Showing on TCM Friday 30th August at 19.25
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Dracula 1931
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Bela Lugosi was far from any second choice after Chaney, notwithstanding his stage success in the role. I think Ian Keith was in the running at one point, among several others. Gary D. Rhodes' Tod Browning's Dracula and David J. Skal's Hollywood Gothic are fascinating reads in this connection.
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Originally posted by tv horror View PostOne of those mentioned was Conrad Veidt, I would have loved to have seen him in the role, yes Lugosi is iconic but Veidt would have been more menacing especially after seeing him in The Spy in black or as Jaffar.
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I saw a documentary about this film many years ago. It explained that director Tod Browning had started in theatre, and that when he made the film, there were many static scenes where he just set the camera rolling and left it at that. He didn't understand how to pan in order to use it dynamically and add to the drama and atmosphere. That explained a lot to me, as I did find the film rather slow and static. It does have its moments, of course. Lugosi I find rather hammy, but in an enjoyable way. I prefer the Hammer versions, but these days I only watch two: the 1958 version and 'Brides of Dracula'.
"I don't drink ... wine", says Lugosi. I agree. A nice glass of rhesus negative goes down very nicely, thank you.
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Whatever one may or may not say about Lugosi's performance, back in 1931 he scared the pants off of the cinema audience back in those days, particularly in the opening scenes. I can remember many years back as a youngster talking to relatives who had seen the film when it came out and being quite frightened just listening to their descriptions.
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Originally posted by garth View PostI saw a documentary about this film many years ago. It explained that director Tod Browning had started in theatre, and that when he made the film, there were many static scenes where he just set the camera rolling and left it at that. He didn't understand how to pan in order to use it dynamically and add to the drama and atmosphere. That explained a lot to me, as I did find the film rather slow and static. It does have its moments, of course. Lugosi I find rather hammy, but in an enjoyable way. I prefer the Hammer versions, but these days I only watch two: the 1958 version and 'Brides of Dracula'.
"I don't drink ... wine", says Lugosi. I agree. A nice glass of rhesus negative goes down very nicely, thank you.
Other explanations which, to me, stack up rather better are that Browning's Dracula was a very early sound production and the director was hamstrung by restrictions imposed by the technology, the noisy camera being encased in a glass booth to stop the row of its workings being picked up by the microphones. Also, Universal lost confidence in the project and cut the budget to the bone.
Of course, neither of these explain why the Spanish-language version, shot on the same sets at night by director George Melford, is rather more lively than Browning's film,
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Originally posted by garth View PostThank you for the extra info, Ian. Yes, that would make sense. The film still represents a landmark in horror films, of course, and as cassidy says, it certainly made an impact in its day.
Poor Bela was not well treated by Universal, who dropped him when Britain banned horror movies later in the 1930s, making their production uneconomical to the studio. When he was brought back for 1939's Son of Frankenstein they took every opportunity to pay him the bare minimum they could get away with.
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Originally posted by garth View Post
"I don't drink ... wine", says Lugosi. I agree. A nice glass of rhesus negative goes down very nicely, thank you.
As for Tod Browning, I think it was his film Freaks (1932) which practically finished off his movie career, as the film proved to be highly controversial. I remember catching this film late one night on the TCM channel, although I suspect it may have been an edited version as I imagine the film would have received extensive cuts prior to being released.
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