Dracula

Dracula (1931)

A Film Review by Forrest Humphrey 

Many famous archetypes have an iconic figure. Detectives have Sherlock Holmes, Superheroes have Superman, Spies have James Bond, and Vampires?

Vampires have Count Dracula. Created by Bram Stoker in his iconic 1897 novel, Dracula might well be the most recognizable villain in the world, with more appearances in film, stage, television, novels, comics and any form of media one can imagine than maybe the aforementioned Sherlock Holmes.  His name is practically synonymous with the word “Vampire”, instantly bringing an image to mind of a tall, handsome man in a suit and cape with slick black hair and a thick accent.

That image is the iconic Bela Lugosi, who's imposing presence and Hungarian accent remain ingrained in the cultural conscious even nearly one hundred years later as one of the most famous portrayals of any character in cinema. “I bid you...welcome.” “Listen to them, the children of the night! What music they make!” “I never drink...wine.” Even with literal hundreds of adaptations coming out since this 1931 Universal classic, this is in the eyes of most, THE Dracula against which all others are measured, and with few exceptions, found wanting. 

Dracula is one of the most beloved of the classic “Universal Monster Movies' alongside his fellow creatures of the night like Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Mummy and The Invisible Man. Directed by Tod Browning, a talent from the silent film era, Dracula makes heavy use of older techniques thanks in large part to the fact the film is actually based on the 1924 stage play as opposed to being based directly on the novel. Such techniques effects include frequent close-up shots of the actors (allowing Lugosi to show off a magnificent death glare multiple times) as well as limiting special effects to the use of fog, lighting and flexible prop bats. While the fog and heavy contrast of light and shadow create an effectively creepy mood through the whole film, as one might expect the use of plastic bats on wires doesn't hold up well, but one need only remember that as I said, the film is nearly a hundred years old, and it becomes easy to forgive. More impressive however are the excellent sets and some lovely glass matte shots for the Transylvania scenes.

Aside from Lugosi, a couple of other performers remain standouts as well. Dwight Frye's portrayal of Dracula's minion, Renfield, is stunning as the actor evokes both disturbing insanity and emotional breakdowns, and Universal's go-to actor Edward Van Sloan (who was of Dutch descent, like the character from the novel amazingly enough), providing his usual blend of elderly wisdom and strong willed charisma. The others all perform admirably as well, though one will be hard pressed to enjoy Helen Chandler's portrayal of Mina Harker as the intelligent and resourceful woman of the novel is played here as a typical early-20^th century weakling prone to emotional fits, though Chandler did manage to be especially creepy when she was being turned into a vampire by Dracula, giving her fiance a freakishly hungry look as she pondered draining his blood. 

While mostly easy to follow, at 84 minutes there are some pretty big jumps in the story. The first few minutes establish Dracula has three brides, but they are never seen again after their first scene, and though the film mentions Lucy's transformation into a vampire and her habit of attacking children, she is never dealt with either. While not a problem at the time, in the modern age and our growing expectation for films to be consistent and detailed you will likely notice these gaps.

I tend to love talking about a film's musical score, but at the time, original music was considered too expensive to add to the film and thus, Dracula has no soundtrack save two orchestral samples for the opening credits and the opera-house scene that introduces Dracula to the rest of the cast. But there is one interesting note I want to add here, as in 1998 composer Phillip Glass (who composed the fantastic score for Candyman, previously reviewed on the blog) was tasked to compose a score for the film, and his tracks are brilliant thanks to the Kronos Quartet adding a string-ensemble to the film, adding more layers of atmosphere while feeling perfectly in-line with the time period. Listen to it if you get the chance, its a treat. 

Overall while the film has some admitted problems, there's a reason its remained so iconic 88 years later. Wonderful atmosphere through use of fog and lighting, and one of the most iconic film portrayals in history make this a must see on any horror film list worth its weight in blood.