:31:01
that Whale identified with an individual
who is an outsider like this,
:31:07
that the average person
does not understand.
:31:11
I'm sure James Whale knew what
that felt like when he was a youth,
:31:17
as an artistically inclined person
in a factory town,
:31:22
in a factory family.
:31:25
He knew what that was like probably
well before he knew it as a homosexual.
:31:31
But it was also the artistry,
being an artist, being a sensitive person,
:31:36
being somebody who people made fun of,
for whatever reason.
:31:40
You find that in so many of the characters
in Bride of Frankenstein.
:31:44
The film also makes a serious comment
on the tensions, sometimes violent,
:31:48
between society
and the non-conforming individual.
:31:51
The monster is... the unleashing of the id,
that which must be kept under control,
:31:59
and when it's unleashed, this is a threat
to stability of society, of human nature.
:32:05
So somebody must come and
either kill or otherwise tame
:32:10
that monster that's been unleashed.
:32:12
And the villagers do that.
:32:15
The villagers in Frankenstein and in Bride
:32:19
are almost the villains of the piece.
:32:23
That's especially the case in the end of
Frankenstein, where they're a lynch mob.
:32:28
He had the idea that, when people thought
as a group, it could only lead to trouble.
:32:33
Somehow the mob mentality
was a scarier thing to face
:32:39
than any monster could possibly be.
:32:42
With Show Boat,
Whale had nearly achieved his dream
:32:45
of creative autonomy
and prestige productions.
:32:47
But Universal was burdened with debt
and in 1936 Carl Laemmle lost his studio.
:32:53
Whale had this amazing niche for five
years, working under Junior Laemmle.
:32:58
He almost acted as an independent
filmmaker today. He really had control.