Writing

Richard Murphy

Born 1912-05-08 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Richard Murphy was an American screenwriter and director known for his work in film during the mid-20th century. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he began his career as a journalist before transitioning to screenwriting. Murphy wrote scripts for films such as Boomerang! (1947) and The Desert Rats (1953). He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for The Desert Rats. Murphy's writing was noted for its strong character development and engaging narratives, contributing to the success of numerous films during Hollywood's Golden Age.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Broken Lance poster
6.5

Tensions erupt within an Arizona cattle baron's household when his three sons vie for control of the ranch.

Broken Lance

1954

Cry of the City poster
6.7

Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?

Cry of the City

1948

Compulsion poster
7.1

Two close friends' plan to execute a flawless crime is crushed when one of them inadvertently leaves his glasses at the crime scene.

Compulsion

1959

The Desert Rats poster
6.3

In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel and his troops have successfully fended off British forces, and now intend to take Tobruk, an important port city. A ramshackle group of Australian reinforcements sent to combat the Germans is put under the command of British Captain MacRoberts. The unruly Aussies immediately clash with MacRoberts, a gruff, strict disciplinarian, however this unorthodox team must band together to protect Tobruk from the German forces.

The Desert Rats

1953

Boomerang! poster
7.1

When a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner in a quiet Connecticut town, the citizens are horrified and demand action from the police. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence.

Boomerang!

1947

Panic in the Streets poster
6.9

A medical examiner discovers that an innocent shooting victim in a robbery died of bubonic plague. With only 48 hours to find the killer, who is now a ticking time bomb threatening the entire city, a grisly manhunt through the seamy underworld of the New Orleans Waterfront is underway.

Panic in the Streets

1950

The Wackiest Ship in the Army poster
6.2

Lieutenant Rip Crandall is hoodwinked into taking command of the "Wackiest Ship in the Navy" – a real garbage scow with a crew of misfits who don't know a jib from a jigger. What none of them knows, including Crandall, is that this ship has a very important top-secret mission to complete in waters patrolled by the Japanese fleet. Their mission will save hundreds of allied lives – if only they can get there in one piece.

The Wackiest Ship in the Army

1960

The Wackiest Ship in the Army poster
6.2

Lieutenant Rip Crandall is hoodwinked into taking command of the "Wackiest Ship in the Navy" – a real garbage scow with a crew of misfits who don't know a jib from a jigger. What none of them knows, including Crandall, is that this ship has a very important top-secret mission to complete in waters patrolled by the Japanese fleet. Their mission will save hundreds of allied lives – if only they can get there in one piece.

The Wackiest Ship in the Army

1960

You're in the Navy Now poster
5.5

When Lt. John Harkness is assigned as the new skipper of a submarine chaser equipped with an experimental steam engine, he hopes that the U.S.S. Teakettle's veterans will afford him enough help to accomplish the ship's goals. Unfortunately, he finds the crew and its officers share his novice status or only have experience in diesel engines.

You're in the Navy Now

1951

Wildcat poster
5.7

Wildcatter Johnny Maverick and his pal go to a town in oil country offering $25,000 to the person who brings in the first well. They find oil on the outskirts but have to sell a share to a promoter who hires Johnny's old enemy.

Wildcat

1942

Les Miserables poster
5.5

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.

Les Miserables

1952

Slattery's Hurricane poster
5.2

A pilot wants a life of ease, flying for drug smugglers and looking the other way until his conscience is tweaked by a woman he has misused. The story unfolds in flashbacks as the pilot battles the storm and recalls his failures, including a love affair with the wife of his best friend.

Slattery's Hurricane

1949

Deep Waters poster
6.1

A state welfare agent persuades a Maine lobsterman to take a troubled orphan boy aboard.

Deep Waters

1948

I Live on Danger poster
6.1

A cocky radio reporter sets out to prove an ex-convict is innocent in the murder of a mob boss.

I Live on Danger

1942

The Apache Kid poster
9.0

Don "Red" Barry, Republic's answer to Jimmy Cagney, stars in The Apache Kid. Barry plays Pete Dawson, a pugnacious cowboy who dons a mask and becomes a stagecoach robber. It's all in a good cause, however: Dawson is stealing from the town boss (Leroy Mason) who has ripped off a group of miners. Heroine Lynn Merrick is the daughter of the local judge, so naturally she misunderstands Barry's motives, at least until fadeout time.

The Apache Kid

1941

Flying Blind poster
4.6

A spy steals a secret military device, then hijacks an airliner to get away. The airliner crashes in the wilderness & the survivors are threatened by a raging forest fire.

Flying Blind

1941

The Singing Hill poster
9.0

If a young lady gives up her inheritance the local ranchers will lose their free grazing land.

The Singing Hill

1941

Jesse James, Jr. poster
5.5

Though Don "Red" Barry is the star of Jesse James, Jr., he plays a character named Johnny Barrett. The scene is a small western town, lacking telegraph service. Every time the locals try to set up communications with the Outside World, they are thwarted by an outlaw gang.

Jesse James, Jr.

1942

Three Stripes in the Sun poster
7.0

A racist sergeant stationed in post-war Japan finds himself softening towards the children and falling for a local woman.

Three Stripes in the Sun

1955

Three Stripes in the Sun poster
7.0

A racist sergeant stationed in post-war Japan finds himself softening towards the children and falling for a local woman.

Three Stripes in the Sun

1955

X Marks the Spot poster
4.5

A private detective, soon to enlist in the army, is drawn into one final case when his police officer father is killed in the line of duty. Soon his prime suspect is murdered as well, and he finds himself framed for the crime. As more witnesses get murdered, he finds himself on the run from both the police and former Prohibition violators who seem to have found a new racket.

X Marks the Spot

1942

The Kidnapping of the President poster
4.6

A South American quasi-revolutionary/guerilla/terrorist and a misled, admiring girl compatriot manage to kidnap the U.S. President during a diplomatic visit to Toronto.

The Kidnapping of the President

1980

Back in the Saddle poster
6.0

Gene returns from the East with new ranch owner Tom Bennett to find everyone's cattle dying. Blaine has reopened the copper mine and the waste is poisoning the water supply. While Gene is away Tom confronts the miners and a man is killed in the ensuing gunfight. Now Gene not only has the dying cattle problem but his ranch owner is in jail.

Back in the Saddle

1941

The Cyclone Kid poster
5.0

A young doctor rejects his older outlaw brother Johnny who put him through medical school by dubious means. The brothers find themselves on opposite sides of a range war between homesteaders and a crooked cattleman.

The Cyclone Kid

1942