The Best James Mason Movies

Ranker Film
Updated September 1, 2023 3.7K votes 485 voters 32.3K views
Over 400 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best James Mason Movies
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List of the best James Mason movies, ranked best to worst with movie trailers when available. James Mason's highest grossing movies have received a lot of accolades over the years, earning millions upon millions around the world. The order of these top James Mason movies is decided by how many votes they receive, so only highly rated James Mason movies will be at the top of the list. James Mason has been in a lot of films, so people often debate each other over what the greatest James Mason movie of all time is. If you and a friend are arguing about this then use this list of the most entertaining James Mason films to end the squabble once and for all.

If you think the best James Mason role isn't at the top, then upvote it so it has the chance to become number one. The greatest James Mason performances didn't necessarily come from the best movies, but in most cases they go hand in hand.

This list below has a variety of films, like Hatter's Castle and A Dangerous Summer, in it.

"This list answers the questions, "What are the best James Mason movies?" and "What are the greatest James Mason roles of all time?"

James Mason was no stranger to working with popular directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and Michael Powell. If you're a fan of James Mason, then check out our lists of the best Richard Attenborough and George C. Scott movies as well.

Most divisive: The Mackintosh Man
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  • Odd Man Out
    1

    Odd Man Out

    James Mason, Robert Newton, Kathleen Ryan
    68 votes
    • Released: 1947
    • Directed by: Carol Reed
    A wounded fugitive's dark odyssey through the streets of Belfast. Following a "fundraising" robbery which goes horribly wrong, the badly injured, abandoned, and increasingly delirious IRA leader wanders the city in search of an escape route from the British authorities.

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  • Lolita
    2

    Lolita

    James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon
    87 votes
    • Released: 1962
    • Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
    With a screenplay penned by the author himself, Stanley Kubrick brings Vladimir Nabokov's controversial tale of forbidden love to the screen. Humbert Humbert (James Mason) is a European professor who relocates to an American suburb, renting a room from lonely widow Charlotte Haze (Shelley Winters). Humbert marries Charlotte, but only to nurture his obsession with her comely teenage daughter, Lolita (Sue Lyon). After Charlotte's sudden death, Humbert has Lolita all to himself -- or does he?

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  • North by Northwest
    3

    North by Northwest

    Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
    86 votes
    • Released: 1959
    • Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
    In the classic suspense film North by Northwest, Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), an unsuspecting New York advertising executive, becomes entangled in a web of espionage. Mistaken for a government agent by foreign spies, he's thrust into a perilous cross-country chase. Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), a mysterious and alluring woman, aids him in his desperate struggle for survival. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this thrilling masterpiece of intrigue and mistaken identity is filled with iconic scenes, including the famous crop-duster sequence and the climactic Mount Rushmore showdown. It's a testament to Hitchcock's mastery over tension and suspense.

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  • A Star Is Born
    4

    A Star Is Born

    Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson
    73 votes
    • Released: 1954
    • Directed by: George Cukor
    Hollywood actor Norman Maine (James Mason) is a celebrity whose star is on the wane, but when he meets aspiring actress Esther Blodgett (Judy Garland), he is inspired to help her, and soon the two appear in a musical together. Now known as Vicki Lester, she marries Norman and finds herself in demand, while his reputation continues to decline, resulting in heavy bouts of drinking. Eventually, Vicki must choose between moving forward with her career and attempting to save her husband.

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  • The Boys from Brazil
    5

    The Boys from Brazil

    Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason
    51 votes
    • Released: 1978
    • Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner
    Dr. Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck) clones Hitler 95 times, and hopes to raise the resulting boys in Brazil, giving them childhoods identical to Hitler's. His ultimate plan is to create a band of Nazi leaders that can continue where Hitler left off, forming the Fourth Reich. Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier), a Nazi hunter, learns of the plan and is determined to thwart it. When the two meet face-to-face in the home of one of the Hitler clones, it is up to the boy to choose who he will assist.

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  • Julius Caesar
    6

    Julius Caesar

    Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud
    44 votes
    • Released: 1953
    • Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
    Brutus (James Mason) is convinced by a scheming band of Roman senators, led by Caius Cassius (John Gielgud), that his dear friend Julius Caesar (Louis Calhern) intends to dissolve the republic and install himself as monarch, and he joins a conspiracy to assassinate him. Brutus stirringly defends his actions, but when Mark Antony (Marlon Brando) responds with a speech that plays upon the crowd's love for their fallen leader, a battle between the two factions is assured.