RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH

                                                          Part 2

This is the second column in a series about the incredible career of Sir Richard Attenborough, a multi-talented Englishman who lived to be 90 and had credits in seven different decades. This week we take up his later acting roles.

Flight Of The Phoenix (1965) is about a plane that crash lands in the desert, far off the regular flight paths. It is based on actual events. The radio is out and there’s little food and water left. German engineer Heinrich Dorfmann (Hardy Kruger) believes they can re-construct the airplane well enough to fly them out, using what is left of it. James Stewart is the pilot and Richard Attenborough plays Lew Moran, the co-pilot and ex officio leader and morale-keeper-upper. Will this work? Watch and find out! The 2004 re-make is, of course, inferior to this version. 

The Sand Pebbles (1966) is a long (182 minutes) sprawling story of an American gunboat patrolling the Yangtse River in 1926. Steve McQueen plays the rebellious sailor who knows how to repair engines and Richard Attenborough is Frenchy Burgoyne, his only friend on the boat. There’s lots of gunplay and subplots, including Frenchy’s marriage to a Chinese woman. It’s an enjoyable trip if you can stick with it. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, winning exactly none!

Richard Attenborough is a thoroughly bad guy in 10 Rillington Place (1971). He plays John Christie, a serial killer who manages to cast suspicion on his not-too-bright neighbor, Timothy Evans (John Hurt). I would say the story beggars belief except for the fact that it’s based on actual events. 

Richard Attenborough stars as John Hammond (no relation) in the first Jurassic Park (1993). He is the scientist who has cloned dinosaurs and created a park featuring  big and small creatures. He plays the single-minded Hammond to the hilt. The plot of the film is actually rather silly, but the dinosaurs are worth the trip! Thirty years ago the imagery was ground-breaking and still features scenes that take your breath away. The several sequels tail off quite a bit. 

Miracle On 34th Street was first made in 1947 with Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn as, perhaps, Santa Claus. The film was re-made in 1994 with Richard Attenborough as, perhaps (?), Kris Kringle.  The jolly old elf has been institutionalized as nuts, but a young lawyer decides to prove in a courtroom setting that he really is who he says is he is. 

Elizabeth (1998) is one of the best films about the long-serving British monarch. Cate Blanchett plays the queen, and Richard Attenborough is Sir William Cecil, a trusted member of her court. Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes and Sir John Gielgud also appear in this sterling historical drama about the early period of Elizabeth’s reign.

All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are fine for 12 and up.