The universal classic monster collection dvd of dracula is something to be treasured forever, not least because it includes a print of one of the most talked about, and least seen, of all horror movies. Tod browning directs the first vampire film with dracula in the title, a film that frightened audiences with its initial release. Dracula 1931, frankenstein 1931, wolf man 1941, creature from the black lagoon, the mummy 1932, the invisible man 1933 general audiences choose not to use archive warnings. It is based on the 1924 stage play dracula by hamilton deane and john l. The road to dracula sd,35 min a short makingof doc hosted by rebecca isabelle carla laemmle, niece of universal pictures founder carl laemmle. Dracula isnt just the source of so many vampire novels and films, its also at the fountainhead of another modern genre, the serial killer story. Dawn approaches, and when van helsing finds dracula in his coffin, he drives a stake through his heart, killing him for. In the early days of sound, it was common for hollywood studios to produce hollywood foreignlanguage versions of their films usually in french, spanish and german using the same sets, costumes and etc. At the novels climax, readers discover that renfield, under restraint in the asylum of dr.
Thats when you get the sort of monomaniacal, overclever but bloodyhanded and unbalanced psychopath you see in se7en or the silence of the lambs where. Dracula ringtone free ringtone downloads scary ringtones. Arguably the start of the universal monster craze, dracula released in 1931 stars bela lugosi as bram stokers lead vampire, dracula. Dracula is a 1931 american precode supernatural horror film directed and co produced by. Renfields crazy laugh, van helsings or minas affected intonation have.
Dracula 1931 story dracula is a classic 1931 horror film. Dracula 1931 is one of the earliest classic american horror films from carl laemmles universal pictures an acclaimed masterpiece directed by tod browning, known also for two other vampire films. Beyond that i will admit i find dracula tedious and flat. Dracula 310 movie clip renfield meets dracula 1931 hd duration. Youll never look at houseflies the same way again after renfield decides theyre a tasty snack. The best acting in this film was performed by dwight frye as renfield. That was frankenstein, followed by the oddly forgotten paramount adaptation of dr. Seward is awoken with news that something has happened to renfield, and he, along with van helsing, lord godalming, and quincey morris, go to renfield s room to make sure that everything is alright. As draculas castle is grand, sweeping and gothic, back in england its rigidly dull, and extremely slowplotted, even over its hour ten minute length. The film stars bela lugosi as count dracula, a vampire who emigrates from transylvania to england. They ran from carfax to the sanitarium where dracula was coaxing renfield. Dracula is a 1931 american precode supernatural horror film directed and coproduced by tod browning from a screenplay written by garrett fort.
Dracula goes up the steps, and waits for renfield, who without difficulty, cuts open a huge spiders web using his walking stick. Renfield is a fictional character that appears in bram stoker s 1897 gothic horror novel dracula. Bela lugosi count dracula, helen chandler mina seward, dwight frye renfield, edward van sloan van helsing buy bluray on amazon. Check out some of the best sayings, sound clips and sound effects ampled from the movie dracula 1931 and see if you should buy this movie. And this makes much more sense when you blend renfield and the count into one figure. Dwight fryes last laugh gregory william mank, james t. Dwight frye almost steals dracula from lugosi with his portrayal of renfield. As dracula s castle is grand, sweeping and gothic, back in england its rigidly dull, and extremely slowplotted, even over its hour ten minute length. Hambly also managed to add depth and character development to the original story. Draculas original soundtrack in the context of early sound films 19261931.
Written by garrett fort, based on the novel by bram stoker and the play by hamilton deane and john l. Director tod browning invests most of his mood and atmosphere in the first two reels, which were based on the original stoker novel. In recent years this version has become more highly praised by some. He did play dracula like characters in mgms mark of the vampire 1935 and in columbias return of the vampire 1943. Dracula 1931 directed by enrique tovar avalos, george.
Later renfields own testimony reveals that dracula would send him insects, which he begins. A universal horror film from 1931, which made bela lugosi famous as the classical movie vampire. Van helsing edward van sloan, a doctor who has examined renfield, soon determines that dracula is a vampire. Dracula begins the golden age of horror podcast with hosts dave dreher and doc rotten as they cover the films from the beginning of. Dracula begins the golden age of horror podcast with hosts dave dreher and doc rotten as they cover the films from the beginning of the horror genre. Oct 04, 2016 dracula 1931 originally published october 26th, 2015 halloween is imminent and tcm and fathom events answered the call with their dracula double feature this sunday with a repeat this coming wednesday. An insane man kept in sewards institution, renfield has a desire to gain the lifeforce of flies, spiders, birds, and cats, and later has a desire for blood he promises to be dracula s student, and is eventually killed by dracula, once renfield invites the count into the asylum. Renfield is a fictional character that appears in bram stokers 1897 gothic horror novel. Dracula, american horror film, released in 1931, that is considered one of the early classics of the genre. On walpurgisnacht walpurgis night, renfield dwight frye goes to the borgo pass where he is met by count draculas coach.
Supernatural horror was still new when dracula was released in 1931. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. What made dracula an influential hollywood horror film. Mike and i are both big fans of the 1931 version of dracula. Tod brownings dracula 1931 is every vampire movie you will ever need. It was kind of disturbing hearing dracula grunt in pain when the stake was being pounded into him. Fryes impassioned and electrifying performance as renfield in 1931s dracula. Renfield enters castle dracula to finalize the transferral of carfax abbey in london to count dracula, who is in actuality a vampire. We know the story and all the beats, and are concerned mostly with the style and production. Jun 02, 2005 when we first meet renfield in dracula, he is a tortured soul in decline, a flygobbling, scripturequoting lunatic who acts as a haunted harbinger of dracula s arrival in england. Thus does bela lugosi declare his presence in the 1931 screen version of bram stokers dracula. The original release, which included the film and all of the above listed extras except the sommers thing and the spanish version, was a cracking disk, but here you not only get all of these extras, but also the three universal sequels, dracula s daughter 1936, son of dracula 1943 and house of dracula 1945, all for a comparatively bargain price. It is a unique take on renfield, the madman in bram stokers dracula. Here are four of his scenes that define this films.
All the resolution has gone out of his dear eyes, and that quiet dignity which i told you was in. Van helsing and john follow renfield there, but when dracula discovers their presence, he kills renfield. Sanguine temperament, great physical strength, morbidly excitable, periods of gloom, ending in some fixed. Seward works, is a difficult character to get our heads around, simply because of his abnormal psychology. Its spiced up a bit by dracula s archnemesis van helsing, but apart from that the rest of the characters are instantly forgetable. I was 11 years old when i saw dracula for the first time and renfield, frye stole my heart. Its spiced up a bit by draculas archnemesis van helsing, but apart from that the rest of the characters are instantly forgetable. Hes described as a lunatic and a madman, but theres definitely a method to his. Bela lugosis performance as the vampire count dracula is widely acknowledged as the definitive portrayal of the character, who first appeared in bram stokers novel of the same name. Mar 07, 2010 renfield is a type of vampire though he prefers to consume the whole rather than feeding off the body slowly over a number of nights. Murnaus 1922 nosferatu remains the greatest of vampire movies, then universals 1931 dracula, directed by tod browning, could well be the most important, at least in terms of how the genre was subsequently to develop. His portrayal of dracula is the one that most people think of when they hear the characters name or even just the word vampire, whether or not theyve actually seen the movie being bored with transylvania, count dracula lugosi decides to move to london for some fresh blood.
Dracula is a 1931 film about the ancient transylvanian vampire count dracula, his voyage to england and his hunting by legendary monster hunter abraham van helsing. With bela lugosi, helen chandler, david manners, dwight frye. Oct 24, 2012 ignoring things dating in general imo it wasnt even the greatest horror film of 1931. Renfield is drugged by the eerily hypnotic count, and turned into one of his thralls, protecting him during his sea voyage to london. Dracula 1931 bela lugosi and the dark, still chilling. Dracula, followed by renfield, takes mina to carfax abbey, where he plans to make her final transition to vampirism.
London after midnight 1927 aka the hypnotist with lon chaney, sr. Dracula 1931 versus frankenstein 1931 science fiction. The cool thing is both the screams of renfield and dracula that you guys said were taken out were both on the version on youtube. The films photography indicates conflict between tod browning and karl freund, with the directors preferred static style broken up every now and. Oddly enough, though he was forever identified with the dracula character, he only played him on screen twice, in 1931 and 1948 as noted. While the spanish version of the film has better acting from most of the main cast, carlos villarias performance as dracula is sufficiently narmy and hilarious in spots. Based on bram stokers 1897 novel which was in time adapted for the stage, first in stokers native britain, and then, beginning in 1927 on broadway where bela lugosi was first cast in the title role. All of the serious later movie draculas draw from lugosis performance, not. Dracula is a 1931 vampirehorror film directed by tod browning and starring bela lugosi as the title character. I do his renfield laugh at inappropriate times and no one understands what im referencing. Renfield is a solicitor traveling to count draculas castle in transylvania on a business matter. In hamblys novel, renfield, is the central character. Dracula is a largely emotionless bloodthirsty abomination that passes itself off as human, and there are plenty of cracks in that masquerade that make him seem more than merely eccentric to ordinary people.
This production utilised the same sets and the same script, but had an entirely. The opening scenes of dracula display some effective glass matte work, as renfield travels through the mountains of hungary, and the design of draculas castle is imaginative and rather grand. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel dracula by bram stoker. It was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. The dashing, mysterious count dracula bela lugosi, after hypnotizing a british soldier, renfield dwight frye, into his mindless slave, travels to london and takes up residence in an old castle.
He is a driving force in the added action that distinguishes renfield. An insane man kept in sewards institution, renfield has a desire to gain the lifeforce of flies, spiders, birds, and cats, and later has a desire for blood he promises to be draculas student, and is eventually killed by dracula, once renfield invites the count into the asylum. The film has the elements of all great horror, the harbingers telling renfield not to travel to see dracula are great. Famed director james whale made tremendous strides in the upcoming months and years with frankenstein 1931 and bride of frankenstein 1935 and effectively birthed the creature feature, but browning and freunds flawedbutremarkable dracula, with the help of lugosi, frye. Unfortunately, most of these foreign language versions no longer exist. Some actors become so indelibly associated with their most famous roles it becomes difficult for audiences to accept them in any other part. Although bela lugosi made nearly 70 more films in the 28 years after he first sucked blood in dracula 1931, among them ernst lubitschs ninotchka 1939, few filmgoers today remember him in a single one of them except, perhaps, his last, the bizarre. Dracula, of course, did not come to the screen from out of nowhere. Both films were adaptations of the same story, but nosferatu was made without the permission of the bram stoker estate, resulting in a court case that saw almost every. The classic era grue crew for this episode erin miskell, chad hunt, jeff mohr, and special guest dave dreher as we take a trip to transylvania and ride aboard the schooner vesta, only to end up in the seward sanitarium and rundown carfax abbey in search of dracula. John seward, has been in psychic communication with dracula all along. Favorite film series, dracula 1931 renfield scenes youtube.