Gods and Monsters (1998) on Netflix
In 1957, James Whale, who once directed Frankenstein, lives with his housekeeper, Hanna. Frail after several strokes, he befriends Clayton Boone, the young gardener who poses for his sketches.
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Plot summary
It is 1957, and James Whale, the man behind Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, has long since left Hollywood. He lives with Hanna, his housekeeper, who looks after him faithfully but does not approve of his homosexuality. Strokes have left him weak and troubled by memories of growing up poor and an outcast, of his service in the First World War and of the making of his films. Hanna brings in Clayton Boone, a young gardener, and the two men form an uneasy friendship. Boone sits for the sketches Whale makes of him, and they talk about their lives. Impressed by Whale's fame, Boone watches Bride of Frankenstein on television while his friends mock the picture and his friendship with the older man.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Gods and Monsters (1998)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The nude sittings in the film echo the real James Whale, who had men and women pose for him. A collector who had bought several of Whale's paintings loaned them to the studio so they could be used in the production.
SPOILER
The real James Whale suffered strokes late in life that damaged his mental abilities, and he was found dead in his swimming pool. Rumours of homicide circulated, but the evidence pointed only to suicide.- Clayton Boone, the gardener at the center of the story, never existed. Novelist Christopher Bram, who wrote the source novel, has explained in interviews and on the DVD documentary that the character is completely fictitious.
