The prodigious energy and determination displayed by Richard Attenborough were matched by his generosity. Years ago I was commissioned by BBC radio to write, narrate and conduct the interviews for a two-hour programme about Graham Greene's screen credits. It was easy to round up a good film critic, the editor of Greene's film criticism and a collaborator on two of the many adaptations. But I needed an actor, preferably a well-known one.
The natural first choice was Attenborough, who had played Pinkie in the stage version of Brighton Rock and gave one of his greatest performances in the subsequent film (1947). He also appeared in the less happy spy thriller The Human Factor (1979). Based on a friendly acquaintanceship, I wrote to ask for an hour of Dickie's time. He sandwiched the recording between a photoshoot for the 50th anniversary of The Mousetrap, a working lunch and a meeting at Channel 4. He was interested in the programme, what I was doing, and a book of film criticism of mine, as well as being, of course, professional, articulate and unfailingly polite. In an old-fashioned phrase, he was one of nature's gentlemen.
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