James Mason

[Ann Harding]

Thanks to CCFan, I watched Spring and Port Wine (1969, P. Hammond). This very good British picture is taking place in Lancashire in a lower middle-class family. James Mason is in his original environment and takes on his northern accent. He is a very stern father and both his children and wife are totally under his thumb. I enjoyed a lot the description of the family life, particularly when they gather for tea. The younger daughter refuses the fried herring her mother cooked. This refusal is the start of a family rebellion that will unravels all its problems. The father will at last show his human face that was hiding behind the stern authority. It's a very interesting picture showing life as it was in the late 60s. The children are looking for independence and the mother is torn between her kids and her stern husband. It was really fascinating to see James Mason in this unfamiliar environment. It suited him to a T.

[charliechaplinfan]

I've only recently discovered this movie, courtesy of my mother in law. It's set only a few miles from here, I recognise quite a bit of the landscape. I'm so glad you liked it Christine, I think James Mason had a fabulous range and he's superb here with his original accent, as a member of the working class to whom pride means a great deal. The supporting cast are all went on to better things.

The canal they end up walking along, if you walked in the right direction you'd end up not far from my door

[charliechaplinfan]

I've started reading James Mason a Personal Biography by Diana De Rosso. Diana was James's sister in law, younger half sister to Pamela Kellino, the first Mrs Mason. The actor she talks about was quiet and reserved but with a good sense of humour and no ego. He's reduce his rate for a good role in a film but made some movies strictly for the money. Pamela handled all negotiations as she had for her first husband Roy Kellino. It's in the telling of Pamela's early years that I find I have sympathy with her, she was cast adrift at 15 to live in a flat her father provided for her in London, she lived with her even younger sister. She soon met and married Roy Kellino and shortly after met James Mason made no bones about the fact that he would marry her, despite the fact she was married and despite dissapproval from both mothers. For a couple of years the Kellino's marriage carried on with James in tow, it seems he went everywhere with them and Pamela took over the management of James career at this time. Pamela and James wrote a screenplay in which they starred and Roy Kellino directed, they poured all their savings in to it and then had to borrow from friends but Pamela's father who by this time was head of Gaumont films refused to help them. The film was released but it's timing was bad, it was released just after war was declared and sank without a trace.

Diana says that James was a lovely man but not what you'd call sexy, he was too sensible and reserved for that. I'm looking forward to reading more.

[Ann Harding]

I've started reading James Mason a Personal Biography by Diana De Rosso. Diana was James's sister in law, younger half sister to Pamela Kellino, the first Mrs Mason. The actor she talks about was quiet and reserved but with a good sense of humour and no ego. He's reduce his rate for a good role in a film but made some movies strictly for the money. Pamela handled all negotiations as she had for her first husband Roy Kellino. It's in the telling of Pamela's early years that I find I have sympathy with her, she was cast adrift at 15 to live in a flat her father provided for her in London, she lived with her even younger sister. She soon met and married Roy Kellino and shortly after met James Mason made no bones about the fact that he would marry her, despite the fact she was married and despite dissapproval from both mothers. For a couple of years the Kellino's marriage carried on with James in tow, it seems he went everywhere with them and Pamela took over the management of James career at this time. Pamela and James wrote a screenplay in which they starred and Roy Kellino directed, they poured all their savings in to it and then had to borrow from friends but Pamela's father who by this time was head of Gaumont films refused to help them. The film was released but it's timing was bad, it was released just after war was declared and sank without a trace.

Diana says that James was a lovely man but not what you'd call sexy, he was too sensible and reserved for that. I'm looking forward to reading more.

I've read that one. It's an interesting view of Mason. I also read James' autobiography. It proved extremely dry as if he was unable to tell his own story. I felt I was meeting somebody humourless and totally repressed. Still worth investigating to get another view of the man.

[charliechaplinfan]

I've kept looking at his own biography, it's not expensive but there review said exactly what you have said. There's something of an enigma about him but the little stories that Diana tells about him makes him come to life.

There is a good quote from Max Ophuls who after working with Mason on Caught was viewing the rushes one day with an assistant, the scene was one with Robert Ryan and James Mason together, Ophuls said 'he's the most skillful actor I have ever worked with' the assistant asked which one and was told that they were both very good but he meant James Mason.

[Rita Hayworth]

The Desert Fox 1951 War Classic


I just watched "The Desert Fox" on Fox Movie Classics starring James Mason and Jessica Tandy.

This movie really shows the in-depth analysis of the mystique of Field Marshal Rommel during World War II. Although, its was done in audio-biographical/documentary/chronological format that I like. James Mason did a powerful job showcasing Nazi Germany's greatest general in World War II. I know that I wrote about this movie on this thread before ... but, I enjoyed watching again today because I love the acting skills of James Mason so much. He commands a presence on the screen that I just can't describe it because their isn't a proper word in the English Dictionary that I can use period.

Jessica Tandy did a great job as Lucie - Rommel's wife in this movie & I find her performance equally as good as James Mason too. I'm a fan of her too. She is one of my sentimental favorites as well. I love her in Driving Miss Daisy, batteries not included, Cocoon, and a dozen others movies as well.

I never get tired of watching this movie, never ...

I had fun watching it twice this year!

[charliechaplinfan]

I plan to watch this film soon, I've never seen it before, it will be interesting to compare notes.

[moira finnie]

Bigger Than LIfe (1957-Nicholas Ray), featuring one of James Mason's best portrayals and a feast for Ray fans, (especially interesting for his use of color and the director's implicit criticism of society) is on youtube at the moment. This may be one of the best films of the 1950s--extravagant in its emotions and visual impact, and truly hard to forget:
[youtube][/youtube]

[charliechaplinfan]

It is hard to forget, some great performances from the leads too.

[RedRiver]

THE VOICE! That's the first thing I think of when I think of Mason. Can you do a British accent without doing Mason? I've known people who can't do impressions at all. (They think they can, but they can't!) But they all nail Mason!

This wonderful, sophisticated man brings credibility to fantasy (JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH). He mines the depths of Shakespeare (JULIUS CAESAR) and Nabokov (LOLITA). He wages war as Rommel, protests it as Captain Nemo.

But his finest hour is as the wounded rebel in Carol Reed's ODD MAN OUT. As Mason's character hides out with a drunken friend, the story becomes more like a Brendan Behan play than a classic movie. It could be argued that it slows the film down. It could NOT be argued that the star is anything less than magnificent.

[JackFavell]

I love Odd Man Out, it's a brilliant picture, and Mason is heartbreaking. I am a big Carol Reed fan, and saw part of it years ago, on a lunch break, but had no idea what it was called. I literally looked for it for years before finding it again.

I love it when Mason says, "Father Tom, Tell us like you used to. I can't hear you..... Ahhh, we always drowned you out with our shouting." The spin he gives to that line, making it mean so much more than altar boys making too much noise... well, it's a beautiful thing. It becomes a universal plea for an end to a violent cycle.

I just found that The Reckless Moment is on youtube again, for how long I don't know. It seems to come and go rather rapidly, so I'll post it here before it disappears again. He's wonderful in it.

[youtube][/youtube]

[charliechaplinfan]

Two wonderful Mason films, I only saw Odd Man Out recently and was very much impressed by it, The Reckless Moment deserves to be seen again. I love the accent, it's my favourite British voice and we have some good ones, Richard Burton comes a close second for me.

I like his earlier roles too, the ones he supposedly hated, The Wicked Lady, The Man in Grey, Fanny By Gaslight, as baddies you love to hate.

[JackFavell]

There was something gaunt and Byronic about him early on.

[charliechaplinfan]

Byronic, that's true, I think that's why he holds such appeal, oh why didn't they think of making a film and casting Mason in the part. He'd have been great.

[JackFavell]

I can't imagine why. He would have been perfect!