Dracula (1931)

Universal's '30s monster movies are the rare works that overwhelm both source material and subsequent variations. Dracula and Frankenstein originate from classic novels, yet our image of them comes from Hollywood. And no matter how radically recent incarnations diverge from it (Twilight, True Blood, etc.), the stock vampire remains Bela Lugosi, slicked hair and clipped accent, admiring the "children of the night," swishing his cape and leaning hungrily over a sleeping Frances Dade...

Many modern viewers find Dracula (1931) stiff and dated. Certainly, after 80 years of parody and imitation, it can't but have lost some of its original power. That it's based more on Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston's play than Bram Stoker's novel accounts for many of the flaws. But there's still plenty to enjoy: Tod Browning's atmospheric direction, striking photography and Bela Lugosi in the role of a lifetime.

English realtor Renfield (Dwight Frye) travels to Transylvania, hoping to interest reclusive Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) in London's Carfax Abbey. Renfield falls under Dracula's spell and escorts the count back to England. Dracula, bewitching Lucy Wisterna (Frances Dade) before turning his attentions on Mina (Helen Chandler), fiance of John Harker (David Manners). Only Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) guesses Dracula's true identity as a vampire. 

Driven by budget more than dramatic considerations, Browning and writer Garrett Fort severely compress Stoker's story. They elide Harker's adventures in Transylvania, pare down the cast significantly and leaves several plot threads dangling. Censorship undoubtedly took its toll: Dracula's wives are reduced to walk-on parts, and much of the finale occurs off-screen. Worse, a transmogrified Lucy's seen terrorizing young children, yet she and her victims go unmentioned afterwards! Classic or not, Dracula's storytelling feels awfully sloppy.

It's also true, as detractors claim, that Browning's direction often feels static, matching Fort's talky script. But Dracula's far from boring. Photographer Karl Freund makes beautiful play of light and shadow, the Transylvanian moors and London's back alleys equally eerie. Dracula's castle presages even more impressive works in James Whale's Frankenstein films, a decaying monolith draped in cobwebs (though armadillos seem out of place). The foreboding atmosphere compensates for any plot shortcomings or lack of fancy camerawork.

Unlike Nosferatu, which made its ratlike Orlock an elemental evil, Browning makes Dracula an overtly sexual menace. Lugosi acts like a bloodsucking Don Juan, irresistible to women, foreign and exotic, a charming corrupter spreading a personal plague. He blends into society without being part of it, mixing insatiable blood lust with angst at his immortality. Let's face it: the brooding hunks of Interview With a Vampire and Twilight are but an extreme extension of Lugosi's characterization. No longer a feral monster, Dracula becomes urbane, sexy, fearsome but almost tragic.

Bela Lugosi earned cinematic mortality, with a role he never matched (or lived down). He'd assayed Dracula on stage, using his commanding presence and Hungarian-accented voice to great effect. Browning plays both aspects to the hilt, adding mesmerizing close-ups to the mix. From his clipped diction to his mesmerizing eyes, Lugosi commands the screen, charming and repulsive in equal measure. Lugosi did relatively few worthwhile films after Dracula, succumbing to drug addiction and winding up in Ed Wood movies. A sad waste of an actor who, in this role at least, proved himself an all-time great. 

Dwight Frye gets flak for his rambunctious performance, but it fits the role perfectly. Renfield is a raving madman after all, not a character given to subtlety. Less effective are Edward Van Sloane, a bland Van Helsing, and Frances Dade and Helen Chandler's nondescript females. Joan Standard and Charles K. Gerrard provide effective comic relief.

Dracula may disappoint viewers expecting a faultless masterpiece. How can possibly live up to its reputation? That movie remains entertaining is praise enough.