Gods and Monsters

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- He had a live-in nurse but...

- She was nothing but a bother.

I not like her.

Mr. Jimmy not like her.

It be better if you

live in again, Mr. David.

- Hanna, stop it.

- Shh.

If there's any emergency,

you call me in New York.

Yes, I call.

- Uh, Mr. Jimmy, more coffee?

- What?

Oh, well, yes.

Why not?

Just half a cup, Hanna.

Isn't Hanna a peach, hmm?

But she tells me that you haven't

been sleeping very well.

Well, it's these ridiculous

pills they prescribe.

For instance, the Luminal.

If I take it the next day I go

around as stupid as a stone,

and if I don't take it then my mind's

going off in a hundred directions at once.

Then take the Luminal.

Well, yes, but today I wanted

to be alert for your visit,

particularly as I saw so

little of you at the hospital.

Jimmy, look, I'm sorry, but with

this picture and two difficult stars...

Dear David.

It's no pleasure making you feel guilty.

Go on, off you go.

You don't want to

miss your aeroplane.

- I like your new Cezanne.

- Oh.

Well.

Good-bye, Hanna.

I get the door.

Who is this new yard man?

Mr. Boom... I, I don't...

Something "B. "

I hire him while you

were in the hospital.

He came cheap.

Bells of hell go

ting-a-ling-a-ling

For you but not for me

O death, where is thy

sting-a-ling-a-ling

Grave

where thy victory

Good morning.

My name is Whale.

This is my house.

- And your name is?

- Boone. Clay Boone.

I couldn't help but

notice your tattoo.

That motto... "Death before dishonor. "

What does it mean?

- It just means that I was a marine.

- Ah, the Marines.

- I suppose you served in Korea.

- Yeah.

Well, I'm gonna

get back to work.

Well, when you're through

feel free to use the pool.

And we're quite

informal here.

No need to worry

about a bathing suit.

I got another lawn

to do this afternoon.

Oh, well,

then some other time.

Yes,

keep up the good work.

Jimmy!

- Privy needs cleanin'.

- I have me class tonight.

Don't get above yourself.

Leave the drawing to the artists.

Quite so, Mum.

To the privy.

"Quite so"?

Jimmy Whale.

Who are you

to put on airs?

Jimmy Whale.

- Is there iced tea, Hanna?

- Yes, Mr. Jimmy.

- Ah, cucumber sandwiches.

- Mmm.

An interview, after so many years.

Very exciting.

Oh, don't be daft. It's just a

student from the university.

Mm-hmm.

This way, please.

- Mr. Kay, sir.

- Huh?

Oh, yes, of course.

Mr. Kay.

I'd almost forgotten.

My tea-time guest.

Mr. Whale,

this is such an honor.

You're one of my favorite

all-time directors.

I can't believe I'm meeting you.

No, I don't

suppose you can.

And this is your house.

Ah!

The house of Frankenstein.

I thought you'd live in a

great big villa or a mansion.

Ah, well,

one likes to live simply.

I know. People's movies

aren't their lives.

"Love dead. Hate living. "

That's my favorite line in my favorite

movie of yours:
Bride of Frankenstein.

- Is it indeed?

- Yes.

Hanna, I think we're going to take

our tea down by the swimming pool.

Would that be good

for you, Mr. Kay?

Sure.

- Well, lead on, won't you.

- Mm-hmm.

I love the great horror films,

and yours are the best.

The Old Dark House.

The Invisible Man.

They have style,

and they're funny!

So, Mr. Kay,

what do you want to know?

Everything.

Just start

at the beginning.

Well, I was born

just outside London,

the only son of a minister

who was also a schoolmaster.

Grandpapa was a bishop,

Church of...

Stop lagging behind, Jimmy.

We'll be late for church.

Come on!

Stop lallygagging!

Straighten up, son.

They'll think you're a Nancy boy.

Mr. Whale?

Your father

was a schoolmaster?

Yes, of course.

And I was going to go up to Oxford.

But the war broke out

and I never made it.

You cannot imagine what life

was like after the Armistice.

The '20s in London.

A break with everything

dour and respectable.

I had a knack

with pencil and paper,

so I was hired to design

sets for stage productions.

Ah.

Yes.

Help yourself.

Cucumber sandwiches.

Thank you, Hanna.

And you can go now.

There was one play

in particular,

a beautiful, grim study of

war called Journey's End.

Every experienced director

turned it down. Not commercial.

So I offered myself.

Journey's End made the careers

of everyone associated with it.

It was only a matter of time

before Hollywood beckoned.

How much longer before

we get to the horror movies?

Am I right in assuming, Mr. Kay, that

it is not me that you are interested in,

but only my

horror pictures?

No, but it's the horror movies

you'll be remembered for.

I'm not dead yet, Mr. Kay.

No.

Uh, I never said you were.

Or will be soon.

So, Journey's End brought

you to Hollywood.

I've got a little proposal.

This line of questioning

is getting old.

- Don't you think?

- I don't mind.

Well, I do.

Let's make it more

interesting for me.

I will answer truthfully any

question that you put to me,

and in return, for each answer you

will remove an article of clothing.

I thi...

That's funny, Mr. Whale.

Yes, it is, isn't it?

My life as a game

of strip poker.

Shall we play?

So the rumors are true then.

Oh?

What rumors would those be?

That you were

forced to retire...

because of,

um, a sex scandal.

A homosexual scandal,

you mean.

For me to answer a

question of that magnitude,

you'll have to remove

both your shoes and socks.

You're a dirty old man.

Oh.

Oh, it is kind of you to indulge

your elders in their vices,

just as I indulge

the young in theirs.

No, there was no scandal.

My only other vice.

I expect you'd like a fuller

answer to that question.

It'll cost you your jacket.

Too warm for

a jacket anyway.

You must understand how

Hollywood was 20 years ago.

If you were a star nobody cared

a tinker's cuss who you slept with,

so long as you kept

it out of the papers.

As for us directors, well, outside Hollywood

who even knows who George Cukor is,

much less what he gets up to with

those boys from the malt shops?

George Cukor?

Who made A Star is Born?

Take off your shirt,

and I'll tell you all about it.

George is famous for his

Saturday dinner parties.

Great writers, artists,

society folk,

all rubbing elbows

with Hollywood royalty.

But how many of those

oh-so-proper people...

know about the Sunday

brunches that follow?

Armies of trade

eating up the leftovers,

followed by some strenuous

fun and frolic in the pool.

Can we talk about

the horror movies now?

Certainly.

Is there anything in particular

that you want to know?

Will you tell me

everything you remember...

about making Frankenstein?

Ohh.

Can that count

as one question?

- Of course.

- I can't believe I'm doing this.

Just like going swimming,

isn't it?

Well, maybe you'd like a swim

when we're through.

I don't swim myself,

so the pool tends to go to waste.

Okay.

Frankenstein.

Who came up with the

monster's makeup and look?

Oh, my idea, mostly,

from my sketches.

Big, heavy brow.

The head flat on top so you could take

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