Humble origins of Hollywood legend
BLACK Country-born film director James Whale is one of the all times greats of Hollywood history. His pioneering films set new standards, defined genres and are still regarded as some of the best movies ever made. Yet he came from very a humble background, far removed from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood’s golden age.
Whale was born on July 22, 1889, at his parents’ home in Dudley. He was the sixth of seven children of William Whale, a blast furnaceman, and Sarah, who worked as a nurse.
James attended Kates Hill Board School, Baylies Charity School and, eventually, the Blue Coat School but he was unable to extend his time there as he had to earn money to support his family. He had a delicate build, unsuited to the heavy work his father and brothers did in the foundry, so he became a cobbler. He had artistic talents and made extra money for himself by sign-writing and producing labels for his neighbours. Whale used this extra income to finance evening classes at Dudley Art School.
Whale joined an officer training corps in October 1915 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Worcestershire Regiment in July 1916. In August 1917 he was captured in Flanders and spent the rest of the war a prisoner.
In the prison camp Whale discovered a talent for acting, set design and directing and he was involved in several productions by the prisoners.
After the war Whale tried to establish himself as a cartoonist, without great success, and so followed a career in the theatre. His big break came in 1928 when he directed the first performance of R.C. Sherriff’s Journey’s End. He then directed the film version which led to his Hollywood career.
Whale is best remembered for his four pioneering horror films for Universal Pictures – Frankenstein (1931), The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). These films defined the horror genre for years to come, their iconic scenes replicated in other films through the years.
Whale’s career declined in the 1940s and ’50s and he committed suicide at his Los Angeles home on May 29, 1957, aged 67.
In 2001 Whale’s home town honoured him with a memorial sculpture at Castle Gate.