Dracula

Dracula (1931)

Timing: 1:14 (74 min)

7.16/10
1341

7.148/10
14619

7.3/10
65000

All about film

Video 4

Photo 128

Actors and characters

Release date

1931-02-12

Country

United States

Production

Universal Pictures

Genre

Horror, Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Budget

$355 000

Revenue

$84 758

Website

Director

Karl Freund, Tod Browning

Actors

Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Herbert Bunston, Frances Dade, Joan Standing, Charles K. Gerrard, Anna Bakacs
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Tod Browning, Louis Bromfield

Producer

Tod Browning, Carl Laemmle Jr.

Operator

Karl Freund

Composer

Artist

Audition

Phil M. Friedman

Editing

Milton Carruth
All team (43)

• The idea to make a film based on Bram Stoker's "Dracula" was proposed by Lon Chaney, who himself wanted to star in the title role, but he died of throat cancer before filming began. After his death, the role of Dracula was offered to various actors (including Conrad Veidt), but ultimately went to Bela Lugosi, who played Dracula in a theatrical production.
• The studio planned to have Paul Leni direct the film, but he died in September 1929.
• Rumor has it that Bela Lugosi played the role without knowing English, memorizing lines by ear. However, this story is only partially true: Lugosi was indeed reluctant to learn English for a long time and memorized theatrical roles by ear. By the time work began on the film, he was already quite capable of communicating in English.
• A Spanish-language version of the film was shot simultaneously, at night.
• After test screenings, the studio demanded that the film be shortened and made more dynamic. As a result, some important scenes were cut—including the scene in the crypt where Van Helsing and Harker kill Lucy, who has become a vampire. This scene remained in the Spanish-language version of the film.
• The film was released in the United States on Valentine's Day and was marketed as «the story of the most incredible love known to the world».
• Since equipment for playing sound films had not yet fully replaced “silent” film projectors, major films at that time were often shot in both sound and silent versions. Copies of “Dracula” are known that have been edited with and without sound.
• The actor who played Harker, David Manners, claimed he had not seen the film and had no desire to watch it.
• The film launched the classic series of horror films from Universal Studios.
• In 1998, new musical accompaniment was written for the film by Philip Glass.
• The action takes place in Europe, but a Virginia opossum appears in the frame at the 6th minute, and armadillos – native to America – at the 10th minute.