FATHER OF FRANKENSTEIN

After reading Frankenstein: A Cultural History, I rewatched Gods and Monsters and then decided to read the Christopher Bram novel it’s based on. It’s a good book, but mostly what struck me when I read it was how great an adaptation the movie is—like, pretty much spot-on, to the point where I’m not sure you need to read the book if you’ve seen the film. One thing I did like better about the book is that Whale’s housekeeper is Hispanic, which is so natural for the L.A. setting, whereas in the movie she’s played as rather quirkily (almost distractingly) Germanic by Lynn Redgrave; I would have rather seen the part cast with a Hispanic actress, and think that in seizing the opportunity to get a big name like Redgrave (even though she is brilliant), the filmmakers undermined the character a little—I found her more likeable in the book). Also, it’s much clearer in the book that the final climactic scene between Whale and Boone is something Whale’s been planning for a while, rather than something that spontaneously happens in the heat of the moment. But I do have to admit that Gods and Monsters is a much better title than Father of Frankenstein, and in fact I see that the current edition of the book is being sold with that title. The weirdest thing about this book is that it takes place at 788 Amalfi Drive in Pacific Palisades, and when I was in the middle of reading it, I attended a party at 1310 Amalfi Drive! Unfortunately I didn’t notice the coincidence until I got home from the party; otherwise, I certainly would have seized the chance to drive by James Whale’s house, the site of his tragic end (he drowned himself in the pool).