Dracula (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Blood will flow freely in 1931's horror classic, 'Dracula' (directed & co-written by Tod Browning). After a harrowing carriage ride through the dark Carpathian mountains in eastern Europe, solicitor Renfield (Dwight Frye) arrives in Transylvania {against grim warnings from the locals} & enters castle Dracula to finalize the transferral of his new abbey in London to Count Dracula (the iconic Bela Lugosi), who is - in actuality - an ancient vampire. Renfield is then drugged by the hypnotic count, & turned into one of his 'servants', protecting him during his longgg sea voyage to England. After insinuating himself into London's society - and with the now insane Renfield in tow - Dracula befriends Jonathan Harker (David Manners, a horror film staple) & his lovely fiancee, Mina Seward (Helen Chandler).
He also meets Mina's father, Dr. Seward (Herbert Bunston) & Mina's innocent friend, Lucy (Frances Dade). After sucking the blood of-&-turning Lucy into a vampire, Count Dracula turns his astute attention to her young, virtuous friend, Mina. It is then when her father, Dr. Seward calls in a specialist, Prof. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan), to diagnose the immediate & dire deterioration of Mina's health. Van Helsing, realizing that Dracula is, in fact, a vampire, tries to prepare Mina's fiance, Jonathan, & Dr. Seward for the terror to come & the extreme measures that MUST be taken to prevent Mina from becoming one ... of the undead. It seems that only Van Helsing - who knows precisely what Dracula is - can halt this spread of evil. But can he do it?
'Dracula' is one of those oldie-but-goodie horror flicks of old that is utterly iconic while not actually being a 'great' film. The proceedings are a bit stiff & stagy. The script - mostly based on a play, and not Bram Stoker's book - is not the best {some odd dialogue & happenstance}. The performances vary wildly from excellent to mediocre. And the special effects are wonky {... that BAT!}. Having said all of that, the 'negatives' actually add to the appeal of this film and, it's a Classic despite them. Bela Lugosi stepped into the role of Count Dracula after director Tod Browning couldn't get his 1st choice of Lon Chaney {he had recently died}. Lugosi had played the role on Broadway for a while, but spoke very little English, so his casting was not seen as 'ideal'. Now, however, it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role -- he's superb as the slow-moving, terrifying, laconic vampire.
Everyone else in the cast 'gets the job done'. David Manners gave a few solid performances in his career (i.e., The Miracle Woman), and this is one of them too. Helen Chandler impressed me as virtuous Mina. And I loved Dwight Frye's wildly over-the-top, possessed, bug-eyed portrayal of Renfield -- he scared me nearly as much as Dracula. I also must commend the creepy, sinister mood & look of the film. To put it succinctly, it's incredible. In actuality, this film's look is the basis for all creepy, castle-bound horror films that have been made ever since -- it's that good. The towering castle, the enormous rooms, the dank corridors, the dungeon, the 3 female vampires who slink around in the long, flowing white gowns, the fog, the bat, the image of Dracula lingering in the shadows with his glowing eyes, the shot of Dracula biting one's neck ... all memorable & BURNED in our brains for all time.
I credit cinematographer Karl Freund with giving us the distinct look/feel of this film (he did this again a year or two later with The Mummy - starring the great Boris Karloff). Even the film's lack of sound makes the creepiness factor heightened. This is why I said that the film thrives despite its numerous flaws. Funny enough the same could see said of the 1992 version of Dracula starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder & Keanu Reeves. Perhaps there's something about this source material that makes it tricky to produce a truly stellar cinematic achievement. But I digress. Thanks to some haunting, unsettling imagery, the macabre ramifications of the plot, some memorable lines of dialogue; and despite the inherent problems in the script ... 'Dracula' is a chilling classic to savor.
He also meets Mina's father, Dr. Seward (Herbert Bunston) & Mina's innocent friend, Lucy (Frances Dade). After sucking the blood of-&-turning Lucy into a vampire, Count Dracula turns his astute attention to her young, virtuous friend, Mina. It is then when her father, Dr. Seward calls in a specialist, Prof. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan), to diagnose the immediate & dire deterioration of Mina's health. Van Helsing, realizing that Dracula is, in fact, a vampire, tries to prepare Mina's fiance, Jonathan, & Dr. Seward for the terror to come & the extreme measures that MUST be taken to prevent Mina from becoming one ... of the undead. It seems that only Van Helsing - who knows precisely what Dracula is - can halt this spread of evil. But can he do it?
'Dracula' is one of those oldie-but-goodie horror flicks of old that is utterly iconic while not actually being a 'great' film. The proceedings are a bit stiff & stagy. The script - mostly based on a play, and not Bram Stoker's book - is not the best {some odd dialogue & happenstance}. The performances vary wildly from excellent to mediocre. And the special effects are wonky {... that BAT!}. Having said all of that, the 'negatives' actually add to the appeal of this film and, it's a Classic despite them. Bela Lugosi stepped into the role of Count Dracula after director Tod Browning couldn't get his 1st choice of Lon Chaney {he had recently died}. Lugosi had played the role on Broadway for a while, but spoke very little English, so his casting was not seen as 'ideal'. Now, however, it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role -- he's superb as the slow-moving, terrifying, laconic vampire.
Everyone else in the cast 'gets the job done'. David Manners gave a few solid performances in his career (i.e., The Miracle Woman), and this is one of them too. Helen Chandler impressed me as virtuous Mina. And I loved Dwight Frye's wildly over-the-top, possessed, bug-eyed portrayal of Renfield -- he scared me nearly as much as Dracula. I also must commend the creepy, sinister mood & look of the film. To put it succinctly, it's incredible. In actuality, this film's look is the basis for all creepy, castle-bound horror films that have been made ever since -- it's that good. The towering castle, the enormous rooms, the dank corridors, the dungeon, the 3 female vampires who slink around in the long, flowing white gowns, the fog, the bat, the image of Dracula lingering in the shadows with his glowing eyes, the shot of Dracula biting one's neck ... all memorable & BURNED in our brains for all time.
I credit cinematographer Karl Freund with giving us the distinct look/feel of this film (he did this again a year or two later with The Mummy - starring the great Boris Karloff). Even the film's lack of sound makes the creepiness factor heightened. This is why I said that the film thrives despite its numerous flaws. Funny enough the same could see said of the 1992 version of Dracula starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder & Keanu Reeves. Perhaps there's something about this source material that makes it tricky to produce a truly stellar cinematic achievement. But I digress. Thanks to some haunting, unsettling imagery, the macabre ramifications of the plot, some memorable lines of dialogue; and despite the inherent problems in the script ... 'Dracula' is a chilling classic to savor.