anton Verloc and his wife own a small cinema in a quiet London suburb where they live seemingly happily. But Mrs. Verloc does not know that her h...
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Sabotage

1936

The Man Who Could Work Miracles
5.685/27
An ordinary man, while vigorously asserting the impossibility of miracles, suddenly discovers that he can perform them.
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The Man Who Could Work Miracles

1962

Mutiny on the Bounty
7.011/308
The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit. Captain Bligh will do anything to get there as fast as...
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Mutiny on the Bounty

1965

The Holy Terror
0/0
A television dramatization based on the life and work of Florence Nightingale. The story, set in 1856, relates the incidents in her life following the...
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The Holy Terror

1956

The Deadly Riddle
0/0
Episode aired May 22, 1956
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The Deadly Riddle

1940

Law and Disorder
5/1
On the eve of WWII a young defence lawyer, assisted by his wife, invaigles his way into a gang of foreign saboteurs. Comedy thriller, ably executed by...
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