James Whale: Director of Monsters Quiz

Answer: UK

Hailing from the English town of Dudley, James Whale was born into a solid working class family - a class of society from which he was desperate to escape. He would later find that the financial constraints of his upbringing would be replaced by the suffocating politics of the film studios, politics that would ultimately lead to the premature end of his career.

Answer: World War I

James Whale volunteered for and trained to join the British Army in the period 1914-1915 and the following few years would transform his life entirely. His experiences as a prisoner of war, detained in the German prison camp of Holzminden, elicited his deep desire to be involved in the arts and, shortly after the end of World War I, Whale went looking for work as an actor and director.

Answer: Journey's End

'Journey's End' told the story of soldiers involved in trench warfare during World War I. With the play being produced for public attendance just ten years after the end of the Great War, 'Journey's End' resonated with its audience. It was partly the play's relevance that led to it being so well received by critics. Both Laurence Olivier and James Whale were unknowns before 'Journey's End' but both gentlemen would later become involved in major cinematic projects with much larger audiences.

Answer: Hell's Angels

'Hell's Angels' was a 1930 film which followed the lives of World War I pilots. The film was mainly directed by Howard Hughes and featured the talents of the Blonde Bombshell Jean Harlow, who died at the young age of 26 in 1937. Howard Hughes was responsible for the film's silent scenes whilst James Whale was put in charge of the dialogue.

The military theme of this film was safe territory for James Whale after his involvement in the very successful production for stage and screen, 'Journey's End', a production that he would return to after the completion of 'Hell's Angels'.

Answer: Universal Pictures

The first film that Whale directed for Universal Pictures (commonly known as Universal Studios) was the 1931 production 'Waterloo Bridge'. The film starred Mae Clarke, who would later feature in other films directed by James Whale. Bette Davis was also an actress in 'Waterloo Bridge', though she had not yet gained the fame that she eventually achieved.

Of all of Whale's characteristics it was his frugal efficiency that impressed the chief of production at Universal Pictures, Carl Laemmle, Jr. Due to the high number of flops to come out of the studio, Whale's good use of funds was positively welcomed. So much so that Whale was given the opportunity to pick one of the films in the early stages of development at the studio to direct. His choice resulted in one of the most iconic films of the era.

Answer: Frankenstein

The year 1931 saw the release of two of the greatest classic horror films ever made, 'Frankenstein' (directed by James Whale) and 'Dracula' (directed by Tod Browning). The excellent performances put in by Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, as Frankenstein's monster and Count Dracula respectively, contributed majorly to the success of these films and, in so doing, aided in horror's transition to mainstream cinema.

Part of what made Frankenstein's monster so intriguing was its ghastly appearance, an appearance that was fabricated by makeup artist Jack Pierce. Even though Pierce was not as well known as his artistic creations, his role in creating the appearances of the monsters of classic horror must surely make him one of the greats in the field of makeup artistry.

Answer: Yes

David Lewis was a Hollywood producer who was involved in the 1948 film 'Arch of Triumph' which featured the talents of Ingrid Bergman, Charles Laughton and Charles Boyer. He produced a couple of other films but was not as prominent as his partner, James Whale.

There is debate amongst film critics and academics as to whether Whale's homosexuality influenced his work. The issue of whether or not there was a "gay theme" that was common to all (or most) of Whale's films is somewhat controversial and both David Lewis and Whale's biographer, James Curtis, oppose such notions. James Curtis made the very interesting point that if Whale's films were influenced by his personal life, the influence was more likely to come from his working class roots than from his sexuality.

Answer: H. G. Wells

James Whale was the director who brought H. G. Wells' 'The Invisible Man' to the big screen and the outcome was a great success. The film remained popular for many decades and in 2008 it joined the list of films preserved in America's National Film Registry. Other films directed by James Whale that have been selected for preservation include 'Frankenstein' (1931) and 'Bride of Frankenstein' (1935).

H. G. Wells is regarded as one of the science fiction greats and many of his literary classics have been adapted for the screen. Such films include 'The Time Machine' (1960, 2002) and numerous versions of 'The War of the Worlds'.

Answer: Germany

By 1937 the Nazi party (NSDAP) led by Adolf Hitler was well and truly in power in Germany. Some diplomats took issue with the production of 'The Road Back' due to its anti-Nazi bias, the book of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque had already been banned in Germany.

Due to financial instability, Universal Pictures had just recently seen a change of management and the relationship between the new chief at Universal and James Whale was strained when the demands of Germany were accepted. Whale was incensed by the notion that he had to change the content of some of the scenes and shortly thereafter the management team wanted to terminate their contract with Whale. In typical fashion he rejected any offers but Whale would no longer receive big films to direct.

Answer: Suicide

Whale suffered from strokes and depression in the years after his retirement. There were also elements of a midlife crisis, with Whale visiting France, becoming besotted with a gentleman in his 20s and taking him back to America. This resulted in Whale's partner of more than twenty years, David Lewis, moving out of their shared home, signalling the end of their relationship.

James Whale died in May 1957, aged 67, after committing suicide by drowning; the end of his life tragic but the magnificence of his work lives on.