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Dracula

  • 1931
  • Passed
  • 1h 15m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
62K
YOUR RATING
Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931)
Theatrical Trailer from Universal Pictures
Play trailer1:50
1 Video
99+ Photos
Dark FantasySupernatural HorrorVampire HorrorDramaFantasyHorror

Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential vi... Read allTransylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.

  • Directors
    • Tod Browning
    • Karl Freund
  • Writers
    • Bram Stoker
    • Hamilton Deane
    • John L. Balderston
  • Stars
    • Bela Lugosi
    • Helen Chandler
    • David Manners
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    62K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Tod Browning
      • Karl Freund
    • Writers
      • Bram Stoker
      • Hamilton Deane
      • John L. Balderston
    • Stars
      • Bela Lugosi
      • Helen Chandler
      • David Manners
    • 659User reviews
    • 173Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Dracula
    Trailer 1:50
    Dracula

    Photos300

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    Top cast28

    Edit
    Bela Lugosi
    Bela Lugosi
    • Count Dracula
    Helen Chandler
    Helen Chandler
    • Mina
    David Manners
    David Manners
    • John Harker
    Dwight Frye
    Dwight Frye
    • Renfield
    Edward Van Sloan
    Edward Van Sloan
    • Van Helsing
    Herbert Bunston
    Herbert Bunston
    • Doctor Seward
    Frances Dade
    Frances Dade
    • Lucy
    Joan Standing
    Joan Standing
    • Maid
    Charles K. Gerrard
    Charles K. Gerrard
    • Martin
    • (as Charles Gerrard)
    Anna Bakacs
    • Innkeeper's Daughter
    • (uncredited)
    Bunny Beatty
    • Flower Girl
    • (uncredited)
    Nicholas Bela
    • Coach Passenger
    • (uncredited)
    Daisy Belmore
    Daisy Belmore
    • Coach Passenger
    • (uncredited)
    William A. Boardway
    William A. Boardway
    • Concertgoer Outside Theatre
    • (uncredited)
    Barbara Bozoky
    • Innkeeper's Wife
    • (uncredited)
    Tod Browning
    Tod Browning
    • Harbormaster
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Moon Carroll
    • Maid
    • (uncredited)
    Geraldine Dvorak
    Geraldine Dvorak
    • Dracula's Wife
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Tod Browning
      • Karl Freund
    • Writers
      • Bram Stoker
      • Hamilton Deane
      • John L. Balderston
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews659

    7.362K
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    Featured reviews

    7hagen2357

    Dracula Review

    Dracula is a figure that is known by virtually all and can be credited in large part to this 1931 classic. Bela Lugosi who plays Count Dracula is horrifyingly creepy and finding a better Dracula would be nearly impossible. From the first encounter between Renfield and Dracula to the closing scene, the audience is on the edge of their seats and don't know what to expect, which is an essential part of most horror movies. I was a big fan of this film not only because it is an American classic but because it is a true horror film. In my opinion, too often in horror films today, the story itself isn't scary at all. The experience of going to the movie theatre with a huge screen and incredibly loud speakers help scare audiences by having things pop out when you are least expecting it. I believe that anyone can make a movie like that and is completely insignificant. The story behind Dracula is truly creepy and horrifying. A great story like this makes this one of the most significant horror films in history.
    hausrathman

    Still the champ

    Bela Lugosi forever captures the role of a certain undead Transylvanian count who takes a trip to London in the first legitimate version of the classic Bram Stoker novel. Despite many attempts by many talented film makers, I believe this version, directed by Tod Browning, remains the definitive take on the often-filmed novel. But why? Is it simply nostalgia? Granted, I do fondly remember staying up late as a child watching this film on Ghost Host theater and finding myself suitably frightened. However, if I were the same age today, would I find the film as effective? Would a steady diet of more modern and explicit horror films made me too jaded to enjoy the more subtle charms of this film? I hope not, but I could see how it might. The film is slow, and its slowness is further emphasized by the absence of an under score. It is stagey - being as it was more influenced by the stage play than the novel itself. Also, the story plays itself out too quickly. Van Helsing manages to figure everything out and dispatch the count in about two seconds. There simply isn't much suspense - and even less gore or violence. Yet it remains the champ. Why? The main reason is Lugosi himself. He gives the performance of a lifetime. He truly inhabits the role and is genuinely creepy. The rest of the cast, particularly Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing and Dwight Frye as Renfield, support him admirably. However, when I watch the old Universal horror films nowadays, I find myself really enjoying the atmospheric sets and lighting. Yes, there is still much to love about Dracula today. (As long as you avoid the optional Philip Glass score on the DVD!)
    7Philipp_Flersheim

    Immensely enjoyable

    This is an immensely enjoyable version of 'Dracula'. It is not perfect, as I will explain in a minute, but the acting is excellent throughout. Lugosi, who of course plays the eponymous count, gives a performance that is equally cultured and creepy (as far as I know he pioneered this interpretation), and I also liked Helen Chandler as Mina, David Manners as Harker and Dwight Frye as Renfield. The story has been changed from Bram Stoker's novel, in part quite substantially so, but the changes work well. My one quibble in this context is that the ending of the film is abrupt and unconvincing. In want to avoid spoilers, so I won't tell, but at 1 hour 15 minutes I would have thought that a few minutes more to wrap up things and provide an explanation for one person's miraculous recovery/survival should have been possible. The photography is excellent, especially the scenes in Transylvania. I was initially startled to find an opossum and an armadillo in the Carpathians, but after all, vampire bats are from South America, too, so why not? Speaking of bats: director Tod Browning judiciously decided not to use special effects (for example to show how Dracula transforms into diverse creepy animals), but he did include bats flapping about, and they don't work. They really don't. They look like Tutulla the bat in 'Kleiner König Kalle Wirsch' by the 'Augsburger Puppenkiste' theatre that was on the TV when I was a kid (check it here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184133/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0; https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184133/mediaviewer/rm2171260161/). Bad idea, but still: Great acting, the plot works mostly well, and very good photography with a few limitations. In sum: a very good film.
    7AlsExGal

    Based on the Broadway play rather than the novel...

    ... and that explains all of the differences, such as Renfield being the person to visit Dracula in Transylvania to seal a real estate deal rather than Jonathan Harker.

    I imagine this was quite the spectacle in 1931. Visually it still is - sweeping staircases, ruined old castles covered in dust, moonlight illuminating giant spiderwebs, coffins with limbs hanging out of them, rats scurrying about. And Bela Lugosi, who starred in the Broadway play, was dying to play the lead. But director Tod Browning was set on Lon Chaney, a frequent collaborator, playing both Dracula and Van Helsiing.

    It's not true that everybody is replaceable, but it IS true that eventually an irreplaceable person will no longer be around and a perhaps less than ideal work-around must be found. This was the situation with Chaney - a unique actor who could convince you he was anybody. He died before Dracula was filmed. Lugosi successfully lobbied for the part, although he did so at a cut rate. Today his old world hypnotic presence is synonymous with the role.

    But I have to admit I have an unpopular opinion. To me Dracula seems very slow and very much "early talkie" in personality when compared to the film Frankenstein of just a year later. Also, like many early talking films that were not musicals, there is no score.

    And I have to wonder about director Tod Browning. Although this was Browning's biggest hit, his other enduring works all starred Lon Chaney. He only directed a few more films and disappeared from the industry for a quarter of a century until his death. He had a disappearing act worthy of Universal Horror.

    Things to watch for - Armadillos in Transylvania? Probably far too cold for them there. David Manners and Helen Chandler as young lovers Jonathan Harker and Mina - They have all of the chemistry of two cardboard boxes. Why did they keep pairing these two in films? Dwight Frye as Renfield - did Frye EVER get to play a normal person? And why would he want to be sent away? He gets to wander in and out of the lush living quarters of the superintendent f the mental facility. He wouldn't get that freedom anywhere else. And last but not least, Carla Laemmle, unrecognizable as a tourist, reading from a Transylvania tour guide.
    Shield-3

    The Flawed Masterpiece

    The 1931 `Dracula' casts an imposing shadow over the horror genre. It is, after all, the movie that launched the classic Universal horror cycle of the 1930s and 1940s. It is also a tremendous influence on the look and atmosphere of horror movies in general (and vampire movies in particular). It gave Dracula a look and a voice, and created a legend.

    Okay, so we know it was influential. But how does it work as a movie? Well… the first time I watched it, I was underwhelmed. The pace is slow. While Bela Lugosi's Dracula is menacing, the rest of the cast is colorless to the point of transparency. There are some good gliding camera shots here and there (thank you, Karl Freund!), but the majority of the film is locked into stationary medium and long shots. The film is tightly bound to its theatrical origins – director Browning has his characters look at things out of frame and describe them rather than just showing us, which would be much more effective.

    Fortunately, `Dracula' improves with repeated viewings. The glacial pace and lack of sound in many places gives the movie a nightmarish sense of menace. In fact, `Dracula' is somewhere between a nightmare and a piece of classical music – everything proceeds at its own pace, gliding through the motions, gradually building suspense and momentum until the piece reaches climax. The end result is a flawed but haunting, hypnotic masterpiece, and one of the greatest vampire films ever made.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Generally regarded as the film that kickstarted the horror genre in Hollywood.
    • Goofs
      In the scene where Van Helsing is attempting to catch Dracula's lack of reflection in a mirror, there are visible chalk marks on the floor showing Bela Lugosi where to stand for the shot.
    • Quotes

      Count Dracula: This is very old wine. I hope you will like it.

      Renfield: Aren't you drinking?

      Count Dracula: I never drink... wine.

    • Crazy credits
      The original title card has producer Carl Laemmle, Jr. identified as Presient (sic).
    • Alternate versions
      A version of the film played on the 10/24/15 airing of Svengoolie (1995) featured a soundtrack taken from the French language audio track on the Dracula Blu-ray.
    • Connections
      Alternate-language version of Drácula (1931)
    • Soundtracks
      Swan Lake, Op.20
      (1877) (uncredited)

      Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

      Excerpt Played during the opening credits

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 14, 1931 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Facebook
    • Languages
      • English
      • Hungarian
      • Latin
    • Also known as
      • Drácula
    • Filming locations
      • Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park - 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce, California, USA(Borgo Pass)
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $355,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $87,019
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 15 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.20 : 1(original release)

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