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James Whale is a Director, Scriptwriter, Producer, Co-Director and Editor British born on 22 july 1889 at Dudley (United-kingdom)

James Whale

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Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 22 july 1889 at Dudley (United-kingdom)
Death 29 may 1957 (at 67 years) at Hollywood (USA)

James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his four classic horror films: Frankenstein (1931), The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Whale directed over a dozen films in other genres, including what is considered the definitive film version of the musical Show Boat (1936). He became increasingly disenchanted with his association with horror, but many of his non-horror films have fallen into obscurity.

Whale was born into a large family in Dudley, in the Black Country area of the English West Midlands. Whale discovered his artistic talent early on and studied art. With the outbreak of World War I, Whale enlisted in the British Army and became an officer. He was captured by the Germans and during his time as a prisoner of war he realized he was interested in drama. Following his release at the end of the war he became an actor, set designer and director. His success directing the 1928 play Journey's End led to his move to the United States, first to direct the play on Broadway and then to Hollywood to direct motion pictures. Whale lived in Hollywood for the rest of his life, most of that time with his longtime companion, producer David Lewis. Including Journey's End (1930), Whale directed a dozen films for Universal Studios between 1930 and 1936, developing a style characterized by the influence of German Expressionism and a highly mobile camera.

At the height of his career as a director, Whale directed The Road Back (1937), a sequel to All Quiet on the Western Front. Studio interference, possibly spurred by political pressure from Nazi Germany, led to the film's being altered from Whale's vision and The Road Back was a critical and commercial failure. A run of similar box-office disappointments followed and, while Whale would make one final short film in 1950, by 1941 his film directing career was over. Whale continued to direct for the stage and also rediscovered his love for painting and travel. His investments made him wealthy and he lived a comfortable retirement until suffering strokes in 1956 that robbed him of his vigor and left him in pain. Whale committed suicide on 29 May 1957 by drowning himself in his swimming pool.

Whale was openly gay throughout his career, something that was very unusual in the 1920s and 1930s. As knowledge of his sexual orientation has become more common, some of his films, Bride of Frankenstein in particular, have been interpreted as having a gay subtext and it has been claimed that Whale's refusal to remain in the closet led to the end of his career. However, Whale's associates dismissed the notions that Whale's sexuality informed his work or that it cost him his career.

Biography

Né le 22 juillet 1889 dans une famille ouvrière en Angleterre, James Whale doit arrêter sa scolarité à l'âge de treize ans pour travailler. Jonglant avec les petits boulots, il se découvre peu à peu une passion pour le dessin et la peinture. La Première Guerre mondiale éclate alors qu'il n'a pas 25 ans. Engagé dans l'armée, il est fait prisonnier par l'armée allemande. Emprisonné dans un camp, il découvre le plaisir du théâtre amateur. Cette expérience est pour lui une révélation. À la fin de la guerre, il devient dessinateur humoristique dans la presse et entame une carrière de décorateur pour le théâtre. Toutefois, ce n'est qu'à 40 ans qu'il a l'occasion de diriger pour la première fois une pièce, "Journey's End". La pièce rencontre un tel succès qu'on lui propose de la monter à Broadway. New York accueille la pièce avec triomphe. Un succès qui va bientôt le conduire à Hollywood. Abandonnant le cinéma muet, les studios californiens se tournent vers le théâtre pour trouver les dialoguistes des nouveaux films parlants. James Whale est donc engagé par la Paramount. À la suite du succès de Dracula, la Universal charge Robert Florey de tirer un scénario du roman de Mary Shelley, Frankenstein ou le Prométhée moderne. Mais les séquences ne plaisent pas à la firme et elle décide de changer l'équipe : ce sera James Whale pour la réalisation.

Atteint d’une grave maladie, il mit fin à ses jours, le 29 mai 1957 à l'âge de soixante-sept ans, en se noyant dans la piscine de sa villa de Los Angeles. Il a été inhumé au cimetière du Forest Lawn Memorial Park, à Glendale en Californie (USA).

James Whale était ouvertement homosexuel.

Adaptation biographique
Sa vie, à peine romancée, a été illustrée en 1998 par le film Ni dieux ni démons (Gods and Monsters) écrit et réalisé par Bill Condon d'après une biographie Le Père de Frankenstein (Father of Frankenstein, 1995) de Christopher Bram, avec Ian McKellen dans le rôle du réalisateur et Brendan Fraser, dans celui du jardinier Clayton Boone qu'il avait embauché et dont il tomba amoureux. Ce film a reçu plusieurs dizaines de prix, dont le Prix de la critique internationale du Festival de Deauville en 1998 et l'Oscar du meilleur scénario en 1999.