I must have peace and
this is the only way
James Whale
B: 22 July 1889
D: 29 May 1957 aged 67
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In an era when most homosexuals stayed prudently in the closet, James Whale was one of the few
directors, George Cukor included, who was open about his homosexuality.
He directed over twenty films, but is best remembered for seven made between 1931 and 1939,
works that include the classics FRANKENSTEIN / 1931, THE INVISIBLE MAN / 1933 and most
notably THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN / 1935, a film that in itself would come to play a major
part in Bill Condon's Academy® Award winning 1998 feature GODS & MONSTERS,
paying as it did a fictionalised homage to the final days of the man himself.
Yet it was the ill-fated sequel to ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT that would prove to be his
downfall, not on account of his direction, rather due to THE ROAD BACK / 1937 having faired
poorly at the box-office.
Yet the bitter irony was that this was to have been the crowning achievement of his cinematic
career, but upon his refusal to re-cut several scenes, the studio in effect took the project
away from him and in the process hacked both film and creative concept to ribbons.
Finding himself credited as the official liability for such, instead of the studios' butchering
of his original work, the once golden boy of Hollywood would in a matter of years effectively
exile himself from the industry, no longer able to command the key projects that interested him.
Seeking solace in painting, he lived the balance of his days staging the occasional play and
even directing the 1949 featurette HELLO OUT THERE; a film that was destined
not to see commercial release.
Suffering from a series of strokes during his final years and with his long-term relationship
with studio executive David Lewis in the past, Whale was to be found floating face down in
his swimming pool in May 1957, having long fallen out of favour with the studio top
brass, on account of his highly personal directorial style and sheer homosexual openness.
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