James Mason: Master of Subtext

So the last time I did one of these was during my obsession with the Dead End Kids when I was writing Angel's Alley and preferred binging Turner Classic Movies and all things Silver Screen rather than cable--which was really fun cause I became an "expert" on all things old Hollywood, but I've already blogged about that.

Now it's time.

Today is the birthday of another one of my many many Silver Screen Obsessions.

Idols.

People I Want to Meet Before I Die But Can't Since They're Already Dead.

All Of The Above. 

I consider him the master of subtext and one of the most amazing actors of the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

He's also a talented writer--I know cause I own his autobiography.

Ladies and gents, I'm going to gush about James Mason.

I first saw him when I was nine. He played Isaac of York in the 1982 television special Ivanhoe. My grandpa gave us his copy of the VHS and while I was watching it mostly for the other younger cuter male characters, I still really liked Isaac of York.

I liked his mellifluous voice.

A lot.

(Did I know what the word "mellifluous" meant as a nine-year-old? No. But did I like the flow-y pattern of the way this actor talked? Oh yes!)

Flash forward...15 years? The apartment complex I was living at had Turner Classic Movies as part of their cable package and I binged all the old movies I could when not doing homework(which, considering I did all my homework on campus before I went home, was a lot of time). One night TCM was showing Prisoner of Zenda--which has become one of my all time favorite oldies--and when they introduced the villain, my jaw dropped.

Like, hit the floor.

Because, number one, the actor was G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S(Hopeless Romantic, remember?)

And number two, I knew that voice from my childhood. Yes, because the actor was younger his voice was less craggy, but the pattern was still the same. But I looked it up on IMDB just to make sure.

Yep. I was looking at a younger James Mason.

Been obsessed ever since.

Here's why I like him so much.

To begin with, he never had any formal training, so everything he learned about acting, he learned on the job.

Yes, he did plays in college, but he was studying to be an architect. He went into films after graduation. And, because he had no formal training, there was nothing he had to "un-learn", which is probably why most directors loved him so much!

He was very picky about the films he worked in.

James Mason knew Hollywood type-cast him because of how he looked. He was perfect for noir films and he usually played the villain or anti-hero. That's fine if you're given a villain or anti-hero with dimension.

But in 30s and 40s Hollywood, the Big Ups were more concerned about cranking out as many films as possible, which meant that being "type cast" meant that you were playing the same person doing the same things in multiple films.

Gag!
 
Which is why he left Hollywood and went back to England. Personally, most of the movies I prefer are his non-big Hollywood films, because there seems to be a lot more to them than "let's crank out another cause money, money, money".

(that's a whole other rant for another time).

One of James Mason's favorite film roles--and mine--is the leading man in "Odd Man Out." It's the story of a man who is shot during a robbery and the encounters he has as he dies. This is also the role that made him a household name.

It. Is. A. Beautiful. Film.

The writing is beautiful.

The casting is perfect.

The themes are subtle and universal.

It's also one of the few films that James Mason immediately said "yes" to after reading the script once, so that in and of itself should tell you something.

At the beginning of this gush I called him the Master of Subtext.

Because he is.

James Mason not only had a beautiful voice, but he also had an understated way of acting that was--and is--riveting.

He can put so much subtext into one tiny movement that I know exactly what he's thinking and why he's thinking it and I'm pretty sure what he's going to do next.

Which is why it's a delightful surprise when his character does a "bait and switch"--which anti-heroes are sometimes wont to do.

James Mason would be 111 today.

One of the truly great actors of the Silver Screen.

I will never stop watching his films.