Dracula (1931)

It's getting close to Halloween, so it's time for me to get macabre. Last year I looked at Frankenstein from all angles, so this year I'll examine Dracula, from the novel, the precursors, and the major film adaptations. Of course, the most iconic one is the Universal film from 1931, directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the bloodthirsty count.

There had been vampire films before, notably the unauthorized F.W. Murnau film, Nosferatu (which I will be writing about shortly). But Dracula, based on the phenomenally popular stage play by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, has remained the standard-bearer. Many studios had been interested but backed off due to censorship issues. But Universal went for it, and while it is only remotely faithful to the novel, it has enough chills and atmosphere to make in interesting.

But the sad truth is that Dracula is horribly dated. Most of the film is very static--a drawing room mystery, as befitting its stage origins. The most interesting part is the opening, set in Transylvania, where a young attorney, Renfield (a change from the book, when it is Jonathan Harker who pays a call on Castle Dracula) ignores villagers' warnings and takes a mysterious coach up to Dracula's pad. The castle itself is an impressive set, with a giant spider web. Here is where we get Lugosi's iconic first shot, when the camera zooms in on him (cinematographer Carl Freund revolutionized the use of the moving camera) and he utters two of the most famous lines in movie history: "Children of the night...what music they make," and, "I don't drink. Wine."

Dracula has leased Carfax Abbey in England, and Renfield has brought the lease. But before he knows it, Dracula's brides, in a very spooky scene, descend on him, only to be waved off by the Count. Renfield goes mad, craving to eat flies and spiders, and is the only survivor of the ship that bears the boxes of earth that arrive.

The film then has Dracula making a meal of Lucy Western, and doing his work on Mina Seward (in the film, she is the daughter of Dr. Seward, who in the book is one of her many suitors). The problem for today's audiences is all the stuff happens off screen, and is described, most notably when Dracula offers Mina his blood. In the book, this always struck me as a metaphor for oral sex, but of course there's no suggestion of that here.

The novel basically has two themes, and I will re-read it and post here. One is the male fear of female sexuality. The "modern" woman was something of trend when Bram Stoker wrote the book. Also, there was a wave of immigration and an accompanying xenophobia, just as their was in the U.S. In the book, the Count is hideous, with hair on his palms, but by the time the play and the film version was done with him, the character had become a romantic figure (especially in the remake with Frank Langella).

Lugosi became a star from the role, which he originated on Broadway, but I'm amazed to report that he only played the role one more time, in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Of course he would be so identified with it that he was buried in a cape. I was interested to learn from David Skal's commentary that it was hoped Lon Chaney would play the part, but he died of cancer at age 47 in 1930.

Browning, who later directed the landmark Freaks, was a sloppy director. There are numerous errors of continuity,and in two scenes the cardboard has been left attached to lamps. Aside from Lugosi's mesmerizing performance (those key lights on his eyes are cheesy but effective) the acting is pedestrian. Compared to later Dracula films, whether they were from Hammer Studios or Francis Coppola's version, this one seems pretty tame. I mean, the fake bats are laugh out loud funny. But for 1931 audiences, I'm sure it was quite a fright.