Dracula (1931)

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

Directors:

Tod Browning, Karl Freund (uncredited)

Writers:

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

Stars:

Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners

5 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.

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Plot Keywords:

blood | vampire | abbey | castle | alternate version | 

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Taglines:

Carl Laemmle Presents The VAMPIRE THRILLER! (original posters)

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

When the innkeeper tells Renfield about Dracula, he holds his pipe in his left hand, except for one shot when it is in his right.

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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."

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Crazy Credits

The original title card has producer Carl Laemmle, Jr. identified as Presient (sic).

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Alternate Versions

Shot in two versions simultaneously, using different actors: the English language version with Bela Lugosi and a Spanish language version (Drácula) with Carlos Villarías

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Connections

Featured in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: House of Frankenstein (2011)

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Soundtracks

Moon Dust
(uncredited)
Music by Nicholas Flagello
[French version re-release soundtrack only.]

User Reviews

How can it not be a classic?

This is the movie that set the horror genre into action. Sure there may be a few campy scenes that look like they might be out of some high school play production (the rubber bats and armadillos in Dracula's castle come to mind), but there is an unmistakable suspense and eerieness about the film. If you are lucky enough to find the DVD reissue from 1999, you have three great versions: the original 1931 version with basically no background music, the 1999 rescoring of the movie by composer Philip Glass, and the extremely interesting Spanish version, made at the same time as the original (with totally different actors). If you have this DVD, watch the movie twice: once with no soundtrack and once with the Glass rescoring.... totally different movie. Glass' score is great, but it doesn't really help the movie at all (it actually hurts it in many cases). But the utter silence in Browning's original just makes my skin crawl! The acting is actually quite great (Lugosi is, of course, phenomenal as is Dwight Frye as Renfield). The fear, the suspense, and, believe it or not, the sexuality, combines for a great movie that was an unbelievable success in its first release ($700,000 in it first US release, $1.2 million worldwide). Not bad for a movie made 72 years ago!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hungarian Latin

Release Date:

6 March 1931 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Dracula

Filming Locations:

Little Europe, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$355,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$84,758

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