If you watch any of the classic Universal horror movies of the'30s, you're as likely to laugh as to shiver. The exceptions are thetwo monster movies made by James Whale, "Frankenstein" (1931) and"Bride of Frankenstein" (1935), which, after more than 60 years,still retain much of their spooky power.
James Curtis' James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters isthe most thorough account to date of the life and career of thiseccentric Englishman, who first made his reputation directing a wardrama called "Journey's End." Whale knew what he was dealing with:He had seen action on some of the bloodiest fronts of World War I.
The American success of "Journey's End" brought him toHollywood, where he put it on film.
Though picky about the quality of his projects, Whale waseclectic in his interests and might have continued directing thissort of picture if fanged and cloaked destiny had not been lurking inthe shadows. It was called "Dracula," and it had been Universal'ssurprise hit of 1930. Carl Laemmle Jr., son of the studio head,thought "Frankenstein" would make a great followup.
Today this seems like an obvious decision, but Junior, aseveryone knew him, met resistance at the time. "Dracula" had been astage success before it was filmed and was looked on as a fluke.Desperate to make his producing mark, Junior pressed on. Theoriginal director was to be the now-forgotten Robert Florey; BelaLugosi was cast as the monster. These ideas didn't work out, andsomehow Whale ended up with the project, "forced more or less againstmy will."
Well, Francis Ford Coppola didn't want to direct "The Godfather"either. These arranged movie marriages work out as often as anythingdoes in Hollywood, and Whale's romance with the horror film producedtwo deliciously weird offspring. It's difficult at this distance toappreciate how new Whale's films were. His moody, shadowed lightingand tilted angles were a shock. So were his graveyard settings andhis blithe playing about with corpses: This was taboo stuff in theearly '30s, especially with the undertone of sinister humor Whalebrought to the proceedings.
Whale's career didn't crash, it just sort of petered out. Aftermaking 20 features, he retired in the early '50s.
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