Dracula (1931) | |
| Director(s) | Tod Browning, Karl Freund (uncredited) |
| Producer(s) | E.M. Asher (associate), Tod Browning, Carl Laemmle Jr. |
| Top Genres | Fantasy, Horror |
| Top Topics | Based on Play, Book-Based, Monster |
Featured Cast:
Dracula Overview:
Dracula (1931) was a Fantasy - Horror Film directed by Tod Browning and Karl Freund and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., Tod Browning and E.M. Asher.
The film was based on the novel of the same name and also Stage Play written by Bram Stoker published in 1897 (novel); Oct 5, 1927 - May 1928 (play performed at Fulton Theatre, NY).
SYNOPSIS
The most famous screen version of Bram Stoker's celebrated tale launched Lugosi's career in the role he seemed destined to play. Browning had the right macabre sensibility and Freund's images are moody and shadowy. You know the lines by heart, but have you ever really looked at the scene in which Lugosi stands at the top of a sweeping staircase, haloed by spiderwebs, and intones, "I am...Dracula"? There was a Spanish-language version filmed at the same time that, with the exception of Lugosi's embodiment of the count, is considered superior. Try to give it a watch.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.Dracula was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2000.
BlogHub Articles:
Dracula Goes Mod and Mina gets Smitten, then Bitten
By Rick29 on Oct 19, 2026 From Classic Film & TV CafeChristopher Lee as Dracula.The idea of inserting Count Dracula into a groovy 1970s London setting was a potentially intriguing idea. Unfortunately, by the time Hammer Films produced Dracula A.D. 1972, the premise had already grown stale. The contemporary-set Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) and its 1971 ... Read full article
HORROR OF DRACULA On 35mm!
By Dan Day, Jr. on Aug 8, 2026 From The Hitless Wonder Movie BlogLast night I had the rare opportunity to see a 35mm Technicolor print of HORROR OF DRACULA in Chicago at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The showing was part of the Chicago Film Society's "Technicolor Weekend" series, in which a number of classic features were shown in their original color prints--a un... Read full article
TENDER DRACULA On Blu-ray From Severin
By Dan Day, Jr. on Dec 17, 2023 From The Hitless Wonder Movie BlogSo it's finally come to this. The most notorious title in Severin's CUSHING CURIOSITIES Blu-ray box set is the 1974 French film TENDER DRACULA, also known as LA GRANDE TROUILLE. TENDER DRACULA is known among Peter Cushing fans for being the strangest, and possibly the worst, movie in the actor's ent... Read full article
Dracula (1931): Starring Bela Lugosi
By 4 Star Film Fan on Jun 6, 2023 From 4 Star FilmsAs the story behind Universal’s Dracula unfolds, it’s a joy to pinpoint all the elements helping to intensify the dread and solidify it among the studio’s emerging array of horror classics. There has to be a kind of mythology and lore that the scares can be built out of. The protec... Read full article
Monsters and Matinees: Beyond Lugosi – 9 classic film actors who played Dracula
By Toni Ruberto on Nov 12, 2022 From Classic Movie Hub BlogSay the name Dracula and who do you see? Most likely Bela Lugosi. The Hungarian actor remains the face of Bram Stoker?s iconic character even for some who have never seen him play the role. So here?s a surprising fact that I have to remind myself of: Lugosi only played Count Dracula twice on film... Read full article
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Quotes from
Renfield: Yes. That's where I'm going.
Innkeeper: To the castle?
Renfield: Yes.
Innkeeper: No. You musn't go there. We people of the mountains believe in the castle there are vampires. Dracula and his wives - they take the form of wolves and bats. They leave their coffins at night and they feed on the blood of the living.
Van Helsing: What have you to do with Dracula?
Renfield: DRACULA?... I never even heard the name before
Martin: Aren't you ashamed now? Aren't you? Spiders now, is it? Flies ain't good enough!
Renfield: Flies? Flies? Poor puny things! Who wants to eat flies?
Martin: You do, you loony!
Renfield: Not when I can get nice fat spiders!
Martin: All right, have it your own way.
read more quotes from Dracula...
Facts about
While it is rumored that Bela Lugosi, could not speak English very well, and had to learn his lines phonetically, this is not true. Lugosi was speaking English as well as he ever would by the time this was filmed.
The shooting script features a scene not found in the film in which Van Helsing kills Lucy following her transformation into a vampire. In the scene, Van Helsing brings John into the graveyard to prove the existence of vampires. There, they witness Lucy walking into a mausoleum. After consoling John, Van Helsing pulls a parcel from his pocket and makes clear his intentions to follow Lucy and destroy her. At this point, the film was to have cut back to a scene of Dracula abducting Mina.
read more facts about Dracula...
