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| James Whale 1889 - 1957 |
British born director James Whale will always be remembered as the man who made the original Boris Karloff FRANKENSTEIN. The film kicked off the whole Universal horror series of the 30's and 40's but I think it is fair to say that loved as some of those films are, none as prized as Whale's contributions. The jewel in the crown is undoubtedly BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, a film that Whale was actually reluctant to make. His other films are largely forgotten - except for SHOWBOAT (1936) and THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (1939) which remain the best versions of their particular stories on film. Ian McKellan portrayed James Whale in the 1998 film GODS AND MONSTERS, a fictionalised film based on Whale's last years and death. Films in my collection :
HELL'S ANGELS (uncredited) (1930) FRANKENSTEIN (1931) THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932) THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933) BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) SINNER'S PARADISE (1938) GODS AND MONSTERS (1998)
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| James Whale on the set of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN with Boris Karloff |
1 comment:
Ah yes, Jimmy. As a dyed-in-the-shroud horror fan, naturally James Whale looms large in my estimation (despite his relatively small output). While I, of course, have his horror films, I also have a few of his non-genre efforts (including WATERLOO BRIDGE which is one of his best). And I've gotta get me aholda THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK too.
The Whale films in my OWN DVD collection: MOBY DICK (just kidding. . .c'mon, you saw THAT joke coming a mile away), HELL'S ANGELS, WATERLOO BRIDGE, FRANKENSTEIN, THE OLD DARK HOUSE, THE INVISIBLE MAN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN . . . and of course GODS AND MONSTERS.
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