Dracula (1931)

Dracula (1931) Many actors have portrayed this the most famous of vampires over the years but the iconic image of Dracula will always be that of Bela Lugosi. His opera cape and Hungarian accent is what inspires little boys as they run around on Halloween night to this day. The film itself holds up rather well and though it diverged quite a bit from Stoker's book I still think it to be one of the better versions. Aside from Lugosi one other actor certainly stands out in that film and that would be Dwight Frye as Renfield who gave a fantastic portrayal of this crazed and tragic figure. Due to the depression the studio was forced cut back from it's original concept of a huge lavish production to go more in line of the stage production which resulted in no suitors for Lucy (not counting Dracula) and the final act is at Carfax Abbey instead of back in Transylvania at Castle Dracula. One of the biggest elements missing from the movie is the fate of poor Lucy, in the film we hear about her becoming the "Woman in White" who has been feeding on children, but that's the last we hear of her. So one can assume she's still wandering around the English countryside eating children.

Things I Love:
• Castle Dracula is infested with possums and aardvarks.
• Dracula gave a bee a coffin of its own.
• Renfield’s grinning visage when he is discovered in the hold of the schooner.
• Dracula’s first victim in London is apparently Eliza Doolittle.
• The hypnotic stand-off between Dracula and Van Helsing