Dirk Bogarde vs. James Mason

Plus, Mayor O.D. McCrack of Druggachussetts shares his voice, especially when he declares this pizza to be...AWESOME.

check 'a star is born' for the stone cold evidence. bogarde's entire career knocked into a cocked one, just by the opening scene.
as norman maine (legendary showbiz-kid on the slide) backstage at a charity gala and drunker even than usual, mason falls onto his hapless pr man (jack carson) and giggles 'why do i despise you so much' ? best drunk performance ever. and that's really only the start. he beat olivier and burton to the part.
eat that dirk-y the night porter !

he's all that in 'odd man out' too. ditto 'salem's lot'.

Victim
The Servant
Death in Venice
Nightporter

Hitchcock - North By Northwest
Kubrick - Lolita
Peckinpah - Cross of Iron

The best thing about him though, was that his cremated ashes were stored in a Swiss bank vault for 15 years while his children and second wife fought a bitter legal battle over his legacy.

Roger Thornhill: Apparently the only performance that will satisfy you is
when I play dead.
Phillip Vandamm: Your very next role, and you'll be quite convincing, I assure you.

Oh my god, he's hot. I think I might have a new crush. Plus, he's a Mason. Heh.

Oh yeah. I first learned about him in his last years with movies like Evil Under the Sun and Yellowbeard where he was obviously relaxing but doing so with avuncular style. Then I saw some films of his glory days and goldang.

Wow. Why has this never been a Smiths album cover? Or has it?

but mason gets extra points for having a sense of his own ridiculousness

and he's extra creepy in north by northwest

'Caught' by Max Ophuls (mmm, tracking shots)
'Bigger Than Life' by Nicholas Ray (mmm, mise-en-scene)
'North By Northwest' by Alfred Hitchcock (mmm, comic acting)
And I haven't even mentioned his Gainsborough pix (cos I haven't seen them).

http://members.aol.com/Alpheratz9/bogarde.gif

For the second time on this board!

I prefer Mason though, deffo.

Bogarde had a much shorter career and hence made more crap (tho Mason did plenty in the '60s and '70s too), so c'mon. JM is heartbreaking and off-the-charts sexy in Ophuls' The Reckless Moment. Also, I want him to Oscar-slap someone every year like he did Garland.

http://www.dacre.org/flash/www/gb100876.jpg

I was trying to remember his name ages ago.

How are those minuses?

Besides, have you seen Odd Man Out, A Star is Born, or The Shooting Party?

so otm. i love how weary-yet-never-bored he always sounds.

saw the seventh veil the other week, re-iterates masons position here

Mandingo is out on DVD today, and Mason's master-of-the-plantation character is not softpedaled...

I think Mason's probably the better actor but I just like Bogarde better.

doesn't Mason get to rub his feet on a darkie slave?

he RESTS his gouty feet on a small boy.

Mandingo is awful, but it pales compared to it's even more awful sequel: DRUM. Drum has a great opening theme though.

Mandingo is not awful; it's an obstreperous melodrama suiting its milieu much better than GWTW did.

So, in other words, unwatchable dreck.

Mason is masterful in A Star is Born.

I don't get the "film folly" rep of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman -- a generally entrancing romantic fantasy, and sure Mason is sterling (he carries the whole 16th-century flashback, acting & narrating) but AVA GARDNER is good! with a long monologue on eternal love!

ames Mason always seemed so remote and cold no matter what part he was playing

so much rong here

yes, that's madness.

In Pandora he clearly doesn't have his teeth capped -- they're either English or 400 years old.

Young Mason is very sexy in The Man in Grey, available in this new Gainsborough melodramas box from Eclipse:

http://www.davekehr.com/?p=1472

http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/eclipse-series-36-three-wicked-melodramas-from-gainsborough-pictures/2456

i love both of these guys! both easy in my top 10 actors.

watched The Upturned Glass last night, Mason’s last British film before his departure for Hollywood. Screenplay cowritten by Mason’s costar and future wife, Pamela Kellino, who's the nasty femme. Lots of fun, splendid cast, not as much shadowplay as typical US genre standard.

(it's in a British Noir disc set)

i got drunk the other night and bought THREE dirk dvd sets. oof. still, 60% off. i can sell them at the store after i'm done watching them.

https://www.vcientertainment.com/Film-Categories?keyword=dirk&product_id=644

AGENT 8 ¾:
Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Koscina and Robert Morley star in this satirical comedy-thriller at the height of the 007 popularity and set amidst the world of international espionage. Unemployed Nicolas Whistler accepts a job and a tidy salary with what he believes to be a glass manufacturing company in London. He soon discovers that his business behind the Iron Curtain is in fact illegal. Everyone apparently believes him to be a spy but it takes much time and adventure for him to realize it. The realization numbs him with horror, and with his contacts gone, he is on his own. He must escape arrest and flee to England but the secret police are close behind him. Robert Morley, as his boss is a scene stealer!
97 mins, Color, 1.78:1 / 16x9, 1964, Not Rated

CAMPBELL’S KINGDOM:
Bruce Campbell (Dirk Bogarde) is a young Englishman who believes himself to be incurably ill. He travels to Canada to take up his grandfather's inheritance, Campbell's Kingdom, a valley high in the Rockies. Here he intends to spend the last few months of his life. When he arrives in Come Lucky, an old ghost town which has lost the prosperity of its gold rush days, he is greeted with hostility by the men in the "Golden Calf” saloon. Owen Morgan, a contractor for Henry Fergus, tells him that his grandfather's death ended a deadlock in Come Lucky. The old man, King Campbell, believed there was oil in the valley. Therefore, he prevented Morgan from completing a dam and flooding the valley as part of a new hydro-electric scheme which would bring back prosperity. Now, since mining surveyor Boy Bladen's (Michael Craig) report shows that there is no chance of oil being found there, the Government has given permission for the flooding. Campbell chooses to take up where his grandfather left off and discover oil before the mining company can flood the valley!
102 mins, Color, 1.66:1 / 16x9, 1957, Not Rated

PENNY PRINCESS:
A young woman, Lindy Smith (Yolande Donlan), is surprised to discover she has inherited a vast fortune and a small European State from a distant relative. She sets off to take up her position as Princess but meanwhile has received none of her fortune. Then a young man, Tony (Dirk Bogarde), offers to help her market a local product throughout Europe to stave off the country’s bankruptcy. The plan is a success until other nations fear for their own industries and prohibit it. So the local folk decide to indulge in their favorite pastime - smuggling! When she legalizes it, all becomes even rosier, not only for the locals but for the romance blossoming between her and Tony.
94 mins, Technicolor, 1.33:1 / 4x3, 1952, Not Rated

SIMBA:
Brian Desmond Hurst directs this portrayal of the Mau Mau movement and uprising during the period between 1950 and 1956, in Kenya. Alan Howard (Dirk Bogarde) returns to Kenya to visit his brother and with hope of rekindling a romance with Mary Crawford (Virginia McKenna), whose family owns and operates a farm close to his brother’s. Arriving at his brother’s farm, Alan discovers he has been brutally murdered by the Mau Mau. Howard has absolutely no compassion for the black population and decides to stay on, against all odds, to defy the uprising. Tensions grow between Mary and Alan, brought on by his prejudice toward the native doctor Karanja (Earl Cameron), whom he believes is the Mau Mau leader and responsible for his brother’s murder. It’s not until Dr. Karanja sacrifices his own life to save Alan and Mary that the real Mau Mau leader is revealed and Alan begins to understand that the black population, as a whole, is not responsible. Tense drama with graphic and gritty action scenes. Simba, based on true events, was nominated for 3 BAFTA awards and the coveted United Nations award.
100 mins, Eastman Color, 1.33:1 / 4x3, 1955, Not Rated

An all-star cast spearheads this lesson in social realism. Jackie (Richard Attenborough) lives with his widowed mother and dreams of marrying Kitty, the girl across the street. In a bid to escape the poverty trap, he agrees to participate in a robbery, but when it goes wrong he is sentenced to three years in jail. There he meets various characters planning an escape, and although initially skeptical, he is persuaded by Alfie (Dirk Bogarde) to join the team. But what if their plan fails?
85 minutes | 1949 | B&W | Not Rated | English language | English Subtitles subtitles | 1.33:1 / 4x3 | Dolby Digital Mono | All Regions

Once a Jolly Swagman
Bill Fox (Dirk Bogarde) is tired of his job at the local factory. Against the wishes of his family and his girlfriend, Pat, he takes a job as a novice at the local speedway. Bill quickly gains attention at the track through his daring driving, and he meets Dotty, a glamorous society woman. As he moves into a new and exciting social circle, he quickly forgets Pat and his roots until he begins to quarrel with Dotty and he becomes aware of the shallowness of his existence.
103 minutes | 1948 | B&W | Not Rated | English language | English Subtitles | 1.37:1 | Dolby Digital Mono| Region 1

Hunted
After accidentally setting fire to his foster parents’ house, Robbie, a six-year-old boy, runs away. He searches for a hiding place and runs into a warehouse. Clattering down the steps, he accidently runs into the arms of a man, Chris Lloyd (Dirk Bogarde). Robbie sees a body lying nearby. Thinking that the boy will give him away to the police, Lloyd takes the boy with him and heads to the Scottish border. The more time they spend together, the closer they become, so when Robbie falls seriously ill, Lloyd has to make a difficult decision.
85 minutes | 1952 | B&W | NR | English language | English Subtitles subtitles | 1.37:1 / 4x3 | Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono | Region 1

Dear Mr Prohack
Arthur Prohack works in the treasury where he has the reputation of being ‘The Terror of the Departments’ due to his extremely rigid control of the public purse. When he suddenly comes into a private fortune, however, his personal finances prove exceedingly difficult to manage, along with his family!
90 minutes | 1949 | B&W | NR | English language | English Subtitles subtitles | 1.37:1 / 4x3 | Dolby Digital Mono | Region 1

High Bright Sun: A young American archaeologist of Cypriot parentage is visiting Cypriot friends who, unbeknown to her, are involved in the local terrorist racket. When she learns more than she should, her loyalty is divided between the Cypriots and the British, in the form of an intelligence major. It is his job to guard her, although she proves rather frosty, but despite this, the young major falls for her charms.

Spanish Gardner: Separated from his wife and embittered by lack of promotion, Harrington Brande (Michael Hordern) is posted to a small port in Spain. With him goes his young son Nicholas (Jon Whiteley), a shy boy forced to lead a quiet life by his domineering father. At their new home they meet their gardener, José (Dirk Bogarde), who strikes up a friendship with the boy. As Nicholas’s father realises this, out of jealousy, he bans them from speaking. Things go from bad to worse when Nicholas’s watch is stolen and planted on José, who is then arrested. Will his father realise the meaning of true friendship before it is too late?

Esther Waters: Released in the USA in an edited version titled “The Sin of Esther Waters,” this is the original un-cut UK version featuring Dirk Bogarde in his first starring role, playing a roguish character in this bodice-ripper set in Victorian England. The film also perfectly recreates details of the horse racing scene at the Derby.

Esther Waters (Kathleen Ryan) is a young woman living in 1880. Brought up by a puritanical mother, she leaves to become a servant in an aristocratic household. There she falls in love with the footman, William Latch (Bogarde), who seduces and then abandons her. Pregnant and alone, she returns to London to find her mother dead. With no one but herself for comfort she struggles to survive. A tale of the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

King and Country: In this stirring anti-war film set during WWI, a tough, no-nonsense British Army lawyer (Dick Bogarde) is assigned to defend a lowly private (Tom Courtenay) at his court martial. The private has been accused of desertion during battle. The lawyer, Captain Hargreaves is convinced this young man should be executed. However, as the trial progresses and the strain of three horrible years endured at the Allied front is revealed, the more he is compelled to spare the youth from a firing squad.

I love James Mason; he possessed the most beautiful voice in cinema.

I have always been enthralled by his voice and as a teenager often attempted to mimic it -- unsuccessfully I should add. It was impossible to replicate adequately. Somehow it reminded me of caramel.

rewatched Mason in The Reckless Moment yesterday; brilliantly sells the hood with a heart of gold conceit.

Mason, of course.

But, funnily enough, I was talking (at length) last night about "The Singer Not the Song", a ludicrous British pseudo western with Bogarde as gayest, and most well tailored, Mexican bandit of all time.

http://olivergwyther.com/dbog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/db_001-signed-photo_31.jpg

While various other hoary English character actors struggle manfully with Mexican accents, Bogarde sticks stubbornly to his usual silky RADA approved one. And talking of accents, stodgy old John Mills is there too as a boring priest who is fighting a battle against his feelings for a teenage senorita, who is in fact a pouty blonde Bardot clone with a thick French accent. Mills fights an even tougher battle in the film though, with an Irish accent, a battle he loses more often than not.

http://olivergwyther.com/dbog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/db_john_mills_003.jpg

I remember the first time I happened across this film, years and years ago, I was watching it with my brother and, after the last scene, we turned to each other as if to say, "This could not be more gay".

http://olivergwyther.com/dbog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/db_mylene_demongeot_003.jpg

Was just reading about The Singer Not the Song, it sounds incredible. A Letterboxd review featured this from Bogarde:

"I've got the permed hair and I've got the caps in... I was supposed to be deeply in love with John Mills: you try that for the size...
So, I went off, and this is an innovation of my own: I covered myself from head to foot in black leather, skin-tight, before anybody else had tried it. I also had a whip with a duck's head in silver; I had white frilly shirts; I had specially made boots... with great big stirrups that I was frightened of falling over, and did; and a hat; and a different attitude to god than I'd had in all the other movies; and I also had a white persian cat: are you ready? 
Can you believe that not one single person in that bloody organisation knew what I was up to? So, I had a great love affair with me... They were shit-scared of me, so they let me wear the black leather... So I'm kind of fond of it; anyway, you'd better look at this piece of rubbish."

Rueful lol at the very first part. I seem to recall a great loss of interest in Great Expectations when Pip grew up to be John Mills.

I keep pointing out on here whenever "The Singer Not The Song" is on TV, which is fairly regularly, but nobody seems to bite.

this is an innovation of my own: I covered myself from head to foot in black leather, skin-tight, before anybody else had tried it.

Uh? Maybe not in a Hollywood movie, but the leather fetishists beat him to the punch by a good century or more.

... just noticed I was talking about it in this very thread, though the no doubt choice photos I chose to illustrate my comments seem to have disappeared.

_ this is an innovation of my own: I covered myself from head to foot in black leather, skin-tight, before anybody else had tried it. _

Uh? Maybe not in a Hollywood movie, but the leather fetishists beat him to the punch by a good century or more.

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman as well other Ava Gardner films on Criterion.

"I'm not staying here in a place where they just chuck balls in your face!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WSQEdiLpSI

Love both these actors but have been on a Bogarde Jag lately, both the English heartthrob and European art movie phases. Just watched Night Porter, aspects of which have certainly dated not so well, but Bogarde is frankly incredible.