DRACULA is the film that got me into classic horror, period. I have seen this movie I don’t know how many dozens of times, but it’s one of those films I have almost memorized. A couple of decades ago I was in college and Universal was releasing, once again, their monster films on VHS and for the first time, on this brand new DVD format. In the bookstore there was a big display selling all the monster movies and I thought it looked cool, so on a whim I bought a VHS copy of DRACULA. I have been a fan of this movie, horror films and Bela Lugosi ever since. So yeah, there’s some emotional attachment I have to this movie which will color my review. That said, I think DRACULA does need some genuine defending, as it’s reputation is a culturally important film that is severely flawed. I will do my best to explain how the morality of 1931 colors this film and a few others of the era versus today, giving DRACULA some much needed context. I will also state the obvious that Bela Lugosi as Dracula freakin’ rules.
Let’s get David Manners (Jonathan) and Helen Chandler (Mina) out of the way first. Both of these characters, the lovers, are among the least loved in horror films and these two routinely get panned in modern reviews. I do see a legitimate point to these two characters and the point is that Dracula preys on innocence who are woefully incapable and nowhere near worldly enough, unlike a Professor Van Helsing, to defend themselves. Most people, when DRACULA was made, did not have sex until their wedding night and a 1931 audience was expected to understand this without saying concerning Jonathan and Mina. I think this gets lost on modern audiences because today we are so used to seeing in horror movies teenagers screwing in the back seat of a car while being hacked up with meat cleavers. Religious attitudes and morality of the time colored films like DRACULA different than what we see today. Dracula destroys repression and innocence. Mina, for the most part, is very proper and cold, but notice the way her face lights up and her breathing gets heavier in the part where Dracula is complimenting her, the contrast is obvious. Also, later on, when she is under Dracula’s spell, she is more flirtatious. It’s as if Jonathan is still innocent and has no idea what to do when his girl looks at him lustfully. He’s still in grabbing her stars from the sky mode. So yes, Jonathan and Mina are the easy prey for Dracula, virginal and innocent who need all the protection they can get.
Now that my take on Jonathan and Mina has been discussed, the other prevailing thought on DRACULA is that the first twenty minutes to a half hour are fantastic and the rest of the film is too stage bound. While I enjoy the vast majority of DRACULA, there is no doubt most of the best stuff is in the beginning. The atmosphere is out of this world. I think the lack of music soundtrack gives this film an eerie stillness which lends a certain realism. A detriment to some, I view this as a plus. The film starts in an old world European village that looks fantastic, believable and the villagers all play the part. No English accents here. Michael Visaroff’s speech explaining the vampire lore is a lot of fun and once again, religion is established right away. The man in the carriage mentions praying to The Virgin (Mary) and we then see a woman in the corner praying a Rosary - these are old school Eastern European Catholics looking to God to protect them from Satan himself, who in this case is Lugosi’s Dracula. What does Dracula fear? The cross. Exactly what the old villager lady gives Renfield to protect himself. Again, the use of religious symbols and morals is one of the things that distinguishes old horror films from more modern ones and DRACULA is one of many examples we will discuss.
The Borgo Pass scene is as foggy and windy as it needs to be, setting the proper atmosphere. Kudos to art director Charles Hall for the look of this film throughout, he really is a legend for all the films he’s worked on. Anyway, The Borgo Pass scene, more than any other, is inspired by F.W. Murnau’s NOSFERATU, with Dracula as the carriage driver going too fast for comfort - love the bat he turns into as well. A spooky scene in both films and from there on we get to Castle Dracula which again is awesome from both the outside and inside. Love the way the doors creakily open for Dracula without him touching them, it lends a supernatural credibility to the character. Also notice every time a wolf howls, Dracula shows up right after, a very effective and subtle touch as a wolf is a signifier for one of the forms Dracula can take. Once inside, the pure size of the castle is shown effectively in long shot, interspersed with all kind of close ups of creatures and yes, I even like the armadillos. So many people complain about them but to me it just makes the atmosphere of this place that much more bizarre.
Speaking of bizarre, there is Lugosi’s iconic performance. Delivering iconic line after iconic line with a bizarre cadence (children of the night, never drink wine), Lugosi really is a unique presence. Nobody phrases a line like the guy, his accent is very distinctive, his facial expressions are very distinctive, he is a unique presence unto himself. So many people have played Dracula over the years and a lot of them very well, but Lugosi’s performance is still a stand out that one cannot easily forget. As bizarre as Lugosi’s line readings are, Dwight Frye’s reactions to them show his Renfield character to be completely uncomfortable with the way Dracula is acting, selling the Dracula character perfectly. This is a bizarre, otherworldly, strange presence we are dealing with and Frye’s reactions are perfectly in key and important to making the scene effective. Also cool in this scene are a Dracula’s silent brides, and the ending of this scene where Renfield faints and Dracula, in an effectively foggy doorway, shoos the brides away with a mere dominant arm wave gesture so he can bite Renfield’s neck, is one of my favorite parts of the film. Again, the lack of a soundtrack works here, no music in the world can make this scene creepier.
As for the rest of the film, yes, it is more stage bound, probably based on a few factors. It’s an early talkie and DRACULA was based on a stage play which Lugosi himself was playing for years. I do think the strength of the second half is dependent of the performers itself. For example, while cinematically the scene where Dracula tries to hypnotize Edward Van Sloan’s Van Helsing is pretty static, the actors are both so believable and effective in their parts that their acting chops completely carry the scene. Same with Dwight Frye as Renfield. When he’s talking about the sea of rats Dracula is giving him, I can forgive the fact the scene is being talked about versus shown because Frye does such an expressive performance. He really is a highlight of this film wether being sane or insane. As far as David Manners and Helen Chandler, the context I explained above I think is needed to understand their performances, but I can understand how this may be a stretch for a lot of modern audiences. Still, I find having this context makes the second half of DRACULA a much more enjoyable film for me.
As far as things I wish were different, while the brief shots of Mina going to Dracula’s cape outdoors and an undead Lucy walking in the dark with a crying child are effective, I think it would have been cool to see maybe a minute more of those scenes just to have an excuse to show the outdoor scenery more and up the horror context slightly. The scene in the theater box where Dracula is on the bottom of the stairs and Dr. Seward on top, making Seward appear taller and more dominant there really is no excuse for and is really careless staging.
The end of the film I do like a lot. While lacking the blood and thunder action of a Lee and Cushing confrontation, there is a lot of atmosphere and the understated nature is effective. Love the giant stairs of The Carfax Abbey basement and Dracula’s murder scene of Renfield is quite cool, Lugosi stoic and dominant and Frye over the top and dramatic fun. I also dig a Helen Chandler’s trance like zombie here. The actual off screen staking of Dracula is made more effective but Dracula’s groans, groans which were censored for years in future prints once the code came in and have fortunately been restored. I also love the final shot of Mina and Jonathan going up those winding stairs in such a calm manner with what sounds like wedding bells. Very tasteful and understated.
Some random notes. Lugosi’s first female victim was played by Anita Harder in one of her very few film roles. I think she’s cute as a button here with her little British accent and I love Lugosi’s satisfied look walking the streets after she has been drained of blood. For some Hal Roach connections, Charles Gerrard, the comic relief asylum worker played Mr. Plumtree is Laurel and Hardy’s ANOTHER FINE MESS. The first vampire bride to be shown out of her coffin was played by Geraldine Dvorak. She’s a Texas born actress who pretended to be European and appeared in a few Charley Chase shorts. Oh yes, there is the Spanish version of this film, which I will review separately one of these days.
Overall, I love DRACULA and like PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, whatever flaws there may be I can easily overlook because the good far outweighs the bad. Actually here, there isn’t much bad at all in my eyes, just a few minor things. The film that kickstarted talking American horror films and unlike all those previous murder mysteries, the boogey man here is not some guy in a mask, but a true supernatural being. Bela Lugosi gives an amazing performance and starts a really fascinating horror career for himself and I will end on one more note. A lot of people state Dracula lacks the pathos of a Frankenstein Monster. “To die, to really be dead, that must be glorious.” Dracula utters this line in the theater box making us all realize he has a curse beyond what he wishes and perhaps that stake in the heart was a gesture of mercy for him. Dracula may be dead now, but Van Helsing from here meets Dracula’s daughter. Looking forward to talking about the other Universal Horror films, this should be fun.
