44. DRACULA
44. DRACULA
(1931)
Directed by Tod Browning
No character from horror fiction has been the subject of as many filmic interpretations as Dracula and no performance has defined the role of the Count in the popular imagination as much as Bela Lugosi's. He'd been playing Dracula in a stage version that began it's run in 1927 at the Fulton Theatre in New York but he wasn't the first choice for the part when Universal Studios began planning a silver screen version. They wanted Lon Chaney but Lon had taken his thousand faces into the afterlife by that point. Now the idea of Chaney in the role makes for some intriguing conjecture but Bela turned out to be a perfect fit. It's safe to say that Lugosi had a powerful connection with the role even though he would complain later on that his relentless identification as a bloodsucker ruined his chance to play serious romantic leads and such. But Bela was born to be in horror. Bela was Dracula. The undeniable high point of this movie arrives in the incredibly moody and stygian initial minutes when we see the crypt and the castle interior and the cobwebbed staircase and the brides. The eerie silence in these scenes delivers the shivers even now. Unfortunately the gothic majesty of the opening isn't sustained but Bela makes it all worthwhile, not to mention Dwight Frye's legendary unhinged performance of the fly eating basket case Renfield. No other Renfield comes close and his gets my vote for the greatest laugh in movie history. It should also be mentioned that "Dracula" made truckloads of money for Universal and inaugurated the parade of godhead Universal monster movies that continued through the decade. "I don't drink... wine."
(1931)
Directed by Tod Browning
No character from horror fiction has been the subject of as many filmic interpretations as Dracula and no performance has defined the role of the Count in the popular imagination as much as Bela Lugosi's. He'd been playing Dracula in a stage version that began it's run in 1927 at the Fulton Theatre in New York but he wasn't the first choice for the part when Universal Studios began planning a silver screen version. They wanted Lon Chaney but Lon had taken his thousand faces into the afterlife by that point. Now the idea of Chaney in the role makes for some intriguing conjecture but Bela turned out to be a perfect fit. It's safe to say that Lugosi had a powerful connection with the role even though he would complain later on that his relentless identification as a bloodsucker ruined his chance to play serious romantic leads and such. But Bela was born to be in horror. Bela was Dracula. The undeniable high point of this movie arrives in the incredibly moody and stygian initial minutes when we see the crypt and the castle interior and the cobwebbed staircase and the brides. The eerie silence in these scenes delivers the shivers even now. Unfortunately the gothic majesty of the opening isn't sustained but Bela makes it all worthwhile, not to mention Dwight Frye's legendary unhinged performance of the fly eating basket case Renfield. No other Renfield comes close and his gets my vote for the greatest laugh in movie history. It should also be mentioned that "Dracula" made truckloads of money for Universal and inaugurated the parade of godhead Universal monster movies that continued through the decade. "I don't drink... wine."
posted by scottra at 3:00 AM
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