James Mason
Interviewed by Brian Baxter, 5 September 1981, National Film Theatre
These are some examples of Carol Reed-related resources available in the bfi National Library's Audio Collection. These interview clips are excerpts from tapes held in the library. These tapes are available for listening, in the Reading Room. Please ask for them by name of the speaker.
Odd Man Out (UK, 1947)
The interview begins with a few words from James Mason about the British film industry, his films I Met a Murderer (1939) and The Seventh Veil (1945). He is then asked to recount how he met Carol Reed and how the part of Johnny came about.
On Reed he says:
"He was a real serious filmmaker and he knew what he wanted and he knew how to make films...He was my favourite film director and he had a all the perfectionism that one wants to find in a director you're working with..."
"...There was never a moment when he was not actually concentrating on what he was about to do. He said to me once...starting a film was like going down a mine for three months[...]and his concentration was extended to the full for the whole of that period."
