Editing Ralph Richardson (section)

===1970–74===
{{Hatnote|Details of Richardson's work, 1970–1974: [[List of roles and awards of Ralph Richardson#rrS70|Stage]], [[List of roles and awards of Ralph Richardson#rrF70|Film]], [[List of roles and awards of Ralph Richardson#rrTV70|Television]], [[List of roles and awards of Ralph Richardson#rrA70|Accolades]]}}
[[File:John Gielgud Allan Warren cropped.jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=elderly man, almost bald, clean-shaven|John Gielgud, long-time colleague and friend]]
In 1970 Richardson was with Gielgud at the Royal Court in David Storey's ''[[Home (Storey play)|Home]]''. The play is set in the gardens of a nursing home for mental patients, though this is not clear at first. The two elderly men converse in a desultory way, are joined and briefly enlivened by two more extrovert female patients, are slightly scared by another male patient, and are then left together, conversing even more emptily. The ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' critic, Jeremy Kingston wrote:

{{blockquote|At the end of the play, as the climax to two perfect, delicate performances, Sir Ralph and Sir John are standing, staring out above the heads of the audience, cheeks wet with tears in memory of some unnamed misery, weeping soundlessly as the lights fade on them. It makes a tragic, unforgettable close.<ref>Kingston, Jeremy, "Theatre", ''Punch'', volume 258, 1970, p. 961</ref>|}}

The play transferred to the West End and then to Broadway. In ''[[The New York Times]]'' [[Clive Barnes]] wrote, "The two men, bleakly examining the little nothingness of their lives, are John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson giving two of the greatest performances of two careers that have been among the glories of the English-speaking theater."<ref>Barnes, Clive. '[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0B10FE3F551B7493CAA8178AD95F448785F9 "Theater: 'Home' Arrives "], ''The New York Times'', 18 November 1970, p. 41 {{subscription}}</ref> The original cast recorded the play for television in 1972.<ref name=m369/>

Back at the Royal Court in 1971 Richardson starred in [[John Osborne]]'s ''West of Suez'', after which, in July 1972, he surprised many by joining Peggy Ashcroft in a drawing-room comedy, ''[[Lloyd George Knew My Father (play)|Lloyd George Knew My Father]]'' by [[William Douglas-Home]].<ref>Miller, p. 245</ref> Some critics felt the play was too slight for its two stars, but Harold Hobson thought Richardson found unsuspected depths in the character of the ostensibly phlegmatic General Boothroyd.<ref name="Miller, p. 249">Miller, p. 249</ref> The play was a hit with the public, and when Ashcroft left after four months, Celia Johnson took over until May 1973, when Richardson handed over to [[Andrew Cruickshank]] in the West End.<ref>"Cast changes", ''The Times'', 11 May 1973, p. 11</ref> Richardson afterwards toured the play in Australia and Canada with his wife as co-star. An Australian critic wrote, "The play is a vehicle for Sir Ralph{{space}}... but the real driver is Lady Richardson."<ref>Glickfield, Leon, ''quoted'' in O'Connor, p. 208</ref>

Richardson's film roles of the early 1970s ranged from the bogus medium Mr Benton in ''[[Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?]]'' (1971), the Crypt Keeper in ''[[Tales from the Crypt (film)|Tales from the Crypt]]'' (1972) and dual roles in [[Lindsay Anderson|Lindsay Anderson's]] ''[[O Lucky Man]]'' to the Caterpillar in ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972 film)|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' (1972) and Dr Rank in [[Henrik Ibsen|Ibsen]]'s ''[[A Doll's House (1973 Garland film)|A Doll's House]]'' (1973).<ref name=roles/> The last of these was released at the same time as an American film of [[A Doll's House (1973 Losey film)|the same play]], starring [[Jane Fonda]]; the timing detracted from the impact of both versions, but Richardson's performance won good reviews.<ref>Miller, p. 256</ref> In ''The Observer'', [[George Melly]] wrote, "As for Sir Ralph as Dr Rank, he grows from the ageing elegant cynic of his first appearance (it's even a pleasure to watch him remove his top hat) to become the heroic dying stoic of his final exit without in any way forcing the pace."<ref>Melly, George. "'Doll's House' Giants", ''The Observer'', 22 April 1973, p. 31</ref> In 1973 Richardson received a BAFTA nomination for his performance of [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]] in ''[[Lady Caroline Lamb (film)|Lady Caroline Lamb]]'', in which Olivier appeared as [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]].<ref name=roles/>