Editing James Mason (section)

===1941–1957: Leading man status===
'''Second World War'''

Mason registered as a [[conscientious objector]] during World War II (causing his family to break with him for many years), but his tribunal did not exempt him on the requirement for non-combatant military service, which he also refused. He appealed against that aspect of the tribunal's decision,<ref name="Thomson">Thomson, David (15 May 2009) [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/may/15/james-mason Every word a poison dart], ''[[The Guardian]]''</ref> but it became irrelevant once he was included in a general exemption for film work.<ref>Eric Ambler, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31418 Mason, James Neville (1909–1984)], rev. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2013.</ref> In 1941–42 he returned to the stage to appear in ''Jupiter Laughs'' by [[A. J. Cronin]]. He established himself as a leading man in Britain in a series of films: ''[[The Patient Vanishes]]'' (1941); ''[[Hatter's Castle (film)|Hatter's Castle]]'' (1941) with [[Robert Newton]] and [[Deborah Kerr]]; ''[[The Night Has Eyes]]'' (1941); ''[[Alibi (1942 film)|Alibi]]'' (1942) with [[Margaret Lockwood]]; ''[[Secret Mission]]'' (1942); ''[[Thunder Rock (film)|Thunder Rock]]'' (1942) with [[Michael Redgrave]]; and ''[[The Bells Go Down]]'' (1943) with [[Tommy Trinder]].
[[File:A Star is Born trailer - James Mason as Norman Maine.jpg|thumb|right|190px|Mason as Norman Maine in ''A Star is Born'' (1954)]]
Mason became hugely popular for his brooding anti-heroes, and occasional outright villains, in the [[Gainsborough Pictures|Gainsborough]] [[Gainsborough melodramas|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.<ref name="edward">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-ted-black/|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|date=1 December 2024|access-date=1 December 2024|title=Forgotten British Film Moguls: Ted Black}}</ref> 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 (film)|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).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xtGIAgAAQBAJ&dq=hungry+hill+film+box+office&pg=PA209 Robert Murphy, ''Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939–48'', p 207]</ref><ref>Gaumont-British Picture: Increased Net Profit, ''The Observer'', 4 November 1945</ref>

[[Sydney Box]] cast Mason in a psychodrama about musicians, ''[[The Seventh Veil]]'' (1945), as the tyrannical guardian of pianist [[Ann Todd]]. It was a huge success in Britain and the US and demand for Mason was at a fever pitch. Exhibitors voted him the most popular star in [[UK|Britain]] in each year between 1944 and 1947. They also declared him the most popular international star in 1946; he dropped to second place the following year.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26173214 |title=James Mason named again as Britain's brightest star |newspaper= [[The Mercury]] |location=Hobart, Tasmania |date=2 March 1946 |access-date=24 April 2012 |page=3 Supplement: The Mercury Magazine |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46266039 |title=FILM WORLD. |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=28 February 1947 |access-date=27 April 2012 |page=20|edition=SECOND |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He was the most popular male star in Canada in 1948.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26631567 |title=FILM NEWS. |work= [[The Mercury]] |location= Hobart, Tas. |date=11 June 1949 |access-date=4 March 2013 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

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 [[Irish Republican Army|IRA]] bank robber on the run in [[Carol Reed]]'s ''[[Odd Man Out]]'' (1947).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49341927 |title=JAMES MASON TOP OF BRITISH BOX OFFICE. |newspaper=[[The Courier-Mail]] |location=Brisbane |date=20 December 1946 |access-date=10 July 2012 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=JAMES MASON 1947 FILM FAVOURITE|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=2 January 1948|page=7}}</ref> 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 film)|Caught]]'' (1949), directed by [[Max Ophüls]], then played [[Gustave Flaubert]] in MGM's ''[[Madame Bovary (1949 film)|Madame Bovary]]'' (1949). He did another with Ophüls, ''[[The Reckless Moment]]'' (1949), and followed it with ''[[East Side, West Side (1949 film)|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.
[[File:Garland Star Born recrop.jpg|thumb|170px|Mason acted alongside [[Judy Garland]] in ''[[A Star is Born (1954 film)|A Star is Born]]'' (1954)]]

'''Films at 20th Century Fox'''

Mason's Hollywood career was revived when he was cast as [[General Rommel]] in ''[[The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel]]'' (1951), directed by [[Henry Hathaway]]. To do the film he agreed to sign a contract with [[20th Century Fox]] for seven years at one film a year.<ref>{{Cite news|title=English Stars Thrive Happily in Unusual Marital Melange|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=6 May 1951|work=Los Angeles Times|page=E1}}</ref> Mason did a film at [[Republic Pictures]] written by his wife and directed by Roy Kellino, ''[[Lady Possessed]]'' (1951). At Fox, he played a spy in ''[[5 Fingers]]'' (1951), directed by [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]. MGM hired him to play [[Rupert of Hentzau]] in ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda (1952 film)|The Prisoner of Zenda]]'' (1952) opposite Granger. He was in the lower budgeted ''[[Face to Face (1952 film)|Face to Face]]'' (1952) then went to Paramount to play a villainous sea captain opposite [[Alan Ladd]] in ''[[Botany Bay (film)|Botany Bay]]'' (1953).

Mason was one of many stars in MGM's ''[[The Story of Three Loves]]'' (1953). At Fox, he reprised his role as Rommel in ''[[The Desert Rats (film)|The Desert Rats]]'' (1953), then he was reunited with Mankiewicz at MGM, playing Brutus in ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1953), opposite [[Marlon Brando]]. The film was very successful. Mason worked with Carol Reed in ''[[The Man Between]]'' (1953), then Fox used him as a villain again in ''[[Prince Valiant (1954 film)|Prince Valiant]]'' (1954). Mason did another film with a screenplay by his wife and directed by Roy Kellino, ''[[Charade (1953 film)|Charade]]'' (1954).

Warner Bros., hired him to play [[Judy Garland]]'s leading man in the [[George Cukor]] directed musical drama film ''[[A Star Is Born (1954 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 (screenwriter)|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."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/a-star-is-born-review-1954-movie-1149092/|title= 'A Star Is Born': THR's 1954 Review|website= [[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date= 3 October 2018|accessdate= 31 July 2023}}</ref>

He went over to Disney to play [[Captain Nemo]] in ''[[20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film)|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.<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Becker| first1=Christine| title= Televising Film Stardom in the 1950s| journal= Framework| date=1 October 2005| url=https://www.questia.com/read/1P3-1001342431}}{{dead link|date=July 2021}}</ref> 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 (film)|Island in the Sun]]'' (1957).