Richard Attenborough Movies
One of England's most respected actors and directors, Sir Richard Attenborough has made numerous contributions to world cinema both in front of and behind the camera. The son of a Cambridge school administrator, Attenborough began dabbling in theatricals at the age of 12. While attending London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1941, he turned professional, making his first stage appearance in a production of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! He made his screen debut as the Young Sailor in Noel Coward and David Lean's In Which We Serve (1943), before achieving his first significant West End success as the punkish, cowardly, petty criminal Pinkie Brown in Brighton Rock.After three years of service with the Royal Air Force, Attenborough rose to film stardom in the 1947 film version of Brighton Rock -- a role that caused him to be typecast as a working-class misfit over the next few years. One of the best of his characterizations in this vein can be found in The Guinea Pig (1948), in which the 26-year-old Attenborough was wholly credible as a 13-year-old schoolboy. As the '50s progressed, he was permitted a wider range of characters in such films as The Magic Box (1951), The Ship That Died of Shame (1955), and Private's Progress (1956). In 1959, he teamed up with director Bryan Forbes to form Beaver Films. Before the partnership dissolved in 1964, Attenborough had played such sharply etched personalities as Tom Curtis in The Angry Silence (1960) and Bill Savage in Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964); he also served as producer for the Forbes-directed Whistle Down the Wind (1962) and The L-Shaped Room (1962).
During the '60s, Attenborough exhibited a fondness for military roles: POW mastermind Bartlett in The Great Escape (1963); hotheaded ship's engineer Frenchy Burgoyne in The Sand Pebbles (1966); and Sgt. Major Lauderdale in Guns at Batasi (1964), the performance that won him a British Academy Award. He also played an extended cameo in Doctor Dolittle (1967), and sang "I've Never Seen Anything Like It in My Life," a paean to the amazing Pushmi-Pullyu. This boisterous musical performance may well have been a warm-up for Attenborough's film directorial debut, the satirical anti-war revue Oh, What a Lovely War (1969). He subsequently helmed the historical epics Young Winston (1972) and A Bridge Too Far (1977), then scaled down his technique for the psychological thriller Magic (1978), which starred his favorite leading man, Anthony Hopkins. With more and more of his time consumed by his directing activities, Attenborough found fewer opportunities to act. One of his best performances in the '70s was as the eerily "normal" real-life serial killer Christie in 10 Rillington Place (1971).
In 1982, Attenborough brought a 20-year dream to fruition when he directed the spectacular biopic Gandhi. The film won a raft of Oscars, including a Best Director statuette for Attenborough; he was also honored with Golden Globe and Director's Guild awards, and, that same year, published his book In Search of Gandhi, another product of his fascination with the Indian leader. All of Attenborough's post-Gandhi projects have been laudably ambitious, though none have reached the same pinnacle of success. Some of the best of his latter-day directorial efforts have been Cry Freedom, a 1987 depiction of the horrors of apartheid; 1992's Chaplin, an epic biopic of the great comedian; and Shadowlands (1993), starring Anthony Hopkins as spiritually motivated author C.S. Lewis.
Attenborough returned to the screen during the '90s, acting in avuncular character roles, the most popular of which was the affable but woefully misguided billionaire entrepreneur John Hammond in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993), a role he reprised for the film's 1997 sequel. Other notable performances included the jovial Kriss Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street (1994) and Sir William Cecil in Elizabeth (1998). The brother of naturalist David Attenborough and husband of actress Sheila Sim, he was knighted in 1976 and became a life peer in 1993. Attenborough has chaired dozens of professional organizations and worked tirelessly on behalf of Britain's Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1962
Considered ultra-mature film fare in 1962, The L-Shaped Room stars Leslie Caron as a unmarried, pregnant French girl. Arranging for an abortion (illegal at that time), she takes up residence in a ramshackle British boarding house where most of the other residents are also outcasts of society. Many of the character types were new to films of the era, but have since become cliches: the understanding young black, the lesbian actress, the prostitutes without golden hearts. There is also a Christopher Isherwood type writer (Tom Bell) who observes the passing parade and writes a book on the subject. Director Bryan Forbes brings his usual muted sensibilities to the project, resulting in a work that downplays the sensational aspects and emphasizes characterization. Surprisingly, while The L-Shaped Room was considered too "hot" for several corporate-owned American movie houses, it was an early arrival on 1960s TV, where it frequently ran uncut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Caron, Anthony Booth, (more)
- 1961
The British All Night Long is Othello to a jazz beat. Paul Harris is the Othello counterpart, a bandleader happily married to "Desdemona" Marti Stevens. Patrick McGoohan plays the film's funky Iago character, who covets Harris' job. McGoohan hopes to unnerve Harris by spreading rumors that Stevens has been unfaithful. Like the 1956 Joe MacBeth, All Night Long can either be taken seriously or as what used to be called 'high camp." Jazz aficionados will appreciate the brief appearances by Dave Brubeck, Johnny Dankworth, Paul Mingus, Tubby Hayes, Charles Mingus, Kenny Napper and several other top musicians. Also showing up in a cameo role is dancing star Geoffrey Holder, who wouldn't make a bad Othello (or Iago) himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick McGoohan, Marti Stevens, (more)
- 1960
Five passengers on a seaplane find that a crash has stranded them on an island used for nuclear testing in this disaster movie. Just to get to the island, they had to endure many hardships including a hurricane, a gun-battle, shark-infested seas, and a fire on the plane. Panic ensues when the diverse group learns that in five hours, another bomb will be tested there. While the story is action-based, most of the time is spent looking at the individual characters and the way they cope. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
- 1960
Richard Attenborough stars in this British drama as Tom Curtis, an ordinary man with a job in a factory. A new employee, Travers (Alfred Burke), begins complaining about conditions at the plant and stirs up disharmony among his fellow workers. Tom thinks that there's something fishy about Travers and his methods, and when Travers decides to call a wildcat strike, Tom refuses to participate and makes a point of standing his ground. However, Travers and his ideas have attracted a groundswell of support in the factory, and Tom soon finds himself on the outs with his fellow employees as Travers drifts off to make trouble at another factory. Tom, however, still has to deal with the angry reprisals of the men, and his wife Anna (Pier Angeli) doesn't understand why he continues to hold so unpopular an opinion at the expense of his safety and well-being. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
- 1960
An engrossing suspenser with dashes of comedy, League of Gentlemen is about a daring group of highly trained army men, turned bank robbers. When Hyde (Jack Hawkins) is drummed out of the army after years of devoted service, he decides to get back at society in general. One by one, he finds seven other army officers who are now broke and who walk on the shady side of the law. All eight men go into hiding as they plan the robbery with the care and attention of a behind-the-lines reconnaissance mission. As they undertake tasks like raiding a military depot for explosives and similar stunts, suspense and incidental humor increase, leading up to bank day when the really big show has to be pulled off without a hitch. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick, (more)
- 1959
An abused boy stands accused of killing his drunken father in this British drama. Fortunately two compassionate neighbors take him in and help to prove his innocence. The film is also called Scamp. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
In this airborne disaster movie, a has-been brilliant scientist plants a bomb on a transatlantic jet to exact revenge upon a passenger whom he blames for his daughter's death -- she died during a plane crash. When the booby-trap is discovered and the passengers learn the motive for the scientists' actions, one of the passengers attempts to kill the man the scientist blames. A fight erupts and a window is shattered. The helpful passenger is sucked right out of the plane. Only when the scientist spies a child resembling his own lost daughter does he regain his humanity and disarm the bomb. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Stanley Baker, (more)
- 1959
Set in an Italian P.O.W. camp during World War II, this conventional escape drama shines the most in the portrayals of the various prisoners. Richard Todd is Lt. Col. David Baird, intensely and single-mindedly set on escaping. Bernard Lee is Lt. Col. Huxley who is the careful senior British officer with a view of the entire situation. Michael Wilding plays the deceptively dashing Major Charles Marquand, and some comic relief is provided by Dennis Price, an actor-prisoner more devoted to his production of Hamlet than leaving before the curtain goes up. The hitch in the plans to escape is insidious -- there is a traitor among the prisoners and before they can succeed, they have to find him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Bernard Lee, (more)
Set in the 1950s in Britain, this award-winning social comedy by director and co-writer John Boulting features Ian Carmichael as the inept Stanley Windrush, a hopeless twit with -- we are to believe -- an Oxford degree. Unlike others in his social circle, Stanley wants to work. When he tries out for jobs in industry with the full expectation of working his way into a management position, he sets off disasters and alienates his interviewers. So his uncle gives him a job in his munitions factory, knowing what an idiot he is, and relying on him to eventually cause a strike (the uncle needs this for his own reasons). Fred Kite (Peter Sellers in a performance that would launch him as an international star) takes Stanley under his wing yet that does not exactly turn out as expected either. Stanley screws up by accidentally being too efficient, and the entire British work force is affected. If one can accept a portrayal of factory workers as shiftless men unwilling to work, and managers as good 'ole boys whose jobs are gained only by networking, then this film will be all the more entertaining. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Carmichael, Peter Sellers, (more)
- 1958
The mental breakdown of a guilt-ridden man provides the drama in this fascinating psychological profile that stars Richard Attenborough as a scientist who can't live with himself after he accidentally kills the brother of his fiancee. In order to escape the pain, Attenborough changes his name and begins living in a ramshackle Victorian boarding house where he slowly begins losing his mind. Eventually the police show up and begin taking statements from the bewildered, frightened tenants. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Bernard Lee, (more)
- 1958
Sea of Sand was distributed in the US in a shortened version, Desert Patrol. John Gregson plays Captain Williams, a martinet mine expert who vows to whip a lackadaisacal patrol into shape. This brings Williams in conflict with patrol leader Captain Cotton (Michael Craig), but also earns him the respect of hard-bitten trooper Brody (Richard Attenborough). The wisdom of Williams' no-nonsense approach is demonstrated when the patrol is besieged by the highly disciplined members of the German Afrika Korps. The film was produced by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman, best known to American TV viewers as the creative forces behind the weekly series The Saint. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, John Gregson, (more)
- 1958
One of the most significant moments in the history of British warfare (in both the best and worst sense) is given reverent but reserved treatment in Dunkirk. The film takes place during the 1940 evacuation of Allied troops across the English channel. One party of British soldiers becomes detached from the rest of the retreating Allies. John Mills plays an inexperienced lance corporal who resists an increase in rank, but when the chips are down performs with courage and authority in organizing the lost troop and shepherding them to Dunkirk. Running 135 minutes in its original release (much of the footage comprised of newsreel shots), Dunkirk was based on two novels: Eleston Trever's The Big Pick-Up and Lt. Col. Ewan Hunter and Maj. J. S. Bradford's Dunkirk. The above time pertains to the original British theatrical version; the film was reedited and shortened to 113 minutes for U.S. release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Bernard Lee, (more)
- 1957
British juvenile actor Colin Peterson plays the title character in Scamp. The son of a drunken vaudevillian performer, Peterson is left in the care of a kindly professor (Richard Attenborough) and his wife (Dorothy Alison) when his father goes on a South American tour. His guardians try to get the boy to behave properly, but Peterson has been on his own for so long that he has never developed any sense of self-discipline. After running afoul of the law, Peterson is sent back to his father, who resumes his abuse of the boy. During an argument, Peterson hits his father over the head with an ashtray--and shortly afterward, the father drops dead. Convinced that he's a murderer, Peterson hides out in the professor's home. With the help of his new surrogate father, Peterson proves that his besotted dad died of a booze-induced fall. Scamp was based on Charlotte Hastings' play Uncertain Joy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Terence Morgan, (more)
- 1957
The British Brothers in Law is a characteristically enjoyable Boulting-brother farce, again extracting humor out of the commonplace. Ian Carmichael stars as a novice attorney, full of notions but coming-on a bit too strong for his fellow lawyers. Thanks to the intervention of irascible judge Miles Malleson, Carmichael is forced to jump in and starts swimming with a particularly prickly case. The experience teaches Carmichael how to bend and shape law to his advantage--and also how to curry favor with the public. Brothers in Law was based on a novel by Henry Cecil. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael, (more)
- 1956
The Boulting Brothers enjoyed one of their biggest box-office successes of the 1950s with the wry service comedy Private's Progress. Though billed fourth, Ian Carmichael plays the central character, feckless British soldier Stanley Windrush. Interrupting his college education to serve his country, Windrush flunks out of officer's candidate school and is demoted to private. Much of the humor arises from the bookish hero's confrontation with the ruder and cruder side of army life, as represented by rough-hewn fellow private Cox (Richard Attenborough). As Major Hitchcock, Terry-Thomas offers a brilliant parody of the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" school of military service, while Dennis Price is equally amusing as a nonplussed commanding officer named Tracepurcel (!) Also worth watching is future "Dr. Who" star William Hartnell as a loudmouthed sergeant. Halfway through the film, the plot rears its ugly head as the protagonists become involved with the covert reclamation of art treasures confiscated by the Nazis during WW2. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price, (more)
- 1956
British sailors John Mills and Richard Attenborough would like to take Neopolitan lass Lisa Gastoni out on a date. But Gastoni can't leave the house unless her baby brother tags along. During a rowdy evening on the town, Mills is forced to sneak the infant on board his ship. When Gastoni and Attenborough arrive to claim the kid, they find that the ship has already sailed. Essentially a British Abbott & Costello picture, Baby and the Battleship manages to deliver a sufficient supply of hearty chuckles. The film was based on a somewhat subtler novel by Anthony Thorne. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Richard Attenborough, (more)
- 1955
Richard Attenborough stars as a former crew member of a British gunboat, which was distinguished by a heroic wartime record. Attenborough and several fellow ex-crewmen buy the vessel in peacetime. They clean, paint and renovate the ship, then proceed to launch a smuggling operation. The film gradually veers towards fantasy as the ship itself assumes a "conscience" and starts to rebel against the crew's criminal activity. The Ship That Died of Shame tempers its moralizing with some first-rate comedy vignettes during the renovation sequences. The film was shorn of nearly 15 minutes and retitled PT Raiders for its first American run, but both original title and full running time were restored for television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, George Baker, (more)
- 1954
The iniquities of circumstantial evidence are explored in the compact crime drama Eight O'Clock Walk. Because he was the last person to see her alive, and because his playful behavior could be misconstrued as harassment, London taxi driver Tom Manning (Richard Attenborough) is arrested for the murder of a little girl. Manning's American wife Jill (Cathy O'Donnell) has a great deal of difficulty finding a lawyer who will defend her husband in court. She finally settles upon Peter Tanner (Derek Farr), who at first is not entirely convinced that his client is innocent. Eventually he is convinced, and even manages to expose the real murderer, one of the witnesses for the prosecution. Based on a true story, Eight O'Clock Walk is one of the most oft-telecast of 1950s British films, and deservedly so. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Cathy O'Donnell, (more)
- 1952
Also known as Glory at Sea, a World War II British commander and his crew wage a fierce sea battle against the Germans in spite of their inferior vessel. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trevor Howard, Richard Attenborough, (more)
- 1952
In this comedy, an off-center widow and her eccentric daughters must deal with a series of comic mishaps while they wait for one of the daughters to have a baby. The nervous father-to-be complicates matters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
The Magic Box was the English film industry's contribution to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Its all-star cast generously forsook their usual salaries for the privilege of paying tribute to that unsung pioneer of cinema, William Friese-Greene, here played by Robert Donat. Adapted by Eric Ambler from the controversial biography by Ray Allister, Magic Box contends that Friese-Greene was the true father of motion pictures, and not such upstarts as W. K. L. Dickson and Thomas Edison. Told in flashback, the film details Friese-Greene's tireless experiments with the "moving image," leading inexorably to a series of failures and disappoints, as others hog the credit for the protagonist's discoveries. The huge cast includes such British film luminaries as Joyce Grenfell, Miles Malleson, Michael Redgrave, Eric Portman, Emlyn Williams, Richard Attenborough, Peter Ustinov, Cecil Parker, Kay Walsh, and, best of all, Laurence Olivier as the confused bobby who witnesses Friese-Greene's first motion picture demonstration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Donat, Margaret Johnston, (more)
In this farce, an enigmatic writer begins using the pen-name Lom, a popular writer believed dead. The dead writer "returns" to peruse his newest book, which he didn't write. He soon meets the woman who is using his name and after several engaging misdirections, the two fall in love and marry. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1951
A foundering British submarine provides the basis for this gripping drama. The trouble begins when the sub strikes a mine. The sub cannot surface, and only twelve on board survived the blast. Now rescuers must save them, but more trouble ensues when the trapped men below are informed that due to the complexity of the operation, only eight can be saved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1950
The Lost People is a pedantic British drama set in a large, abandoned German theatre just after the War. A disparate group of homeless refugees huddle together within the structure. As they get to know each other, old wounds are opened, social and religious clashes break out, recriminations melt into reconciliations, and the theatre threatens to become a metaphor for the World At Large. In fact, it's not a threat but a foregone conclusion. The Lost People is based on Cockpit, a play by Bridget Boland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Morning Departure isn't about a commuter train but instead the story of an imperiled submarine. On a routine postwar mission, the sub strikes a forgotten mine and sinks to the bottom. The twelve-man crew comes face to face with the probability of permanent entombment and eventual suffocation; the tension is sharpened when it is learned that eight of the men will be able to escape, but four will have to stay behind. The film concentrates on the wildly varying reactions of the officers and crew, from stiff-lipped stoicism to raving lunacy. Based on a play by Kenneth Wooland, Morning Departure was released in America as Operation Disaster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Helen Cherry, (more)
