Sadly, Sir Richard Attenborough is no longer with us.
Moviegoers of various ages will have different memories of ‘Dickie’, both of his work behind the camera on films like Oh! What a Lovely War, Gandhi, Cry Freedom, Chaplin and Shadowlands, and his performances in front of it in Brighton Rock, The Great Escape, 10 Rillington Place and Miracle on 34th Street.
But for many film fans, Attenborough will always be John Hammond, the man who brought dinosaurs back to life in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster Jurassic Park.
In Michael Crichton’s novel, Hammond is a bit of a nasty piece of work, whose main incentive from recreating dinos is to make a bit of cash. He also meets a bit of a sticky end. But in the movie, because he is played by loveable Attenborough, Hammond is more of a misguided figure, albeit one still obsessed with money (‘Spared no expense!’).
‘Hey, why don’t we put on the show right here?’ Honestly, not all movie musicals have to be utterly naff, or trite, or corny, or Annie. Here – and with heartfelt apologies to the reluctantly-rejected likes of Guys And Dolls, Carousel and, er, Little Shop Of Horrors – are some of the scenes that’ll make you want to gaze to the sky, stretch your arms out wide and just sing, sing, sing…
Ross v Ross 