Eleven years after World War One ended, there emerged a whirlwind of interest in the conflict, both on the stage and in film. One particular London drama on British soldiers on the front line struck a popular cord in the viewing public. War veteran R. C. Sherriff's "Journey's End" was a tremendous hit on the London stage. Writer James Curtis described the play as managing "to coalesce, at the right time and in the right manner, the impressions of a whole generation of men who were in the war and who had found it impossible, through words or deeds, to adequately express to their friends and families what the trenches had been like."
Two British film producers, Michael Balcon and Thomas Welsh, had plans to bring the play to the screen. Since the play had an equally successful run on Broadway, the pair decided to team up with small Tiffany Pictures and produce the movie in New York. The result was April 1930's "Journey's End," the first time a British and American co-venture made a talkie. "Journey's End" premiered in England on April 14 and in the United States the following day.
James Whale had directed both the London and New York stage plays of "Journey's End." The producers agreed since Whale was most familiar with the work, he was hired to direct the motion picture as well. A World War One British officer who began his acting career soon after the war, Whale also designed and built stage sets before becoming a full-time director. His assignment in New York to direct the film version of "Journey's End" was his first movie he had ever directed. However, at the time he received the offer from Balcon and Welsh, he was working with Howard Hughes as the "dialogue director" handling the sequences reshot from silent to sound in 1930's "Hell's Angels." While Hughes was tinkering around perfecting his aerial shots for the film, Whales was able to break away and start on "Journey's End."
Taking place in the trenches near St. Quentin, in March 1918 right before the surprise last push by the Germans towards Paris, Captain Stanhope (Colin Clive) has taken up drinking to calm his nerves after three years on the front lines. Most of the action takes place in the officers' bunker. The dialogue between the actors are mixed in with scenes of both real and simulated battle footage, highlighting the brutally the British soldiers faced on a daily basis. The play's author, R. C. Sherriff, was quite familiar with the war, having sustained a serious wound in 1917 at the battle of Passchendaele. He turned to playwriting several years after the war, with his first completed play "Journey's End" in 1928. Sherriff later had a prolific and successful career as both a playwright and screen writer. He composed scripts for 1933's "The Invisible Man," 1945's "Odd Man Out," 1955's "The Dam Busters," and was nominated for an Oscar for his 1939 screenplay on "Goodbye, Mr. Chips."
"Journey's End" was also very good for James Whale. With the success the movie enjoyed at the box office, Universal Studios offered him a five-year contract in 1931, giving him his choice of any film he wanted to direct whose rights it owned. He selected 'Frankenstein.' Whale went on to direct several more well-known classics, including 1933's "The Invisible Man," 1935's "The Bride of Frankenstein," and 1936's "Show Boat."
Two British film producers, Michael Balcon and Thomas Welsh, had plans to bring the play to the screen. Since the play had an equally successful run on Broadway, the pair decided to team up with small Tiffany Pictures and produce the movie in New York. The result was April 1930's "Journey's End," the first time a British and American co-venture made a talkie. "Journey's End" premiered in England on April 14 and in the United States the following day.
James Whale had directed both the London and New York stage plays of "Journey's End." The producers agreed since Whale was most familiar with the work, he was hired to direct the motion picture as well. A World War One British officer who began his acting career soon after the war, Whale also designed and built stage sets before becoming a full-time director. His assignment in New York to direct the film version of "Journey's End" was his first movie he had ever directed. However, at the time he received the offer from Balcon and Welsh, he was working with Howard Hughes as the "dialogue director" handling the sequences reshot from silent to sound in 1930's "Hell's Angels." While Hughes was tinkering around perfecting his aerial shots for the film, Whales was able to break away and start on "Journey's End."
Taking place in the trenches near St. Quentin, in March 1918 right before the surprise last push by the Germans towards Paris, Captain Stanhope (Colin Clive) has taken up drinking to calm his nerves after three years on the front lines. Most of the action takes place in the officers' bunker. The dialogue between the actors are mixed in with scenes of both real and simulated battle footage, highlighting the brutally the British soldiers faced on a daily basis. The play's author, R. C. Sherriff, was quite familiar with the war, having sustained a serious wound in 1917 at the battle of Passchendaele. He turned to playwriting several years after the war, with his first completed play "Journey's End" in 1928. Sherriff later had a prolific and successful career as both a playwright and screen writer. He composed scripts for 1933's "The Invisible Man," 1945's "Odd Man Out," 1955's "The Dam Busters," and was nominated for an Oscar for his 1939 screenplay on "Goodbye, Mr. Chips."
"Journey's End" was also very good for James Whale. With the success the movie enjoyed at the box office, Universal Studios offered him a five-year contract in 1931, giving him his choice of any film he wanted to direct whose rights it owned. He selected 'Frankenstein.' Whale went on to direct several more well-known classics, including 1933's "The Invisible Man," 1935's "The Bride of Frankenstein," and 1936's "Show Boat."