Men of Rome, men of Rome! Do not touch these people, they have become your brothers. They're Roman now. The whole Northern people will answer with fire and blood, their hatred will live for centuries. Men of Roman blood will pay for this. You will make nations to kill us all. Let us live in peace!Peace!

To finish off Mason week I watched The Fall of the Roman Empire. It stars not only Mason but also Christopher Plummer, Alec Guinness,Stephen Boyd and Sophia Loren. It was directed by Anothony Mann who is known most for his work with James Stwert In many Western films such the Man from Laramime, Winchester 73, The Naked Spur, Bend in the River to name a few.
It is my second favorite of the Mason movies I watched after North By Northwest. Dimitri Tiomkin's score is a really great as always and it adds a lot to the film. The  reconstruction of the Roman Forum holds the record for the largest outdoor film set  at 1312 x 754 feet.

I am not what is called a civilized man, Professor. I have done with society for reasons that seem good to me. Therefore, I do not obey its laws.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is another book by Jules Verne which stars James Mason as captain Nemo a murdering captain who's plan is to get revenge on the humans for the death of his family and also for all their wars. I liked Mason as Nemo. The film was released by Walt Disney.  The film also stars Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas and Peter Lorre as prisoner's on Nemo's sub which is destroying war ships all over the ocean. I thought it was violent for a Disney film in 1954. The music by Paul Smith adds a lot to the film.  The film was directed by Richard Fleischer who directed such classics as  Soylent Green and Tora! Tora! Tora!. It has been a while scene I'd seen it and I enjoyed watching it again. Here is Kirk singing the classic song Whale of a Tale.

 

Has anyone ever told you that you overplay your various roles rather severely, Mr. Kaplan?

North by Northwest what can I say about this film that has not been said already. It is one of my top five films. It also has one of my top favorite movie scores.

Young man with the gold tooth, I'll give you more gold if you guide us to Reykjavik.

After the two Fox's I watched a movie made from a Jules Verne book called Journey to the Center of the Earth. The film did not use Ray so the monsters were not as good as the monsters in mysterious island another Verne book made into a movie.  I thought it was entertaining but once again like all James Mason Movies it is way to long. The tall blond Swedish guy looks like could be a bond villain's henchman. Bernard Herrmann's score is good as well.

We shall take that big fat cigar out of Mr. Churchill's mouth and make him say Heil.

"The desert fox" is about the life and death of one of the axis best. Mason plays Rommel again and is great at the role. I don't like how the Germans were translated into English in this film but not in the desert rats. I did not know he was part of operation Valkyrie the plot to blow up Hitler. The trailer makes you think this is a war film with lots of fighting and battles but really the only fighting is at the beginning when the British commandos try to kill Rommel. You could tell that the Nazi's end was soon due to unrest with the government and the loss at Africa. Good Film.

Come out of your holes you Desert Rats.

Last night to kick off Mason fest,  I watched the World War 2 film The Desert Rats based on a true story about the siege of Tobruk in Northern Africa. The Australian 9th Division is put under the command of English Captain "Tammy" MacRoberts who is played by Richard Burton.   They are  to hold Tobruk for 2 months against Field Marshall Rommel played by Mason.  During this time the men go on secret night raids.  After more then two months some of the men go on a raid to a German ammo dump. They blow up the dump but  most of the men are captured, killed or wounded. Burton escapes with one other man.  After several more days of fighting the badly wounded and tired Australian 9th is relieved by the sound of bagpipes.

James Mason was a great choice as Rommel.The film was directed by Robert Wise who also directed The Day the Earth Stood Still, West Side Story, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Sound of Music. This is a great war film. There are very few films about Australia's part in the war. Next, we will watch Mason again as Rommel in The Desert Fox.

James Mason fest.

During this fest we will watch some of his best known work such as North by Northwest and Fall of the Roman Empire . We will also watch 20,000 League's Under the sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Desert Rats and Fox.