I watched the 1931 Universal Pictures movie “Dracula” on Svengoolie. We see possums, armadillos, bats, and spiders while they talk about eating roaches, flys and we hear the wailing of wolves during the film. We also learn just about everything about vampires, from their need for their sacred earth, cannot be in sunlight, Wolf’s bane will repel them, they have no reflection, bullets won’t hurt them, a crucifix will temporarily force them back, they can transform into bats or wolves,
they feed on blood, they can temporarily hypnotize with their eyes, and they can be killed with a wooden stake through the heart. This is Bram Stoker‘s original Dracula story. Reinfeld goes to Dracula’s castle with real estate paperwork for a place in England. Reinfeld is attacked and goes insane on the trip back to England by ship. Once there Dracula meets Mina, Lucy, Harker, Dr. Seward, and Van Helsing. Once Van Helsing figures out that Dracula is the Vampire the hunt is on.
Listen to them, children of the night, what music they make
Count Dracula (commenting on the wolf howls)
Cast
- Lugosi, Bela as Count Dracula – (October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956) Dracula, Murders at the Rue Morgue, White Zombie, Island of Lost Souls, The Death Kiss, Night of Terror, The Black Cat, Mark of the Vampire, The Raven, The Invisible Ray, Son of Frankenstein, The Phantom Creeps, The Dark Eyes of London, Black Friday, Invisible Ghost, The Black Cat, The Wolf Man, The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Corpse Vanishes, Night Monster, The Ape Man, Ghosts on the Loose, The Return of the Vampire, Voodoo Man, Return of the Ape Man, Zombies on Broadway, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, Bride of the Monster, The Black Sheep, Plan 9 from Outer Space, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
- Chandler, Helen as Mina Seward – (February 1, 1906 – April 30, 1965) The Music Master, Dracula, A House Divided, Dance Hall Hostess, Unfinished Symphony, Mr. Boggs Steps Out, Renfield
- Manners, David as John Harker – (April 30, 1900 – December 23, 1998) The Sky Hawk, Journey’s End, Dracula, The Death Kiss, The Mummy, The Black Cat, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Lucky Fugitives
- Frye, Dwight as Renfield – (February 22, 1899 – November 7, 1943) Dracula, The Maltese Falcon, Frankenstein, The Vampire Bat, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, The Crime of Dr. Crespi, Son of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
- Van Sloan, Edward as Van Helsing – (November 1, 1882 – March 6, 1964) Slander, Dracula, Frankenstein, Behind the Mask, The Death Kiss, The Mummy, Murder on the Campus, A Shot in the Dark, The Black Room, The Story of Louis Pasteur, Dracula’s Daughter, The Phantom Creeps, The Monster and the Girl, Destination Unknown, Renfield
- Bunston, Herbert as Dr. Seward – (April 15, 1874 – February 27, 1935) The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, Dracula, Charlie Chan’s Chance, The Monkey’s Paw, The Age of Innocence, The Richest Girl in the World, A Shot in the Dark, Les Misérables, Cardinal Richelieu
- Dade, Frances as Lucy Weston – (February 14, 1907 – January 21, 1968) He Knew Women, Raffles, Dracula, The She-Wolf, Daughter of the Dragon, Big Town
- Standing, Joan as Nurse Briggs (in an error on the opening credits, she is misidentified as “Maid”) – (June 21, 1903 – February 3, 1979) The Loves of Letty, Pleasure Mad, What Shall I Do?, The Skyrocket, Beau Sabreur, Dracula, Goldie Gets Along, Jane Eyre, Grand Ole Opry, Li’l Abner
- Gerrard, Charles K. as Martin – (December 20, 1883 – January 1, 1969) His Brother’s Wife, Venus in the East, The Teeth of the Tiger, The Dangerous Maid, California Straight Ahead, Dracula, Devil’s Lottery, A Political Party
- Hobbes, Halliwell as Hawkins – (November 16, 1877 – February 20, 1962) Lucky in Love, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Devil’s Lottery, British Agent, Father Brown Detective, Charlie Chan in Shanghai, Captain Blood, The Story of Louis Pasteur, Dracula’s Daughter, The Prince and the Pauper, A Christmas Carol, The Sea Hawk, The Undying Monster, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death, The Invisible Man’s Revenge, Miracle in the Rain
The spider spinning his web for the unwary fly. the blood is the life Mr. Renfield
Count Dracula (commenting on Renfield getting through the giant spiderweb that he mysteriously passed though)
Bela Lugosi would actually only play Dracula once more in “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”, although he did play a vampire, Count Mora, in “Mark of the Vampire” (1935), and Armand Tesla, in “The Return of the Vampire” (1944).
I never drink … wine
Count Dracula
Dracula was produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. (King of Jazz, Frankenstein, Murders at the Rue Morgue, The Mummy, The Invisible man, The Black Cat, Great Expectations, Bride of Frankenstein) and co-produced/directed by Tod Browning
To die, to really be dead, that must be glorious
Count Dracula
(American film director, film actor, screenwriter and vaudeville performer and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer, Mark of the Vampire, The Devil-Doll). They shot this movie beginning on September 2, 1930, at Universal City.
The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him
Van Helsing
It took 36 weeks and came in a little under budget. Even though we never see the fangs that make the two puncture wounds on the neck you know they are there. I thought the movie was very haunting, creepy and the actors were great.
I’m sure audiences were scared in 1931 (probably some popcorn was spilled). This classic is great and I’ll give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Further Reading
Sources
- Vamped “The Vampire Films of Bela Lugosi” https://vamped.org/2014/11/30/vampire-films-bela-lugosi/
- Wikipedia “Bela Lugosi” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_Lugosi
- Wikipedia “Dracula (1931 English-language film)” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_(1931_English-language_film)
- IMDB “Dracula” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021814/
- Rotten Tomatoes “Dracula” https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1006234-dracula
- Britannica “Dracula” https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dracula-film
