Bela Lugosi Week Film 1: Dracula

This week I've decided to do something a little different here at Blues In The Night. Every film reviewed this week will star Bela Lugosi. This is the first of 7 films I'll be reviewing starring everyone's favorite vampire. Lugosi appeared in films for over a dozen years before getting his big break... bringing his starring role in the Broadway play of Bram Stoker's classic novel to the big screen.

Dracula
1931 - Universal Pictures
Directed By Tod Browning



SYNOPSIS

Dracula (Bela Lugosi) leaves Transylvania for England with a man named Renfield (Dwight Frye) under his control. He soon finds Lucy (Frances Dade) and her friend Mina (Helen Chandler) and begins to prey upon them. Mina's fiance and her father bring in Dr. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) to investigate and he realizes Dracula is a vampire. Now they must stop Dracula before he kills Mina and turns her into a vampire.



MY THOUGHTS

I first saw Dracula many years ago after I saw Frankenstein for the first time and became fascinated with the old Universal horror films. I felt Dracula was the worst of the lot and hadn't revisited until now.

The film is very creaky and shows its age more than any of the other Universal classics. For being such a short movie (1:15,) it moves at a leaden pace, like many early sound films. Thankfully, Frankenstein (released just 9 months later) does not have this problem. I found myself checking my watch just 35 minutes into Dracula.

One of Dracula's big pluses is its atmosphere. The cinematography in this film established the look of all Universal's horror shows to come. The shadowy night, the ever present fog, and cobwebbed castles are just some of the staples introduced here.
The Universal horror films are not frightening or scary (maybe they were at the time) but they excel at being unsettling and macabre. It's all about mood.

Director Tod Browning excelled at telling dark stories for over 15 years before bringing Dracula to film audiences. Dracula's huge success granted him the power to make what ever he wanted to... and he made Freaks. It's the legendary/infamous melodrama starring real life circus sideshow performers. It sadly derailed his career and took decades before it was recognized as a masterpiece.



The film's other big plus is Bela Lugosi. It's certainly clear why this film made him a star. Every time he's not on screen, the film is a horrific bore. Lugosi can induce chills with just his stare (augmented by some perfect lighting highlighting them.) it's no wonder why so many characters fall under his spell. His screen presence allows him to dominate every scene. Lugosi doesn't display much of an acting range in the film, mostly he's there to look menacing and imposing and he does it very well.

His co-stars also help Lugosi to dominate, by giving very hammy, campy performances. They are all very theatrical and silent film-era acting style with hands flailing about and excessive emotions. Dwight Frye, as Renfield, is the king of that here. He's supposed to be a scary, insane man but you can't help but laugh at him and his beyond-over-the-top performance.

The film is much better than I remember it being, but it still is vastly inferior to the other Universal monster films to come.