In 1931 it was not a time where horror movies were at the height of popularity. People were not going out looking for the boogeyman and wanting to be scared at the cinema. It was the perfect time for Universal studios to release the classic monsters onto the silver screen to terrify a generation of fans around the world. The first to be released was the classic tale of terror by Bram Stoker about a man from a foreign land who is more then he appears to be.
Dracula was released in February of 1931 and starred Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi who had originated the role on Broadway in the hit play. When Tod Browning was asked to adapt it into a movie and Lugosi signed on the rest was history.
The story follows a young accountant Renfield (Dwight Frye) on his way to close an account in Transylvania involving some land purchased in London. Harker soon arrives at a castle and meets Count Dracula (Lugosi). He is eventually tricked by Dracula's harem and is sent back to London with the count in his coffin to wreak mayhem on the unsuspecting people of London. Upon arriving he meets several people including a young lady named Mina (Helen Chandler) who he falls for. It becomes clear that he wishes to turn her to a vampire so she may join him for all eternity. It is up to her fiancee Johnathan Harker (David Manners) and Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) to stop the foul beast before he can complete his task.
The reason that this movie has held up for 85 years is because people are still fascinated by the myth of Dracula and even more so vampires themselves. Even though if we found out vampires were real we would most likely do everything in our power to make sure they were destroyed we are still very much interested in all that they stand for and all the mystery that is behind them. It also can be said that Lugosi is giving the performance of his career in this film and has the character down so well that one would almost believe that Dracula was on set. It is a remarkable movie of its time that does not rely on a lot of special effects but more so atmosphere to deliver its scares. I remember when I was little and my parents bought me The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and Dracula on VHS. I never had a problem with the first two but Dracula always scared the hell out of me. I think the reason is that you couldn't reason with the other two and it wasn't there fault. With Dracula he was highly intelligent and charming and did it because it was fun. This film is almost a hundred years old and I think will still scare people a hundred years from the day it came out.
Well we have closed the casket on Dracula join us tomorrow when we travel to 1941 and see what happens when the moon is full. For High Weirdness I'm Benjamin Kolton reminding you "It's Only a Movie" "It's Only a Movie"
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