60). Dracula (1931)
Year: 1931Run Time: 75 mins
Genre: Horror, Drama
Format: Standard 4:3, B&W, Sound
Director: Tod Browning
Starring: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, Dwight Frye and Edward Van Sloan
I am pretty sure I have seen this movie over the years, maybe 10 times. Back in the 70s/early 80s I had ten minutes of this film on Super-8mm film. My parents bought me a Super-8 Sound Movie Projector back in 1978. Very high tech. In that film they managed to put together a pretty good story with 10 mins of shots and scenes to make it work for the then pre-VCR era of 1970s Home Theater. You have a little bit of the beginning when Renfield (Frye) and Dracula (Lugosi) meet and then the film jumps to London. Dracula meets Mina (Chandler) and Van Helsing (Van Sloan), and it ended with Van Helsing and John Harker (David Manners), hunting down Dracula and attempting to save Mina. The 10 minute Super-8 film was a nicely tightly wrapped package that was fun to watch on the garage wall outside at home when I was growing up.
Since those days of Super 8mm movies I probably saw the full length version of Dracula multiple times on VHS and DVD. I've even seen it on my 90-inch projection screen. So, yeah I've seen this movie a lot and still don't get tired of it. Despite the non-existent soundtrack, the film still holds up. So, for this most recent viewing it was interesting to watch this film in a new version with a new experimental soundtrack that was composed back in 1998. I always felt the silence of Dracula worked, because it enhanced the creepiness, a Tod Browning staple, but in some spots in the film the silence is too much. So, I thought it would be cool to see Dracula with a generous attempt at a soundtrack. Here is the version I saw recently in the past few days:
Full Film on YouTube with alternate score written in 1998 by Philip Glass and performed by the Kronos Quartet:
http://youtu.be/mwpCTYJpeNg
IMDB.com Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021814/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5
Wikipedia Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_(1931_English-language_film)
Roger Ebert.com Review from 1999:
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-dracula-1931
Tod Browning Wikipedia Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tod_Browning
Karl Freund Wikipedia Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Freund
Bela Lugosi Wikipedia Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_Lugosi
Bela Lugosi, Hollywood's Dark Prince Video from 1995 on Youtube:
http://youtu.be/qkO0-85qx1w
Edward Van Sloan Wikipedia Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Van_Sloan
Turner Classic Movies Film Article:
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/33868%7C0/Dracula.html
It was interesting to find out that Tod Browning wasn't a happy camper during the filming of this movie. I even read things that said he was barely on the set and the Director of Photography, Karl Freund, ended up Directing most of the scenes. Browning seemed disinterested and became even more angry when the Universal executives felt the Spanish-Language version of Dracula was much better than Browning's version.
Back in the early days of the Talkies Hollywood hadn't quite figured out that all they had to do for foreign distribution was to dub the foreign language right over the film, so, in this case, they hired a second cast and crew, used the same sets, costumes and script and re-shot the entire film in Spanish at night time, while Browning, Freund and Lugosi shot the American version during the day. They did this with most movies, however, most of these Spanish versions are lost to the decaying force known as time, but fortunately, the Spanish Dracula was found in a closet somewhere and we can enjoy both versions today and compare.
Spanish-Language Version Dracula (1931) Wikipedia Article:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_(1931_Spanish-language_film)
Three Minute clip on YouTube from Spanish Version:
http://youtu.be/qgDUuKCCeRc
IMDB.com Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021815/
Director: George Melford Wikipedia Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Melford
Dracula: The Legacy Collection on Amazon - Also Includes "Spanish Dracula", "Dracula's Daughter", "Son of Dracula", "House of Frankenstein", "House of Dracula" and "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein".
http://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Complete-Collection-Bela-Lugosi/dp/B00L8QOZ1A/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1413211500&sr=1-1&keywords=dracula+legacy+collection
For the research I did for this film (and the Spanish version), a lot of critics and fans, mostly from 1931, said that they felt the Spanish version of this film was better and bolder than the original English version and in my opinion that is pure crap. I think most of these critics were either Browning haters or Lugosi haters or just plain suffered from Dracula-Bela fatigue and embraced the Spanish version, because it was a new fresh look at the Dracula (1931), film. The Spanish language version had been lost for nearly 50 years, so other than those who saw it in 1931, no one had really seen it again until it was released on VHS in the 80s and DVD in 2004. I actually never heard of this, so, of course, I couldn't wait to see it. True, Director George Melford, did do some interesting camera pans and some cool camera trucking moves that framed some of the shots rather nicely, but it doesn't compare to the mood, lighting and atmosphere that Browning/Freund captured, plus there are plenty of amazing shots and panning moves in the English version too. I also read that the Spanish Crew would watch Browning's dailies and they would come up with new ideas and say to each other, "we can do better than that" ............... cheaters!
Anyway, we can debate more about the technical aspects of each film forever, but what really makes the English version so much better is the acting in the Spanish version is awful. Carlos Villarias as Dracula is pretty much a laugh-riot.
Pablo Alvarez Rubio, as the laugh-happy Renfield, is ridiculously over-acted and the rest of the cast is just there as window dressing, especially the actress (Lupita Tovar), who plays Eva (Mina in the English Version), who is very attractive and it is because of her that many of the critics say the Spanish version is more bold just because she wears her neckline down much further than Helen Chandler does in the English Version. "So what", I say. OK, the Spanish people in 1931 could handle cleavage better than American people could, but what does that have to do with how good the film is? At least there is one saving grace for the Spanish version. Barry Norton who played "Juan" Harker in the film is a much better leading man than David Manners' "John" Harker. Norton played his character tough. He didn't have his show taken from him by the older Van Helsing and he didn't seem any bit like a wuss that Manners did. Probably explains why Manners was a very vocal critic of Browning during the filming of the movie. He probably felt like Browning was ignoring him or something. Helen Chandler was a tougher dude than Manners was in the English version.
Barry Norton Wikipedia Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_NortonOne final thought on the difference in the two films. It was interesting that the Spanish crew shot all their footage at night-time, while the English crew shot all their stuff during the day hours and yet the Spanish version seemed way too much brighter than the original. Another positive note for the Spanish version is the continuity issues that Browning had with his film were addressed nicely in the Spanish Version. The Spanish version is almost 30 minutes longer and had a few extra scenes that Browning did not cover. The film is a fresh take on the 1931 Dracula experience. It does offer a unique perspective and does give use new things to look at and pick apart, but to say it is better than the original is like putting blinders on and hoping for the best.
In my opinion, the original English-Language version of Dracula still holds up. There are slow points to the film hindered by a lack of a soundtrack. Bela Lugosi, whatever the critics say, was the driving force through the film, so much in fact that he was type-casted for the rest of his life, but to that credit it solidified him as the iconic face of the Lord of the Undead and his likeness, along with Karloff as the Frankenstein Monster, is enshrined in the pop-culture conscience for all eternity. Classic irony at it's best. His portrayal of Dracula could come off as being overacted or cheezy to some today, but it worked for 1931 and having eternity as a bi-product of that isn't a bad deal at all. His facial expressions, the way he got his hand gestures to move with his creepy fingers and that Hungarian tongue all made for a perfect recipe and it helped a lot that the ladies liked his dark, tall look. But, for me the true gem of this film is Edward Van Sloan's Van Helsing. Sloan is the one character in the film who knows everything that is going on. He is the one that helps the less uneducated viewers (when it comes to the the topic of vampiric characteristics), understand what is going on ..... in detail. He is the one who becomes Dracula's most-hated enemy, an elderly man, who has the will and the strength to even fight the King of the Undead. Sloan gives a great performance and is the hero of the film who, fortunately, overshadows and drowns out the pussy leading man and often annoying and poorly directed David Manners who plays John Harker. Dwight Frye is good as Renfield, but I think he is much better as Fritz in Frankenstein (1931).
One thing I did miss by watching the 1998 Philip Glass version was the classic original Dracula theme (Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake), was missing from the film. That is needed, because it returns in Tim Burton's Ed Wood (1994) and screams Bela Lugosi.
Dracula (1931) Opening Theme on Youtube:
http://youtu.be/dxAEQgCuY4c
This is still a true masterpiece of classic film-making whether you give the credit to Browning or Freund. The sets, the lighting, the silence, the mood, all work to give a dark, scary depiction of what the collective conscience of pre-WWII audiences thought of this vampire phenomenon. True, the majority of audiences today will scoff at something like this, mostly due to ignorance and an inability to step out of the 21st century and place their minds in 1931. They can't appreciate that their companions in the audience back in 1931 made this film a box office hit and made Bela Lugosi a God of sorts. They are spoiled by the realistic CGI effects of today, removing the acting and script development of a bye-gone age and have a hard time understanding the true amount of work it took to make a film in 1931. I am a video editor and for me it may be easier to appreciate it, because something I can do in 30 seconds on a computer took all day or even all week to perfect in 1931. Well, watch Dracula (1931) and see what true art really is.
Dracula (1931)
Phil’s Grade: A-
Dracula Spanish (1931)
Phil's Grade: C+
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