Late Extra! DVD James Mason stars in this 1935 Newspaper Drama

Description

James Mason gets top billing in his first movie, playing an unscrupulous (shall we say, “too fervent”) newspaper reporter who is on the trail of a cop killer. Alastair Sim is fun in a minor role as a fellow reporter. There are some parts that seem quite silly by today’s standards, but the film has an exciting climax.

Mason’s first film role came in 1935. Late Extra was what was nicknamed a ‘quota quickie’. These were low-budget, speedily produced films made to satisfy the British Government ruling that a percentage of films shown in British cinemas had to be home-grown rather than Hollywood imports. Although not destined to become cinema classics the ‘quota quickies’ were a training ground for many young British stars -the cast of Late Extra for example included Donald Wolfit, Alistair Sim and Cyril Cusack!