James Whale (22/7/1889 – 29/5/1957)
was a ground-breaking Hollywood film director,
best known for his work in the horror movie genre,
making such momentous and iconic pictures as
Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein and The Invisible Man.
.
Probably the most controversial reason for the neglect of Whale, however, is ironically the same reason why he has received so much attention in recent years. James Whale was gay and, what is more, he lived openly from 1930 to 1951 with David Lewis, a producer who worked for MGM and Warners. Although his private life was quiet, Whale was still nastily dubbed “the Queen of Hollywood” in some gossipy corners. Being gay surely did not help auteurs from Hollywood or elsewhere. It took years for Murnau's homosexuality to be discussed. Edmund Goulding is still read as only a good “house” director of “women's films” for MGM, Warners and Fox. Mitchell Leisen has attracted some attention, but has long suffered from Billy Wilder's bitchy evaluations of his work and from homophobic dismissals of him as a decorator turned director. Still, both Goulding and Leisen did marry women during their careers, a move that surely helped “protect” them. George Cukor alone has received sizable attention among classical Hollywood's gay male directors. A wonderful talent (if a lesser one than Whale, I would contend), Cukor fits the model of the enduring Hollywood director. He lived long enough to be feted in interviews, and his works are easy to see. Although he came out (a bit) late in life, and hosted parties for men in his heyday, Cukor was in many ways more closeted than Whale, never having lived openly with another man. It was, after all, 1991 when rumors of Clark Gable's homophobia in having Cukor fired from Gone With the Wind came to light, whereas stories about homophobia contributing to Whale's decline existed long before that. (...)
In 1979 Clive Denton wrote that “The limitation in Whale's work is simply that he is more style than substance…He seemed able to identify more with the outlandish than with the everyday…He could create genuine pathos and yearning when dealing with a man-made monster, whereas he was not invariably so successful with characters born of women.” Referring to a camera movement in The Great Garrick, Denton continues, “The result is almost exquisite but also a trifle precious. In such a context, an unabashedly romantic director of the first rank, a Borzage or an Ophuls, would have sprayed away the slight whiff of canvas and greasepaint, by absolute identification with the lovers, which Whale cannot quite attain.” Such phrases as “more style than substance”, “outlandish”, “precious”, “the whiff of greasepaint”, less “successful with characters born of women” and “unable to attain absolute identification with [heterosexual] lovers” not only construct Whale as gay via a series of coded but derogatory labels, but homophobically use heterosexuality itself as the basis for artistic merit. The “unabashedly romantic” Borzage and Ophuls in Denton's reading are unabashedly heterosexual, whereas Whale fails as heterosexual and thus as an artist. Sarris' evaluation was not specifically (anti)gay-oriented; it just evokes, unintentionally, a common putdown: his classification of Whale as “Lightly Likable”, though not intended as homophobic (most of the directors in this category were not gay), nonetheless calls to mind one of the most common dismissals of gay male personality and industry: gay male artistry is characterised as pleasant, amusing, stylish, flitting – fun but essentially trivial.
by David Lugowski
Probably the most controversial reason for the neglect of Whale, however, is ironically the same reason why he has received so much attention in recent years. James Whale was gay and, what is more, he lived openly from 1930 to 1951 with David Lewis, a producer who worked for MGM and Warners. Although his private life was quiet, Whale was still nastily dubbed “the Queen of Hollywood” in some gossipy corners. Being gay surely did not help auteurs from Hollywood or elsewhere. It took years for Murnau's homosexuality to be discussed. Edmund Goulding is still read as only a good “house” director of “women's films” for MGM, Warners and Fox. Mitchell Leisen has attracted some attention, but has long suffered from Billy Wilder's bitchy evaluations of his work and from homophobic dismissals of him as a decorator turned director. Still, both Goulding and Leisen did marry women during their careers, a move that surely helped “protect” them. George Cukor alone has received sizable attention among classical Hollywood's gay male directors. A wonderful talent (if a lesser one than Whale, I would contend), Cukor fits the model of the enduring Hollywood director. He lived long enough to be feted in interviews, and his works are easy to see. Although he came out (a bit) late in life, and hosted parties for men in his heyday, Cukor was in many ways more closeted than Whale, never having lived openly with another man. It was, after all, 1991 when rumors of Clark Gable's homophobia in having Cukor fired from Gone With the Wind came to light, whereas stories about homophobia contributing to Whale's decline existed long before that. (...)
In 1979 Clive Denton wrote that “The limitation in Whale's work is simply that he is more style than substance…He seemed able to identify more with the outlandish than with the everyday…He could create genuine pathos and yearning when dealing with a man-made monster, whereas he was not invariably so successful with characters born of women.” Referring to a camera movement in The Great Garrick, Denton continues, “The result is almost exquisite but also a trifle precious. In such a context, an unabashedly romantic director of the first rank, a Borzage or an Ophuls, would have sprayed away the slight whiff of canvas and greasepaint, by absolute identification with the lovers, which Whale cannot quite attain.” Such phrases as “more style than substance”, “outlandish”, “precious”, “the whiff of greasepaint”, less “successful with characters born of women” and “unable to attain absolute identification with [heterosexual] lovers” not only construct Whale as gay via a series of coded but derogatory labels, but homophobically use heterosexuality itself as the basis for artistic merit. The “unabashedly romantic” Borzage and Ophuls in Denton's reading are unabashedly heterosexual, whereas Whale fails as heterosexual and thus as an artist. Sarris' evaluation was not specifically (anti)gay-oriented; it just evokes, unintentionally, a common putdown: his classification of Whale as “Lightly Likable”, though not intended as homophobic (most of the directors in this category were not gay), nonetheless calls to mind one of the most common dismissals of gay male personality and industry: gay male artistry is characterised as pleasant, amusing, stylish, flitting – fun but essentially trivial.
by David Lugowski
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