Dracula (1931)

Director:

Tod Browning
(more)

Writers:

Bram Stoker (by)
Hamilton Deane (from the play adapted by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

14 February 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Carl Laemmle Presents The VAMPIRE THRILLER! (original posters)

Plot:

The ancient vampire Count Dracula arrives in England and begins to prey upon the virtuous young Mina.

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Vampire | Count | Abbey | Undead

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	Count Dracula
Helen Chandler	...	Mina
David Manners	...	John Harker
Dwight Frye	...	Renfield
Edward Van Sloan	...	Van Helsing
Herbert Bunston	...	Doctor Seward
Frances Dade	...	Lucy
Joan Standing	...	Maid
Charles K. Gerrard	...	Martin (as Charles Gerrard)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anna Bakacs	...	Innkeeper's Daughter (uncredited)
Nicholas Bela	...	Coach Passenger (uncredited)
Daisy Belmore	...	Coach Passenger (uncredited)
Barbara Bozoky	...	Innkeeper's Wife (uncredited)
Tod Browning	...	Harbormaster (voice) (uncredited)
Moon Carroll	...	Maid (uncredited)
Geraldine Dvorak	...	Dracula's Wife (uncredited)
John George	...	Small Scientist (uncredited)
Anita Harder	...	Flower Girl (uncredited)
Carla Laemmle	...	Coach Passenger (uncredited)
Donald Murphy	...	Coach Passenger (uncredited)
Wyndham Standing	...	Surgeon (uncredited)
Cornelia Thaw	...	Dracula's Wife (uncredited)
Dorothy Tree	...	Dracula's Wife (uncredited)
Josephine Velez	...	Grace - English Nurse (uncredited)
Michael Visaroff	...	Innkeeper (uncredited)

Directed by
Tod Browning
Karl Freund		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Bram Stoker		(by)
Hamilton Deane		(from the play adapted by) &
John L. Balderston		(from the play adapted by)
Garrett Fort		(play script)
Louis Bromfield		contributing writer (uncredited)
Tod Browning		uncredited
Max Cohen		titles (uncredited)
Dudley Murphy		additional dialogue (uncredited)
Louis Stevens		contributing writer (uncredited)

Produced by
E.M. Asher	....	associate producer
Tod Browning	....	producer
Carl Laemmle Jr.	....	producer

Original Music by
Philip Glass		(1999)

Cinematography by
Karl Freund

Film Editing by
Milton Carruth		(film editor)

Casting by
Phil M. Friedman		(uncredited)

Production Design by
John Hoffman		(uncredited)
Herman Rosse		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Charles D. Hall

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Ed Ware		(uncredited)
Vera West		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Jack P. Pierce	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Scott R. Beal	....	first assistant director (uncredited)
Herman Schlom	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
John Hoffman	....	set designer (uncredited)
Charles A. Logue	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Herman Rosse	....	set designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
C. Roy Hunter	....	recording supervisor
Jack Bolger	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Jack Foley	....	foley artist (uncredited)
William Hedgcock	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Brian J. McNamara	....	digital restoration artist (remastered version)
Frank H. Booth	....	photographic effects (uncredited)
William Davidson	....	miniatures (uncredited)
John P. Fulton	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Frank H. Booth	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Joseph Brotherton	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
Roman Freulich	....	still photographer (uncredited)
King D. Gray	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Maurice Pivar	....	supervising film editor

Music Department
Heinz Roemheld	....	conductor (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	music supervisor (uncredited)

Other crew
Carl Laemmle	....	presenter
Carl Laemmle	....	president: Universal Pictures Corporation
Max Cohen	....	title designer (uncredited)
Nan Grant	....	researcher (uncredited)
Charles Logue	....	scenario supervisor (uncredited)
Dudley Murphy	....	continuity (uncredited)
Aileen Webster	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (as Universal Pictures Corporation)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1931) (USA) (theatrical)
• Croeze en Bosman (1931) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1938) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Realart Pictures Inc. (1951) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Screen Gems (1957) (USA) (TV)
• MCA Videocassette (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Studios (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Emerald (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1988) (Finland) (TV)
• Universal Pictures Finland (2002) (Finland) (DVD) (8-disc Classic Monsters Collection)
• Universal Pictures Finland (2004) (Finland) (DVD) (14-disc Monster Legacy Collection)
• Universal Pictures Finland (2004) (Finland) (DVD) (3-disc Dracula the Legacy Collection)
• Universal Pictures Finland (2004) (Finland) (DVD) (9-disc Original Monsters Collection)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2008) (2009) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Nonesuch Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

Runtime:

75 min (corrected release length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hungarian | Latin

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | UK:PG | USA:Approved | Sweden:7 | Finland:K-15 (2004) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Spain:T | Norway:16 (1931) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Netherlands:14 (original rating) (1931) | Brazil:12 | USA:Not Rated | Finland:K-12 (2013)

Filming Locations:

Chatham Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

A Spanish-language version, Drácula (1931), was filmed at night on the same set at the same time, with Spanish-speaking actors.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Pieces of cardboard placed on the lamps in bedrooms, apparently to shield lights for close-ups. It may have been intentional but no one in the cast ever notices.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Young Girl Passenger:[reading from a Transylvanian tourist brochure] "Among the rugged peaks that crown down upon the Borgo Pass are found crumbling castles of a bygone age."

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Bela Lugosi (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, WWV 96

A horror classic that still thrills and enchants! The most important and influential vampire movie ever made.

It's almost impossible not to love 'Dracula', a horror milestone that is the most important and influential vampire movie ever made. Bela Lugosi became a cinematic legend after this movie, and his portrayal of Dracula basically invented the modern vampire as we know it. Murnau's silent classic 'Nosferatu' was an obvious influence on Todd Browning, but while Browning was no James Whale (the innovative British director who made 'Frankenstein' for Universal a few months after this) he added a lot of his own style and ideas to the project, and Counts Orloff and Dracula are completely different kinds of creatures. Lugosi made his Count sophisticated, attractive and sexy, and this is what made this movie such a sensation at the time, and what helps make it still a wonderful viewing experience. Lugosi's performance is one of the greatest in horror history. Some of the other actors in the cast are a bit shaky but Edward Van Sloan as Van Hesling is excellent and Dwight Frye's Renfield (a different character from the book) is also memorable. Both actors would reappear in 'Frankenstein'. 'Dracula' is an important landmark horror movie, but even better, is still a fantastic viewing experience seventy years later. Don't just watch it because it's a classic, watch it because it's wonderful entertainment!