Few films have had the impact on the movie industry that Dracula did. Though there had been films that clearly fit into the horror genre before this, this was the movie that truly popularized the genre. It also gave birth to the Universal monster movies, which are some of the very few black and white movies that remain incredibly popular and well known today. However, its historical importance is not the only reason to watch it. It remains a great movie to this day.
The storyline is still very familiar to movie goers today. Renfield (Dwight Frye) travels to Transylvania to make a business transaction with Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi). On his way there, he hears legends that vampires live in Dracula's castle, but he brushes them off as silly superstition. However, as he spends the night there, he is attacked by Dracula and finds himself completely under his power. They travel to London to a house that Dracula had bought there. There Renfield is made to help Dracula get complete power over a beautiful woman (Mina Seward). However, a Dr. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan), a man who has studied vampires is on to Dracula's plan and tries to protect that young woman.
Though this is not the first film adaption of Bram Stoker's classic novel (many of you are probably familiar with the classic silent film, Nosferatu (1922)), this movie has in many formed what people think of when they hear "Dracula." Most of the later film and TV versions of this character (whether played straight or for comedy) are so heavily influenced by this movie, that even those who have never seen it get their image of the classic literary character from this movie. The main reason for this is the performance by Bela Lugosi as the titular character. Though this film made Lugosi a star, it was far from his start in movies. He had appeared in many movies before this, but he hardly got any attention for his film work. Though he would only return to play the count one time (in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)), his role here would be the basis of most of his film roles that followed. Though he was in some good movies, his film career was never able to escape the shadow of the vampire. As impossible as it might seem today, Bela Lugosi was far from the first choice to play the count in this film. Silent film star Lon Chaney was originally considered for the role, but he passed away before the movie went into production. Universal went through many choices before deciding on Lugosi. Lugosi had though been playing the character on stage in a play adaption of the novel. There he had made the role his own and was one of the main reasons that the play became a success. He fought hard and often pleaded with the studio to give him a role in the film version. Luckily for us he finally won out.
This movie was controversial at Universal. Carl Laemmle Sr., the founder of the studio was dead against it, feeling that audiences wouldn't care for such grim fare. It was a passion project for Carl Laemmle Jr., who had taken over the studio as his 21st birthday present. He had a faith that audiences would react greatly to such films. In most be remembered that before this the studio really hadn't made supernatural horror films. They had made scary movies like Phantom of the Opera (1925) and The Cat and the Canary (1927). However, both of those film had non-supernatural explanations for everything that happened and at the end of the day (like in an episode of Scooby-Doo) there were no real monsters or ghosts. Outside of Universal, there had been movies that could be considered supernatural horror. However, they were in the minority and most spooky films would have some sort of non-supernatural explanation. After Dracula that would all change. Despite any reservations that may have been had about such a movie, the film became a massive hit with audiences. Critics also liked the film and it received quite good reviews on its release.
Tod Browning was a prefect director for a film like this. His best movies have a very grim and gothic feel to them. While few of his earlier films could be classified as horror, the gothic feel to them makes them favorites among fans of old horror movies. His best-known work before Dracula were a series of silent feature films starring Lon Chaney. These include The Unholy Three (1925), The Blackbird (1926), The Road to Mandalay (1926), the infamous lost film London After Midnight (1927), The Unknown (1927) (one of the best films for both actor and director), The Big City (1928), West of Zanzibar (1928) and Where East Is East (1929). After Dracula, Browning would make what many consider his masterpiece, Freaks (1932). Freaks was a movie that was well ahead of its time and proved to be a box office and critical failure on its release and this would sadly greatly hurt the career of this great director. Despite having such a legendary director, actor David Manners remembered little of Browning while working on this film. Manners has been quoted as saying when asked about working with Browning, "It's funny you should ask. Someone asked me the other day who directed [Dracula] and I had to say, I hadn't the faintest idea! ... The only directing I saw was done by Karl Freund, the cinematographer." He described the whole production as "extremely disorganized."
It is a common criticism that the first 20 minutes are fantastic, and the rest of the film fails to live up to this. While I don't fully agree with this assessment, I do understand it. The first 20 minutes of this movie are incredibly cinematic. Browing's directing, Charles D. Hall's art direction and the work of legendary cinematographer Karl Freund (who would later go on to direct the Universal monster movie, The Mummy (1932)) make the early scenes in Transylvania incredibly atmospheric and memorable. The visual images from these early scenes will stay in your mind long after the film is over. This visual style also gives these scenes a haunting feel that emphasizes brilliantly, how much danger Reinfeld is in. These early scenes show the silent film roots of the director. If you took out all the dialogue, these scenes would still remain incredibly haunting and powerful.
The common criticism of when the film moves to London is that it becomes like a filmed stage play (it was just as much an adaption of the 1927 stage play as Bram Stoker's novel). This I can't argue with at all. However, the performances from Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan and of course Bela Lugosi, clever dialogue ("For one who has not lived even a single lifetime, you're a wise man, Van Helsing.") and a real sense of suspense and dread make up for the lack of cinematic flair in these later scenes. Though it is doubtful that this will give nightmares to those used to modern horror films, it has a real haunting and eerie feel that makes this possibly the creepiest of the classic Universal monster movies.
The legacy that this film left behind cannot be overstated. This reason alone, would be enough of a reason for any movie fan to watch it. However, beyond this the movie is also still a delight to watch today.
Resources Used
Great Movies by Roger Ebert.
https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/73563/dracula#articles-reviews?articleId=33868
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