Anything But Silent With live theatre organ accompaniment by Ben Model

In a rare Anything But Silent screening of an early sound film, we revisit the 1931 horror masterpiece, Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi

The first, and one of the most famous, of a storied and long line of horror films made by Universal Studios - eclipsed perhaps only by Frankenstein - this remains the definitive Dracula, thanks to Bela Lugosi's legendary portrayal of the Count. Bram Stoker's 1897 novel and subsequent stage plays, including a 1927 Broadway production starring Lugosi, helped to inform his cinematic approach to the legend. Director Tod Browning, cinematographer Karl Freund, and art director Charles D. Hall collaborated to create an eerie gothic atmosphere that perfectly frames Lugosi's performance. Unusually, Dracula did not have a specific score written for it and only two pieces of music are on its soundtrack: Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake during the opening credits, and the overture of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg during a scene at an opera. Film accompanist Ben Model will be on hand to fill the gaps by providing a live theatre organ underscore for the film. Dracula was selected for the National Film Registry in 2000. (USA, 1931, 75 Mins., English | Dir. Tod Browning)