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:

Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

The story of the strangest passion the world has ever known!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Vampire | Count | Fiancée | Blood

Awards:

1 win

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		(casting) (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 supervision
Jack Bolger	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Jack Foley	....	foley artist (uncredited)
William Hedgcock	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
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	....	presents
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 (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)

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:

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 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | UK:PG | USA:Approved | Sweden:7

Filming Locations:

Chatham Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Edward Van Sloan and Dwight Frye also appeared in the horror classic Frankenstein (1931). They are the only 2 actors to have appeared in both films.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the street doors of the London concert hall open to admit Dracula, the orchestra can be heard playing Franz Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony". But in the next shot, an instant later, they are playing the conclusion of the prelude to Richard Wagner's "Die Meistersinger".

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:

Version of Hay que matar a Drácula (1968) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, WWV 96

A most palatable film!

Yes, after the "first two reels", this film is less effectively baroque, but it's still heartily enjoyable stuff, even if the finale is poorly handled. Bela Lugosi's performance as the good Count is so wonderfully definitive that it seems remarkable how many other actors have subsequently donned the cape. I've not seen any of the other versions, but I suspect few could match Lugosi's hypnotic display of acting. From the wonderfully eerie, sublimely photographed Transylvania scenes to the scenes in a London theatre, Lugosi is spellbinding. While he dominates the film, others make their mark. Helen Chandler is quite good as the unfortunate Mina Seward, Dwight Frye is wonderfully mad as Renfield and Edward Van Sloan is towering as Van Helsing. Certainly, there is a contrast in tone between the two parts of the film; the first nightmarish, eerie, mesmerising and very cinematic, the second more akin to a stage play, and rather more melodramatic, but it does come together in my view, as a most effective, likeable whole. It is all immensely helped by a quite wonderfully Philip Glass score, that perfectly complements and embellishes the images. In many ways it is typical Glass, and that is no bad thing, but the atmosphere the Kronos Quartet create is just right. Rating:- ****/*****.