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R: ARCHIVE, S: MOVIES, D: 06/10/1999,

Gods and Monsters

(Universal)

This is Bill Condon's screen bio of James Whale, the elegant (and flamboyantly homosexual) filmmaker of the original Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein. His career fizzled in the '40s, probably because of his homosexuality; in 1957, he was discovered dead in his California swimming pool. Gods and Monsters tries to fill in those last days, as Whale (a white-haired, dandyish Ian McKellen) becomes enamored of his new yard man (George of the Jungle's Brendan Fraser), who assures the horny old man he's straight. So instead, they talk. And talk. And talk. And the James Whale of this movie proves to be a dotty bore. But don't miss the re-creation of the Universal Pictures 1935 shooting of The Bride of Frankenstein, where an adult female is created for the Monster and where, coming to consciousness, she shrieks with abhorrence when she actually sees her would-be husband. Filmdom's all-time most potent Castrating Glance!