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Dracula (1931) English and Spanish Version

Bela Lugosi, born Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, was cast as the vampire Count Dracula in Universal's 1931 adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel of the same name.

To be honest, I had never seen Dracula (1931) until this past summer (2022). It isn't because I'm not a fan of older movies, I love them, I just never found a good reason to watch this Dracula after already watching Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).

I admit, it was blasé of me. I should've watched it sooner (as well as the Hammer films— still haven't watched them). Despite all that, I've gotten around to it and my honest opinion is, it's finely acted for its time. Bela Lugosi is a marvelous Dracula, Dwight Frye was awesome as Renfield, but—yeah, there's a but— I preferred the Spanish version. Not an objective opinion, that's up to the viewer. I recommend watching both back to back. (They're both relatively short, so you won't be burnt out. I recommend ordering out and having a puzzle ready while you watch with a friend or two. It's a fun watch.)

To clarify, Bela Lugosi is and always will be Dracula. He is the icon we all imitate and imagine when we think of the count. Even Count from Sesame Street sounds and looks a lot like Bela.

Carlos Villarías has a completely different presence as Dracula. Where Bela is intimidating and charmingly suave, Villarías's Dracula is charming and a little goofy in the sense that he seems lovable.

My biggest gripe with both movies was their pacing. Getting from one part of the story to the next felt clumsy and abrupt, the ending suffered from the pacing the most. I chalk it up to the time the films were made. Talkies were relatively new in the 30s and I'm not knowledgeable enough with the technical aspects of film back then, but I have a feeling that it's relative to the pacing and length of the films.

Additionally, after reading Koren Shadmi's graphic novel, Lugosi: the Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula (loosely based on Lugosi's life) I decided to rewatch Lugosi's Dracula. Learning about Lugosi's life, his personality (a womanizer and sexist) and his personal struggles made the film feel different. It felt bittersweet watching it. At the end, yes I still prefer the Spanish version, but when I watch Lugosi's Dracula I see a man acting his heart out. Doing something he loved and cherished. Despite the type of person he could be, he was tragic.

Lugosi was buried in his Dracula cape. The slumbering count.

#dracula #dracula 1931 #bela lugosi