HE was the Hollywood star, born in Marsh.

And James Mason is to be the subject of new research at Huddersfield University.

Now people living in Huddersfield are being asked to contribute with their views on what they thought of the hugely-talented actor.

Mason, who was born in Croft House Lane on May 15, 1909, starred in over 100 films from the 1930s to his death in 1984.

His films included The Desert Fox, North by North West, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

He was one of the greatest of British stars who made it in Hollywood and during his film career was nominated for three Oscars.

Prof Paul Ward, of the university’s Centre for Oral History Research, is studying the actor and wants to find out how the public viewed Hollywood and America through celebrities like Mason, with whom they had some local connection.

He would like to hear from any cinema-goers who watched Mason or anyone who recalls meeting or seeing him on his visits back to Huddersfield in the 1960s and 1970s. He want to know what people thought of the star– if they were proud that he came from the town, if they resented his earlier dislike of Huddersfield and his extended absences, or even if they were unaware that he was from Yorkshire at all.

Prof Ward said: “My previous research has been on national identities, about what it has meant to be British, for example.

“I’m now considering local identities and the way in which they are connected to the wider world, as media has developed to make the world smaller.

“Mason’s journey to Hollywood represents this globalisation of local feeling.”

Mason starred in a number of British films in the 1930s before being catapulted to international stardom after making box office smashing 1945 film The Seventh Veil.

For four years in a row he was Britain’s biggest box office star and drew the attention of Hollywood where he later moved to. His parents and one of his brothers remained living in Huddersfield and his career was followed by the Examiner.

Mason made a few hostile comments about Huddersfield early in his film career, but increasingly re-established his connection with the town, commenting in 1956: “I think Huddersfield is a bright, attractive, progressive city. I was eager to get away from the place when I was young, but it is good to come back again.

Contact Prof Ward on 01484 472452 or email him at p.j.ward@hud.ac.uk