- Hardcover: 200 pages
- Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st U.S. Edition edition (Aug 1989)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060159839
- ISBN-13: 978-0060159832
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15 x 1.5 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,012,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
James Mason was the star of many films, such as "The Wicked Lady", "Julius Caesar" and "A Star is Born", but saw his life as empty and a failure. The author has written this biography with the permission of Mason's widow, Clarissa, and has previously written "The Other Side of The Moon".
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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3 reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
More on his private life, please
29 Jun 2003
Format:Hardcover
This is a reasonably good, though dry, effort at examining the life of the mellifluous-voiced British actor, James Mason. The book is paced well and there is a fair amount of information on most of his movies. However, there is a lack of information on Mason's personal life, especially regarding his unusual first marriage to the ascerbic Pamela Mason.
Though Pamela Mason was a loud-mouthed and shrewish adulteress, she was also extremely witty and interesting in her own right. Anyone who recalls her appearences on L.A. TV shows from the 60's and 70's will still chuckle at her endless tirades, usually ending with the predictable sentence, "James was so dull."
This book actually provides convincing evidence that James *was* boring. Mason comes off as depressed, rigid, indecisive and inrodinately unhappy. He makes many poor choices and instead of getting over them and getting on with his life, he broods about the negative consequences of his actions. For example, he moves to Hollywood and instantly detests California and American life, yet he inexplicably continues to live in the States for another 15 years. Hello, James... what was the problem?
It is never explained why James stayed with Pamela for so many years, even when he was miserable in her presence and unhappy living in America. When he finally does divorce her, he ends up shilling out millions in alimony and making a succession of wretched movies in order to pay off Pamela.
Ultimately, the real tragedy is that a man as intelligent, urbane and handsome as James Mason (not to mention his stupendous voice!) handled his career in such a haphazard way. He was a marvelous screen actor, but wasted his talent in many potboilers. This book doesn't really explain these poor choices and doesn't reveal enough about Mason's private life.
Another Great Book!!
10 Oct 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have been a fan of James Mason since 1954 after seeing "A Star is Born." In the past four or five years I have wanted to see as many of his movies as I can which Turner Classic Movies has helped a lot on this need.
Of course, I did not know he had written a book so I had to have that. Then a book showed up of
some of his movies, except the last ten years of his life. Then this book, James Mason, Odd Man
Out. After I ordered it, I was naturally impatient to hold it in my hands and it arrived sooner than anticipated. I read it in two days, loved it, learned a lot about the man I did not know before. It was very sad to find out he had such a miserable life, but fortunately, he met his
second wife and I understand this made up for all his life before then. If you are a fan of James Mason, this is a must read, then you have to read "James Mason: A Personal Biography by
Diana De Rosso. It also was great.
Of course, I did not know he had written a book so I had to have that. Then a book showed up of
some of his movies, except the last ten years of his life. Then this book, James Mason, Odd Man
Out. After I ordered it, I was naturally impatient to hold it in my hands and it arrived sooner than anticipated. I read it in two days, loved it, learned a lot about the man I did not know before. It was very sad to find out he had such a miserable life, but fortunately, he met his
second wife and I understand this made up for all his life before then. If you are a fan of James Mason, this is a must read, then you have to read "James Mason: A Personal Biography by
Diana De Rosso. It also was great.
5 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Very well done.
5 Sep 2002
Format:Hardcover
I really enjoyed this biography by Sheridan Morley on James Mason. It is really good, and tells much about his life, but more about his career. It's a very good read though, and you will learn about him from it. It's well written and really is an interesting read for any fan of James Mason.
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