With one of the most distinctive voices in cinema and a versatile acting talent that saw him playing an array of complex heroes and villains throughout his career, James Mason is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors Britain has ever produced, and this box set showcases four of his best, if not best-known, roles.
Perhaps the most exciting is the newly-released The Man Between. The film drew unfavorable comparisons with The Third Man, which was also directed by Carol Reed and set in a Germanic Capital. Here, postwar Berlin is the backdrop, a dangerous city where smuggling people from the West to the East is rife. Mason stars as a German double agent who may or may not have sinister intentions for Susanne (Claire Bloom), a young British woman visiting her brother. It is to Mason’s great skill that you are never sure about his character’s motives until the very end, and his chemistry with the ingenuous Bloom is very touching.
He played a less ambiguous criminal is 5 Fingers, a valet to the British ambassador in Turkey who decides to make a lucrative living selling Allied war plans to the Germans. He finds a willing accomplice in a penniless Countess (the beautiful Danielle Darrieux), who is not above some double-crossing of her own. The last scene, a sharp shot of irony, is a delight.
Mason was not averse to campy melodrama, and his sadistic Marquis of Rohan in The Man in Grey is great fun. Although ostensibly a vehicle for the talents of Margaret Lockwood (this was the first of her many wicked ladies), Mason steals his scenes as the cold-hearted aristocrat.
Mason gave one of his best performances in Carol Reed’s Odd Man Out, a film that provoked controversy on its initial release thanks to its sympathetic portrayal of IRA members. Mason stars as Johnny, a great tragic hero, who is shot in a bungled bank heist and seeks shelter from an often pitiless Belfast. Mason's painfully sad performance as the abused outsider is unforgettable, and he is given rich support from Robert Newton as a callous artist obsessed with painting his dying grimaces.
A collection of five classic films starring James Mason. Features The Man in Grey (Leslie Arliss, 1943), The Bells go Down (Dearden, 1943), Odd Man Out (Carol Reed, 1947), Five Fingers (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1952) and The Man Between (Carol Reed, 1953)
The Man in Grey was the first film that set Margaret Lockwood off on the popular "wicked lady" series. Here she stars as the bitter, immoral Hesther, who plots to take everything away from the kind and beautiful Clarissa Richmond (Phyllis Calvert) who brings her into her home. Evil she may be, but just try not rooting for the villainess in this enjoyable slice of period hokum. James Mason is also great fun as the equally wicked husband of Clarissa.
The Bells go Down stars Tommy Trinder (playing it straight), following his career in the Auxiliary Fire Service from his enrolment through his training to his fire-fighting duties during the Blitz. James Mason plays the leading fireman.
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Odd Man Out (Carol Reed, 1947)
Atmospheric and suspenseful Reed film with Mason as an idealistic IRA leader shot and left for dead during a holdup. From then on he is hunted relentlessly by the police as he staggers through the snowy Belfast streets and bars.
Five Fingers (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1952)
The Man Between (Carol Reed, 1953)(available for the first time on DVD)
Ministry of Fear
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Screen Icons: James Mason Collection
