The World of Gods and Monsters: A Journey with James Whale

While rather short, this is a fair look at the life of James Whale, the director of the two good Frankenstein films and many other classics (some not as appreciated as they should be).

We never get into the full detail, and there is a good part of the time where the speakers are talking about making the film "Gods and Monsters" rather than the man himself, but you have to expect that, I suppose. A documentary focusing just on Whale would be incredible, though will likely never happen.

I especially love that this short look has Clive Barker and David Skal, two guys who know horror films and the importance of Whale on the industry. He was a key figure in horror history, not to mention a pioneer for gay Hollywood in his own way.

This making of documentary features footage from the film and on the set, interviews, stills of James Whale, his paintings, and trailers for the Whale directed Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein.

Gloria Stuart, who had appeared in The Old Dark House, tells how Whale helped her cope with the upstaging of Claude Rains as The Invisible Man, and there is an acknowledgment of Whale's gay sensibility in his best horror films which combine terror and comedy.

It is also pointed out that the novel Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram, on which Gods and Monsters is based, tells a fictionalised account of the 1957 death of Whale. Whale was found dead in his swimming pool, presumably a suicide since his health had suffered from a series of strokes, but the truth remains a mystery.

I enjoyed hearing much of the back story on the making of the "Gods and Monsters" movie and more about James Whale's life. I also found the details from his paintings quite intriguing. I couldn't find much information on the extent of his work in this area or an indication of how many of these works exist or are known. While I found an indication that they are considered by at least one person to be "amateur", the selections from this documentary show a quite possibly high level of accomplishment. Maybe what we're seeing is just very selective editing intended only to flatter, but it's difficult to exaggerate from nothing and that's not the tone I get from the movie. I for one would like to see more of the complete works for a wider perspective (er, um... so to speak).

The three paintings available on the James Whale.com site are somewhat disappointing examples when compared to the clips from "The World of...". I wonder if anyone has ever gathered a collection together for a show or a publication other than for this documentary short. If not it might be a interesting and worthwhile endeavor.

I'm hoping either of the directors or a producer might help shed some light on this. It could be a nice post, post-script on this very interesting man.