Supernatural horror was still new when dracula was released in 1931. Unfortunately, most of these foreign language versions no longer exist. 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. Its spiced up a bit by dracula s archnemesis van helsing, but apart from that the rest of the characters are instantly forgetable. Dracula 1931 bela lugosi and the dark, still chilling. He did play dracula like characters in mgms mark of the vampire 1935 and in columbias return of the vampire 1943. And this makes much more sense when you blend renfield and the count into one figure. On walpurgisnacht walpurgis night, renfield dwight frye goes to the borgo pass where he is met by count draculas coach. 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. Favorite film series, dracula 1931 renfield scenes youtube. It is a unique take on renfield, the madman in bram stokers dracula.
Later renfields own testimony reveals that dracula would send him insects, which he begins. Fryes impassioned and electrifying performance as renfield in 1931s dracula. 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. With bela lugosi, helen chandler, david manners, dwight frye. I do his renfield laugh at inappropriate times and no one understands what im referencing. Dracula is a 1931 american precode supernatural horror film directed and co produced by. Director tod browning invests most of his mood and atmosphere in the first two reels, which were based on the original stoker novel. Dracula, american horror film, released in 1931, that is considered one of the early classics of the genre. Tod brownings dracula 1931 is every vampire movie you will ever need. Renfield is drugged by the eerily hypnotic count, and turned into one of his thralls, protecting him during his sea voyage to london. 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.
Written by garrett fort, based on the novel by bram stoker and the play by hamilton deane and john l. The dracula myth has been filmed so often, in so many different ways most recently by francis ford coppola in his bram stokers dracula, 1992, that its material has become like an opera libretto, or a play by shakespeare. John seward, has been in psychic communication with dracula all along. Dracula goes up the steps, and waits for renfield, who without difficulty, cuts open a huge spiders web using his walking stick. 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. Mike and i are both big fans of the 1931 version of dracula. The road to dracula sd,35 min a short makingof doc hosted by rebecca isabelle carla laemmle, niece of universal pictures founder carl laemmle. We know the story and all the beats, and are concerned mostly with the style and production.
All the resolution has gone out of his dear eyes, and that quiet dignity which i told you was in. Then when renfield is near death, he describes the events that led to him inviting dracula into the sanitarium, and he even states that that was the night when he heard the commotion coming from carfax. Renfield is a solicitor traveling to count draculas castle in transylvania on a business matter. Van helsing and john follow renfield there, but when dracula discovers their presence, he kills renfield. Arguably the start of the universal monster craze, dracula released in 1931 stars bela lugosi as bram stokers lead vampire, dracula. Thus does bela lugosi declare his presence in the 1931 screen version of bram stokers dracula. Renfield is a fictional character that appears in bram stoker s 1897 gothic horror novel dracula. 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. 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. 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. Beyond that i will admit i find dracula tedious and flat. This production utilised the same sets and the same script, but had an entirely. Dracula is a 1931 american precode supernatural horror film directed and coproduced by tod browning from a screenplay written by garrett fort.
Dracula 1931 story dracula is a classic 1931 horror film. It was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. 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. Dracula 1931 directed by enrique tovar avalos, george. 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. They ran from carfax to the sanitarium where dracula was coaxing renfield. Draculas original soundtrack in the context of early sound films 19261931. Oddly enough, though he was forever identified with the dracula character, he only played him on screen twice, in 1931 and 1948 as noted. 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. It is based on the 1924 stage play dracula by hamilton deane and john l.
London after midnight 1927 aka the hypnotist with lon chaney, sr. The films photography indicates conflict between tod browning and karl freund, with the directors preferred static style broken up every now and. 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. Bela lugosi count dracula, helen chandler mina seward, dwight frye renfield, edward van sloan van helsing buy bluray on amazon. In recent years this version has become more highly praised by some. 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. 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. Dracula 1931 versus frankenstein 1931 science fiction.
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. Seward works, is a difficult character to get our heads around, simply because of his abnormal psychology. Dracula 310 movie clip renfield meets dracula 1931 hd duration. Van helsing edward van sloan, a doctor who has examined renfield, soon determines that dracula is a vampire. He is a driving force in the added action that distinguishes renfield. 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. The film stars bela lugosi as count dracula, a vampire who emigrates from transylvania to england. Dawn approaches, and when van helsing finds dracula in his coffin, he drives a stake through his heart, killing him for.
Renfields crazy laugh, van helsings or minas affected intonation have. Dracula begins the golden age of horror podcast with hosts dave dreher and doc rotten as they cover the films from the beginning of. 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. What made dracula an influential hollywood horror film. 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. Some actors become so indelibly associated with their most famous roles it becomes difficult for audiences to accept them in any other part. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. 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. Dracula ringtone free ringtone downloads scary ringtones. Dwight fryes last laugh gregory william mank, james t. Sanguine temperament, great physical strength, morbidly excitable, periods of gloom, ending in some fixed.
Youll never look at houseflies the same way again after renfield decides theyre a tasty snack. Dracula, followed by renfield, takes mina to carfax abbey, where he plans to make her final transition to vampirism. The best acting in this film was performed by dwight frye as renfield. Tod browning directs the first vampire film with dracula in the title, a film that frightened audiences with its initial release. 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. 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. A universal horror film from 1931, which made bela lugosi famous as the classical movie vampire. That was frankenstein, followed by the oddly forgotten paramount adaptation of dr. At the novels climax, readers discover that renfield, under restraint in the asylum of dr. 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. Oct 24, 2012 ignoring things dating in general imo it wasnt even the greatest horror film of 1931. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel dracula by bram stoker.
As draculas castle is grand, sweeping and gothic, back in england its rigidly dull, and extremely slowplotted, even over its hour ten minute length. I was 11 years old when i saw dracula for the first time and renfield, frye stole my heart. 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. Hambly also managed to add depth and character development to the original story. 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. Hes described as a lunatic and a madman, but theres definitely a method to his. Dracula is a 1931 vampirehorror film directed by tod browning and starring bela lugosi as the title character. 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. 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. Renfield enters castle dracula to finalize the transferral of carfax abbey in london to count dracula, who is in actuality a vampire. 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. The film has the elements of all great horror, the harbingers telling renfield not to travel to see dracula are great. Dracula, of course, did not come to the screen from out of nowhere. 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.
Here are four of his scenes that define this films. Renfield is a fictional character that appears in bram stokers 1897 gothic horror novel. It was kind of disturbing hearing dracula grunt in pain when the stake was being pounded into him. The ancient vampire count dracula arrives in england and begins to prey upon the virtuous young mina. Dwight frye almost steals dracula from lugosi with his portrayal of renfield. 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. 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. Its spiced up a bit by draculas archnemesis van helsing, but apart from that the rest of the characters are instantly forgetable. With lots of interviews with film historians, relatives of cast members and contemporary fans, its a nice and insightful piece at the movies history and impact with some cool lost footage. In hamblys novel, renfield, is the central character. All of the serious later movie draculas draw from lugosis performance, not.