"A director must be pretty bad if he can't get a thrill out of war,
murder, robbery."
James Whale-
A British-born actor, theater and film director, James Whale
is perhaps best remembered for his contribution to the horror genre directing
such classics as Frankenstein, The Brideof Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and a horror comedy film the Old Dark House. Whale discovered his
creative side early in life and studied art but with the outbreak of World War
I Whale enlisted into the British Army and became an officer. During the war he
was captured by the Germans. It was during his time as a German POW that he
developed a strong interest in drama. He lent his talents to the amateur
theatrical productions which took place in the POW camp working as an actor, a
writer, producer, and even set designer. After the war Wells attempted to find
work as a cartoonist however he was unable to secure a steady income. It was
then Whales began his theatrical career working as an actor, set designer and builder,
stage director and director. In 1928 Wales took over the directorial reins of a
then little known play called Journey's
End. It was the success of this play
that brought Wells to the attention of film producers. His timing could not
have been more perfect for it was during this time that motion pictures were
making the transition from silent to talkies and the studios were feverishly
hiring actors and directors with experience and dialogue. Whale’s first
Hollywood contract was with Paramount Studios where he worked as dialogue
director for the film THE LOVE DOCTOR (1929).
Whale was then hired by British producers Michael Baleen and Thomas Welsh to
direct the film version of Journey's End.
With the success of Journey's End both
in Great Britain and America Whale became one of the top British film
directors. Whale would go on to direct a dozen more films for Universal Studios
between 1930 and 1936, including such horror greats as Frankenstein(1931), The Old Dark House(1932), The Invisible Man(1933), and The Bride of Frankenstein(1935). It was
during this time he developed a style noted for it's highly movable camera technique and German Expressionism influence. Sadly, despite his
success as a director, James Whales film career took a nosedive with the
release of his film The Road Back
(1937). The Road Back was a sequel
to Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on
the Western Front (1930). During its production the German government which
was under Nazi rule at the time asserted that the film gave an "untrue and
distorted picture of the German people" and threatened to boycott all
Universal films if the film was not altered to show a more favorable impression
of Germany. As a result the studio execs caved in to
Germany’s demands and ordered a reshoot of the film's scenes and a radical
re-edit. Yet despite Universal's compliance with the Germans demands the film
was banned in Germany anyway and the German government also persuaded China,
Greece, Italy, and Switzerland to ban the film in their countries as well. The Road Back was a disaster for James
Whale and marked the beginning of his decline as an A-list movie director. He
was then assigned to direct a string of B- rated movies before retiring from
film in 1941. With the outbreak of World War II, Whale volunteered his talents
to make a training film for United States Army entitled Personnel Placement in the Army. He later teamed up with actress
Claire DuBrey and together they created the Brentwood Service Players.
Occupying the 100 seat theater the Brentwood Service Players would provide 60
seats free of charge to military personnel and the remaining seats were sold to
civilians with the proceeds were donated to various wartime charities.
Whale returned to Broadway in 1944 as director of Hand in Glove, a psychological
thriller. The play was a flop and ran for only 40 performances. Whale's final
film as director was a short subject based on the one-act play Hello Out There. Whale returned to live
in Hollywood in November of 1952 there he settled into a quiet routine with the
exception of throwing all-male swimming parties at his home. Tragically on May
29, 1957, Whale committed suicide by drowning himself in his swimming pool. Initially,
Whale's death was ruled an accident. It was learned decades later that Whale
had left a suicide note which his former lover David Lewis withheld. Lewis
finally released the suicide note shortly before his own death in 1987.
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