James Mason
James Mason | |
---|---|
Born | James Neville Mason 15 May 1909 Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
Died | 27 July 1984 Lausanne, Switzerland | (aged 75)
Alma mater | Peterhouse, Cambridge |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1931–1984 |
Spouses | |
Children | |
Family | Belinda Carlisle (daughter-in-law) |
James Neville Mason (
Mason starred in such films as
Mason was nominated for three
Early life, family and education
Mason was born on 15 May 1909 in Huddersfield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the youngest of three sons of John Mason and Mabel Hattersley, daughter of Joseph Shaw Gaunt.[1][2] A wealthy wool merchant like his father, John Mason travelled often on business, mainly in France and Belgium. Mabel—who was "uncommonly well-educated" and had lived in London to study and begin work as an artist before returning to Yorkshire to care for her father—was "attentive and loving" in raising her sons.[3] The Masons lived in a house in its own grounds on Croft House Lane in Marsh. (It was replaced in the mid-1970s by flats called Arncliffe Court.) A small residential development opposite where the house once stood is now called James Mason Court.
Mason was educated at Marlborough College and took a first in architecture at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he became involved in stock theatre companies in his spare time. He had no formal acting training, and initially embarked upon it for fun.
Career
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2023) |
1931–1939: Early roles
After Cambridge, Mason made his stage debut in Aldershot in The Rascal in 1931.[4][5] He joined the Old Vic theatre in London under the guidance of Tyrone Guthrie.[6] While there he appeared in productions of The Cherry Orchard, Henry VIII, Measure for Measure, The Importance of Being Earnest, Love for Love, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, and Macbeth. Featuring in many of these were Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester. In the mid-1930s he also appeared at the Gate Theatre, Dublin, notably in Pride and Prejudice with Betty Chancellor.[7] In 1933, Alexander Korda gave Mason a small role in The Private Life of Don Juan but sacked him three days into shooting.[8]
From 1935 to 1938, Mason starred in many British
Mason began appearing in some televised productions of plays, made in the very early days of television: Cyrano de Bergerac (1938), The Moon in the Yellow River (1938), Bees on the Boat-Deck (1939), Square Pegs (1939), L'Avare (1939), and The Circle (1939). He returned to features with I Met a Murderer (1939) based on a story by Mason and Pamela Kellino, who also starred with Mason and whom he would marry. Her husband Roy Kellino directed.
1941–1957: Leading man status
Second World War
Mason registered as a
Mason became hugely popular for his brooding anti-heroes, and occasional outright villains, in the Gainsborough series of melodramas of the 1940s, starting with The Man in Grey (1943). The film was a huge hit and made him and co-stars Lockwood, Stewart Granger and Phyllis Calvert top-level stars. Mason starred in two wartime dramas, They Met in the Dark (1943) and Candlelight in Algeria (1944), then returned to Gainsborough melodrama with Fanny By Gaslight (1944) with Granger and Calvert; it was another big hit. He starred in Hotel Reserve (1944), a thriller, then did a ghost story for Gainsborough with Lockwood, A Place of One's Own (1945). Far more popular was a melodrama, They Were Sisters (1945).[11][12]
Mason had a relatively minor role in The Wicked Lady (1945) with Lockwood, a big hit. He then received his best reviews to date playing a mortally wounded IRA bank robber on the run in Carol Reed's Odd Man Out (1947).[16][17] He turned producer with Sydney Box on The Upturned Glass (1947), which starred Mason with a script by Mason's wife. It was not particularly successful. Neither was Bathsheba, a play the Masons did on Broadway. Mason went to Hollywood for his first film, Caught (1949), directed by Max Ophüls, then played Gustave Flaubert in MGM's Madame Bovary (1949). He did another with Ophüls, The Reckless Moment (1949), and followed it with East Side, West Side (1949) with Barbara Stanwyck at MGM and One Way Street (1950) at Universal. He made Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) with Ava Gardner. None of these films were particularly successful.
Films at 20th Century Fox
Mason's Hollywood career was revived when he was cast as
Mason was one of many stars in MGM's
Warner Bros., hired him to play Judy Garland's leading man in the George Cukor directed musical drama film A Star Is Born (1954). He took the role after Cary Grant turned the role down. Mason won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Jack Moffitt of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film writing, "A Star Is Born is the perfect blend of drama and musical — of cinematic art and popular entertainment."[19]
He went over to Disney to play Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), a huge hit which also starred Kirk Douglas. During 1954 and 1955, Mason was the host of some episodes of Lux Video Theatre on CBS television.[20] Mason appeared with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Forever, Darling (1956) then starred in and produced a film at Fox, Bigger Than Life (1956), directed by Nicholas Ray. Mason played a small-town school teacher driven insane by the effects of cortisone. He did another for Fox, the hugely popular melodrama, Island in the Sun (1957).
1958–1970: Established actor
Mason began appearing regularly on television in shows such as Panic!,
At Fox he had a huge hit returning to
He did The Marriage-Go-Round (1961), then played Dolores' sexually obsessive stepfather Humbert Humbert in Stanley Kubrick's version of Lolita (1962). He starred in Tiara Tahiti (1962), then Hero's Island (1962), which he also produced. He was in Torpedo Bay (1963).
In 1963 Mason settled in Switzerland, and embarked on a transatlantic career.
In 1967, Mason narrated the documentary The London Nobody Knows. An ardent cinephile on top of his career interests, Mason narrated two British documentary series supervised by
He was in several episodes of
1970–1985: Later roles
Mason supported Charles Bronson in
Mason's later 70s performances included
Mason was in
Having completed playing the lead role in
Recordings
James Mason recorded an album for
Personal life
Mason was a devoted lover of animals, particularly cats. He and his wife, Pamela Mason, co-authored the book The Cats in Our Lives, which was published in 1949. James wrote most of the book and also illustrated it. In The Cats in Our Lives, he recounted humorous and sometimes touching tales of the cats (as well as a few dogs) he had known and loved.
In 1952, Mason purchased a house previously owned by Buster Keaton. There he discovered reels of nitrate film of some of Keaton's work that was considered lost, including The Boat (1921). He arranged to have the decomposing films transferred to safety stock, saving them from oblivion.[26]
In his youth, Mason was a keen fan of his local
Mason was married twice:
- From 1941 to 1964 to British actress Pamela Mason (née Ostrer) (1916–1996). They had one daughter, Portland Mason Schuyler (1948–2004), and one son, Morgan (who is married to Belinda Carlisle, the lead singer of the Go-Go's). Pamela Mason filed suit for divorce in 1962 for lack of support, claiming adultery on his part with three Jane Does.[28] According to their son Morgan and other sources, Pamela herself had had numerous affairs, but due to her attorney Marvin Mitchelson's skill, she won a monetary settlement of at least $1 million ($9.275 million today) when the marriage was finally dissolved in 1964; it was reported as "America's first million-dollar divorce".[29][30] As a result of this success, Mitchelson became a sought-after celebrity divorce attorney.[31]
- Australian actress Clarissa Kaye (1971 – his death). Tobe Hooper's DVD commentary for Salem's Lot reveals that Mason regularly included contractual clauses in his later work guaranteeing Kaye bit parts in his films.
Mason's autobiography, Before I Forget, was published in 1981.
Death
Mason survived a severe heart attack in 1959.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1935 | Late Extra | Jim Martin | |
1936 | Twice Branded | Henry Hamilton | |
Prison Breaker | 'Bunny' Barnes | ||
Troubled Waters | John Merriman | ||
Blind Man's Bluff | Stephen Neville | ||
The Secret of Stamboul | Larry | ||
The Mill on the Floss | Tom Tulliver | ||
1937 | Fire Over England | Hillary Vane | |
The High Command | Capt. Heverell | ||
Catch As Catch Can | Robert Leyland | ||
The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel | Jean Tallien | ||
1939 | I Met a Murderer | Mark Warrow | |
1941 | This Man Is Dangerous | Mick Cardby | aka The Patient Vanishes |
1942 | Hatter's Castle | Dr Renwick | |
The Night Has Eyes | Stephen Deremid | aka Terror House | |
Alibi | Andre Laurent | ||
Secret Mission | Raoul de Carnot | ||
Thunder Rock | Streeter | ||
1943 | The Bells Go Down | Ted Robbins | |
The Man in Grey | Lord Rohan | ||
They Met in the Dark | Richard Francis Heritage | ||
1944 | Candlelight in Algeria | Alan Thurston | |
Fanny by Gaslight | Lord Manderstoke | aka Man of Evil | |
Hotel Reserve | Peter Vadassy | ||
1945 | A Place of One's Own | Smedhurst | |
They Were Sisters | Geoffrey Lee | ||
The Seventh Veil | Nicholas | ||
The Wicked Lady | Capt. Jerry Jackson | ||
1947 | Odd Man Out | Johnny McQueen | |
The Upturned Glass | Michael Joyce | ||
1949 | Caught | Larry Quinada | |
Madame Bovary | Gustave Flaubert | ||
The Reckless Moment | Martin Donnelly | ||
East Side, West Side | Brandon Bourne | ||
1950 | One Way Street | Frank Matson | |
1951 | Pandora and the Flying Dutchman | Hendrik van der Zee | |
The Desert Fox | Field Marshal Erwin Rommel | ||
1952 | Lady Possessed | Jimmy del Palma | Also producer and writer |
5 Fingers | Ulysses Diello | ||
Face to Face | The Captain ('The Secret Sharer') | ||
The Prisoner of Zenda | Rupert of Hentzau | ||
Botany Bay | Capt. Paul Gilbert | ||
1953 | The Story of Three Loves | Charles Coutray | Segment: "The Jealous Lover" |
The Desert Rats | Field Marshal Erwin Rommel | ||
Julius Caesar
|
Brutus
| ||
The Man Between | Ivo Kern | ||
The Tell-Tale Heart | Narrator | Voice; Animated short subject | |
1954 | Prince Valiant | Sir Brack | |
Charade | The Murderer / Maj. Linden / Jonah Watson | Also producer and writer | |
A Star Is Born | Norman Maine | ||
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Captain Nemo | ||
1956 | Forever, Darling | The Guardian Angel | |
Bigger Than Life | Ed Avery | Also producer and writer | |
1957 | Island in the Sun | Maxwell Fleury | |
1958 | Cry Terror! | Jim Molner | |
The Decks Ran Red | Capt. Edwin Rummill | ||
1959 | North by Northwest | Phillip Vandamm | |
A Touch of Larceny | Cmdr. Max Easton | ||
Journey to the Center of the Earth | Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook | ||
1960 | The Trials of Oscar Wilde | Sir Edward Carson | |
1961 | The Marriage-Go-Round | Paul Delville | |
1962 | Escape from Zahrain | Johnson | Uncredited |
Lolita | Prof. Humbert Humbert | ||
Tiara Tahiti | Capt. Brett Aimsley | ||
Hero's Island | Jacob Weber | ||
1963 | Torpedo Bay | Captain Blayne | |
1964 | The Fall of the Roman Empire | Timonides | |
The Pumpkin Eater | Bob Conway | ||
1965 | Lord Jim | Gentleman Brown | |
Genghis Khan | Kam Ling | ||
The Uninhibited | Pascal Regnier | ||
1966 | Georgy Girl | James Leamington | |
The Blue Max | General Count von Klugermann | ||
Dare I Weep, Dare I Mourn | Otto Hoffman | ||
1967 | The Deadly Affair | Charles Dobbs | |
The London Nobody Knows | Narrator | Documentary | |
Stranger in the House | John Sawyer | (also known as Cop Out) | |
1968 | Duffy | Charles Calvert | |
Mayerling | Emperor Franz-Joseph | ||
The Sea Gull | Trigorin, a writer | ||
1969 | Age of Consent | Bradley Morahan | |
1970 | Spring and Port Wine | Rafe Crompton | |
Cold Sweat | Captain Ross | ||
The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go | Y.Y. Go | ||
1971 | Bad Man's River | Francisco Paco Montero | |
Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! | Alan Hamilton | ||
1972 | Child's Play | Jerome Mailey | |
1973 | John Keats: His Life and Death | Narrator (voice) | |
The Last of Sheila | Phillip | ||
The Mackintosh Man | Sir George Wheeler | ||
1974 | 11 Harrowhouse | Charles D. Watts | |
Great Expectations | Abel Magwitch | ||
The Marseille Contract | Jacques Brizard | Released as The Destructors | |
1975 | The Year of the Wildebeest | Narrator | Documentary |
Mandingo | Warren Maxwell | ||
Kidnap Syndicate | Fillippini | ||
The Left Hand of the Law | Senator Leandri | ||
Autobiography of a Princess | Cyril Sahib | ||
Inside Out | Ernst Furben | ||
The Flower in His Mouth | Bellocampo | ||
1976 | People of the Wind | Narrator | Documentary |
Voyage of the Damned | Juan Ramos | ||
Fear in the City
|
Prosecutor | ||
1977 | Cross of Iron | Oberst Brandt | |
Homage to Chagall: The Colours of Love | Narrator | Documentary | |
1978 | The Water Babies | Mr Grimes Voice of Killer Shark |
|
Heaven Can Wait | Mr Jordan | ||
The Boys from Brazil | Eduard Seibert | ||
1979 | Murder by Decree | John H. Watson | |
The Passage | Prof. John Bergson | ||
Bloodline | Sir Alec Nichols | ||
1980 | North Sea Hijack | Admiral Brinsden | |
1982 | Evil Under the Sun | Odell Gardener | |
A Dangerous Summer | George Engels | ||
The Verdict | Ed Concannon | ||
Socrates | Socrates | ||
1983 | Yellowbeard | Captain Hughes | |
Alexandre | The Father | ||
1984 | Dr. Fischer of Geneva
|
Dr Fischer | |
1985 | The Shooting Party | Sir Randolph Nettleby | |
The Assisi Underground | Bishop Nicolini |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
|
Warren Barrow | Season 1 Episode 5: "Captive Audience" |
1973 | Frankenstein: The True Story | Dr. John Polidori | TV miniseries |
1977 | Jesus of Nazareth | Joseph of Arimathea | TV miniseries |
1979 | Salem's Lot | Richard K. Straker | TV miniseries |
1980 | Hollywood | Narrator | TV documentary miniseries |
1982 | Ivanhoe | Isaac of York | TV film |
1983 | Don't Eat the Pictures | Demon | TV special |
1984 | George Washington | Edward Braddock | TV miniseries |
1985 | A.D. | Tiberius | TV miniseries |
Theatre
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1933 | Henry VIII | Cromwell | The Old Vic, London |
1933 | Measure for Measure | Claudio | |
1933-34 | The Cherry Orchard | Yasha | |
1934 | The Tempest | Francisco | |
1934 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Merriman | |
1934 | Macbeth | Lennox | |
1947 | Bathsheba | David | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway |
1979 | Faith Healer | Frank Hardy | Longacre Theatre, Broadway |
Radio
Year | Programme | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1950 | Suspense | Banquo's Chair |
1952 | Odd Man Out[37] | |
1953 | The Queen's Ring |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1954 | Academy Awards | Best Actor | A Star is Born |
Nominated | |
1966 | Best Supporting Actor | Georgy Girl | Nominated | ||
1982 | The Verdict | Nominated | |||
1962 | British Academy Film Awards | Best British Actor | Lolita | Nominated | |
1967 | The Deadly Affair | Nominated | |||
1954 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | A Star is Born |
Won | |
1962 | Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama | Lolita | Nominated | ||
1982 | Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture | The Verdict | Nominated | ||
1982 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | ||
1954 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | A Star is Born | Nominated | |
1957 | Child's Play | Nominated | |||
1953 | National Board of Review | Best Actor | Face to Face / Julius Caesar The Desert Rats / The Man Between |
Won |
References
- ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "No Buyer for Mason Poster". The Free Library. 2 December 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ James Mason: A Bio-Bibliography, Kevin Sweeney, Greenwood Press, 1999, p. 3
- The Glasgow Herald. p. 8 – via Google News.
- ISBN 978-0-313-28496-0.
- ^ Brian McFarlane "Mason, James (1909–1984)", BFI screenonline; McFarlane (ed) The Encyclopedia of British Film, London: Methuen/BFI, 2003, p.438
- ^ Christopher Fitz-Simon, The Boys (London: Nick Hern Books, 1994) p. 73 et seq.
- ISBN 978-0-241-10677-8.
- ^ Thomson, David (15 May 2009) Every word a poison dart, The Guardian
- ^ Eric Ambler, Mason, James Neville (1909–1984), rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ Robert Murphy, Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939–48, p 207
- ^ Gaumont-British Picture: Increased Net Profit, The Observer, 4 November 1945
- The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 2 March 1946. p. 3 Supplement: The Mercury Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "FILM WORLD". The West Australian (SECOND ed.). Perth. 28 February 1947. p. 20. Retrieved 27 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Mercury. Hobart, Tas. 11 June 1949. p. 14. Retrieved 4 March 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "JAMES MASON TOP OF BRITISH BOX OFFICE". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 20 December 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 10 July 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "JAMES MASON 1947 FILM FAVOURITE". The Irish Times. 2 January 1948. p. 7.
- ^ Schallert, Edwin (6 May 1951). "English Stars Thrive Happily in Unusual Marital Melange". Los Angeles Times. p. E1.
- ^ "'A Star Is Born': THR's 1954 Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ Becker, Christine (1 October 2005). "Televising Film Stardom in the 1950s". Framework.[dead link]
- ^ Kevin Sweeney. James Mason: A Bio-Bibliography, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1999, p.47
- ^ Iley, Chrissy (23 July 2006). "Put it away, Sam ..." The Guardian. Manchester. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ "Obituary: Paul Scofield". BBC News. 20 March 2008.
- ^ Discogs - James Mason, Discography, Albums
- ^ Fonorama - YORK RECORDS, Stars On Sunday, BYK 703 JAMES MASON READS FROM THE BIBLE LP 01.1971
- ^ Bailey, Steve. "The Boat". The Love Nest. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "James Mason - Home James (1972)" – via YouTube.
- ^ Smith, Dinitia (2 July 1996). "Pamela Mason, 80, An Author, Actress And Talk-Show Host". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ Edge, Simon (24 April 2009). "James Mason: The Sad Cad". Daily Express. United Kingdom. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
- ISBN 978-0226671031.
- ^ "James Mason: Obituary". Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ James Mason Obituary, Variety, 1 August 1984.
- ^ Edge, Simon (24 April 2009). "James Mason: The sad cad". Sunday Express. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ a b Davies, Caroline (25 November 2000). "James Mason's ashes finally laid to rest". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022.
- ^ Glaister, Dan (10 March 1999). "15 years after his death, film star finds rest". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
Further reading
- Hirschhorn, Clive (1977). The Films of James Mason. Citadel Press. ISBN 9780806505848.
- Morley, Sheridan (1989). James Mason: Odd Man Out. Orion Publishing Group. ISBN 9780297793236.
External links
- James Mason at IMDb
- James Mason at the TCM Movie Database
- Performances listed in Theatre Archive University of Bristol
- James Mason at the Internet Broadway Database
- Literature on James Mason
- James Mason interview on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs, 26 September 1981
- James Mason's Cats