Dracula (1931)

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

Director:

Tod Browning

Writers:

Bram Stoker (by), Hamilton Deane (from the play adapted by)

Stars:

Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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)

Storyline

After a harrowing ride through the Carpathian mountains in eastern Europe, Renfield enters castle Dracula to finalize the transferral of Carfax Abbey in London to Count Dracula, who is in actuality a vampire. Renfield is drugged by the eerily hypnotic count, and turned into one of his thralls, protecting him during his sea voyage to London. After sucking the blood and turning the young Lucy Weston into a vampire, Dracula turns his attention to her friend Mina Seward, daughter of Dr. Seward who then calls in a specialist, Dr. Van Helsing, to diagnose the sudden deterioration of Mina's health. Van Helsing, realizing that Dracula is indeed a vampire, tries to prepare Mina's fiance, John Harker, and Dr. Seward for what is to come and the measures that will have to be taken to prevent Mina from becoming one of the undead.

---

Plot Keywords:

dracula | vampire | abbey | castle | alternate version | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hungarian Latin

Release Date:

14 February 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Drácula

Filming Locations:

Chatham Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$355,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Dracula and Renfield are traveling to London by boat, the footage shown is borrowed from a Universal silent film called The Storm Breaker (1925). Silent films were projected at a different frames-per-second speed from that later adopted for sound films, accounting for the jerky movements and quicker-than-normal action of these shots.

---

Goofs

The London girl selling flowers who is attacked by Count Dracula before he enters the concert hall can be seen moving while the policeman is blowing his whistle, even though she is supposedly dead.

---

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."

---

Crazy Credits

Joan Standing, who played Briggs, was credited as the maid, who was actually played by Moon Carroll.

---

Connections

Featured in Hollywood and the Stars: Monsters We've Known and Loved (1964)

---

Soundtracks

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, WWV 96
(1868) (uncredited)
Music by by Richard Wagner
End of the Overture played at a concert

User Reviews

I am Dracula....I Bid You Welcome

"Dracula" is a true cinematic classic that still hold up well today more than 70 years after its initial release. Bram Stoker's novel had been filmed before, most notably the 1922 German masterpiece "Nosferatu" with Max Schrenk playing the vampire as a monstrous rat like creature with no redeeming qualities.

Bela Lugosi rose to instant fame with his portrayal of Dracula, a part he had been playing on stage for several years. Lugosi's interpretation is that of a suave and sophisticated nobleman with a hypnotic stare and a cultured Hungarian accent. This made the character more appealing to the ladies while at the same time terrifying to the audience when we see the monster revealed beneath.

The story has the tragic Renfield (Dwight Frye) arriving in Transylvania to complete a transaction with the Count which will allow him to lease a English castle. Before they leave for England by ship, Dracula turns Renfield into a quasi-vampire who obeys his master's every command. Upon arriving in England it is discovered that all of the ship's crew have been murdered and only a raving lunatic of a Renfield remain alive.

Renfield is committed to a sanitarium run by Dr. Seward (Herbert Bunston). Dracula seeks him out and discovers Seward's comely daughter Mina (Helen Chandler) and her friend Lucy. Dracula quickly "kills" Lucy and sets his sights upon Mina whose fiance Jonathon Harker (David Manners) is baffled by her sudden change in health and personality. Seward consults with a colleague Dr. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) who quickly identifies the source of the problem as a vampire. They soon expose Dracula for what he is and......

The atmospheric sets of this movie set the tone for the story. Dracula's castle is dark, damp and web filled and his cellar is positively scary. So too is his English manor with the classic winding stair case leading to the cellar. The opening theme I found to be equally foreboding and frightening. I wonder how many of those early film goers realized that it was adapted from the classic ballet "Swan Lake".

Bela Lugosi should have become a major star after this film, but did not. His first mistake was the turning down the role of the monster in "Frankenstein" (1931). He did enjoy moderate success in the first half of the 30s playing various mad scientists and criminal masterminds. But he also accepted roles in several "poverty row" quickies which did little to advance his career. He had a brief return to glory in 1939 when he played "Ygor" in "The Son of Frankenstein" and again in 1948 again as Dracula in "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein". With his well documented personal demons, Lugosi wound up his career in cheap "B' movies ultimately becoming the "star" in some of Ed Wood's "classics". Oddly enough, though he was forever identified with the Dracula character, he only played him on screen twice, in 1931 and 1948 as noted. He did play "Dracula like" characters in MGM's "Mark of the Vampire" (1935) and in Columbia's "Return of the Vampire" (1943).

Dwight Frye almost steals "Dracula" from Lugosi with his portrayal of Renfield. He takes him from a young ambitious businessman to a half crazed lunatic and back again. After this and his role of Fritz the hunchback in "Frankenstein", this great character actor never again achieved such heights. A real tragedy. Oddly enough, Stoker's book portrays Renfield as a minor character and it is Jonathon Harker who makes the unfortunate trip to Transylvania.

Also filmed in a Spanish language version.