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).

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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 Cafe

Christopher 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 Blog

Last 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 Blog

So 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 Films

As 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 Blog

Say 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

Count Dracula: I am Dracula.
Renfield: Oh, it's really good to see you. I don't know what happened to the driver and my luggage and... Well, and with all this, I thought I was in the wrong place.
Count Dracula: I bid you welcome.
[Dracula goes up the stairs. Renfield starts to follow him. Suddenly, Dracula hears wolves howling]
Count Dracula: Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.
[Dracula goes up the steps and waits for Renfield, who, without difficulty, cuts open a hole in a huge spider's web using his walking stick]
Count Dracula: The spider spinning his web for the unwary fly. The blood is the life, Mr. Renfield.
Renfield: Why, er... yes.


Count Dracula: Listen to them. Children of the night. What music *they* make.


Count Dracula: [tries to hypnotize Van Helsing and fails] Your will is strong.
[tries to attack]
Van Helsing: [takes out a crucifix without fear] Indeed.


read more quotes from Dracula...

Facts about

Universal's original plan was to make a big-budget adaptation of "Dracula" that would strictly adhere to the Bram Stoker novel. However, after the stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression, Universal chose not to risk an investment on such a sprawling film. Instead, it adapted the much less expensive Hamilton Deane stage play.
After the death of Lon Chaney, one of the first actors considered for the title role was Ian Keith.
When Universal purchased the rights to the 1927 Broadway play, Lon Chaney was considered for the title role. However, Chaney died on August 26, 1930, and the role went to Bela Lugosi.
read more facts about Dracula...
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National Film Registry

Dracula

Released 1931
Inducted 2000
(Sound)




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Also directed by Tod Browning




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Also produced by Carl Laemmle Jr.




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