Father of Frankenstein

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Father of Frankenstein is a 1995 novel by Christopher Bram which speculates on the last days of film director James Whale. Whale directed such groundbreaking works as the 1931 Frankenstein and 1933's The Invisible Man and was a pioneer in the horror film genre.

In 1998 Ian McKellen played Whale in the film adaptation of Bram's book, titled Gods and Monsters.

[edit] Synopsis

James Whale has just had a stroke. He is convinced that his time has come to die. Increasingly confused and disoriented, his mind is overwhelmed by images of the past - from his working-class childhood in Britain to the lavish glamour of Hollywood premieres in the 1930's.

Whale asks his new gardener, an ex-Marine named Clayton Boone, to come to his studio for some portrait sittings. Boone is uncomfortable with Whale's homosexuality but also fascinated by the chance to know a famous Hollywood director and so, despite his apprehensions, the relationship continues.

Boone begins to think of Whale as a friend but one night after they return from a Hollywood dinner party Whale makes an advance at Boone.