James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Bio!
Review: I just finished this book this morning, and I really enjoyed it. Having watched "Gods and Monsters" and read Father of Frankenstein last year, I was eager to learn more about James Whale and his films. This detailed biography offers more than the facts of Whale's life and works: it provides insight into the machinations of the Hollywood of the 1920's and 1930's. Highly recommended by this reader.

Rating:
Summary: DEFINITIVE BIO OF A GREAT ARTIST
Review: James Curtis's biography of James(Jimmy) Whale is completely satisfying as both biography and cinema history. Whale was one of the greatest-and most underrated-directors of all time. Many filmmakers who are widely considered the greatest do not have as many classic films to their credit as Whale. His ouevre is a testament to artistry that seldom exists today. His work, especially "Bride of Frankenstein" and "Showboat", deserve much greater recognition and should be theatrically restored and reissued. Curtis's book is thoroughly rewarding, and would be a good place for a major rediscovery of Whale to begin.

Rating:
Summary: Good biography, pity we don't know more
Review: This is a good biography and is very well written, a good read all around. James Whale is an interesting and worthy subject for a film biography, and here's hoping he finally starts getting the respect he deserves. My only problem with the book is that it often reads too much like a resume. It focuses almost entirely on how he directed his movies, but to make this a 5 star biography we need more information on what he did outside of directing (ie: his childhood and what it he did for those years when he found it hard to work). I suspect we don't get this kind of information because its almost impossible to research at this late stage, and not because the authour didn't try. Still, well worth the time of anyone interested in the era or the subject.

Rating:
Summary: Objective, Insightful Biography
Review: Written with detail, candor and insight, this seems to be the definitive biography of the interesting and eccentric film director. A highly readable account of the man and his movies.