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Cast
Credits
Béla
Lugosi. . . . . . . .Count Dracula Studio
. . . . . . . . . . . Universal
Helen Chandler. .
. . . Mina Seward
Director
. . . . . . . . . .Tod
Browning
David Manners . .
. . .Jonathan Harker
Novel
by. . . . . . . . . Bram
Stoker
Dwight Frye. . .
. . . . .Renfield Cinematography.
. . . Karl Freund
Edward Van Sloan.
. Professor Van Helsing
Edited by . . . .
. . . . .Milton Carruth
Maurice
Pivar
Herbert Bunston.
. . . Doctor Seward Sound
by. . . . . . . . . C.
Roy Hunter
Frances Dade .
. . . . .Lucy Weston Set
Design by. . . . . . Herman
Rosse
Run
Time: 75 minutes
The possible ratings are as follows:
Abysmal. Complete trash-- bad acting, writing, cinematography,
etc.
Bomb. One or two redeeming qualities, but inferior overall.
Average. Not outstanding in most respects, but worth checking
out.
I
had a ball. Solid acting, writing, cinematography, etc. Superior in many
respects.
Excellent.
A true classic. Few, if any, flaws.
Dracula is possibly the best known monster/horror film of all time--and for good reason. It is possibly the best movie ever made in the genre. Society's tastes and sensitivities changes with the times, making many of the monster movies of this era look silly today. However, Dracula holds up very well. It's a bit too stylish, a bit too awkward from time to time, and even a bit silly, but beyond all of that, it is what it set out to do--it's creepy, and yes, scary too.
If the movie works, and it certainly does, it's because of Bela Lugosi. He, by himself, makes this film as spooky as it is. Take a look into the Count's eyes just once and seeif you aren't just a bit uncomfortable. Along with the look is his slow, rhythmic speach. you can tell that when he say Van Helsing's name, he is not merely saying a name, he is devouring the doctor, drinking him in, sizing up his biggest competition. There is true tension when he speaks the very name. Anybody who can be that deliberate in an address is soomeone you don't want to toy with.
Nothwithstanding Lugosi's brilliant performance, the film could have become too heavy-handed and silly if not for the wonderful comic relief provided by Renfield (Frye) and his orderly, Martin (Charles K. Gerard). Frye especially is wonderful as the whacked-out, zombiefied servant to the count. His performance is so over the top that it is absolutely precious. Jack Nicholson himself could not out "Renfield" Frye. I was pleasantly surprised with Frye, by the way. In the beginning when he is just an english businessman, Frye is too stiff and mechancal. However, once he let loose, he really let loose. This is where Martin comes in. The exchanges between renfield and Martin are some of the best you'll ever see. Especially good is their conversation regarding insect cuisine.
Besides Frye and Lugosi, the acting in this film ranges from good to merely adequate. Helen Chandler has been much maligned in her role in this flm. I think she played Mina wonderfully. she actually displayed quite a good range of emotion--from the silly, giggling schoolgirl in the beginning of the film, to the wiser, more seductive woman in the latter half of the film, her innocence dashed by a "man" half her age. Good performance. Manners', Bunston's, and Dade's performances are all adequate but not outstanding overall.
One cannot comment on this movie without commenting on the set design. Many critics have commented that the second half of the film looks too stagy and ruins some of the tension. I could not disagree more. The sets are spectacular. They are some of the grandest you'll see on film. I especially liked the staircase scene toward the end. The set absolutely dwarfed the actors. This lent substantiation to the count's power. After all, he was king of this castle and he had to be dealt with to get out of monstrous fort.
I have two main criticsms of this film. First, the editing was obviously awkward and stilted. The shots of Lugosi's hands and face were often does as stills and did not match the lighting of the scene around it. The other criticsm is that the film really needed a musical score. I normally believe that musical scores are overused and not very helpful to the story; however, in this case, there is so much stalking and standing that some background music would really have heightened the fear factor.
The debate has raged on about whether Frankenstein or Dracula is the greatest horror film of all time. Both are scary for different reasons, but if you are looking for the scarriest monster, without a doubt, Dracula wins. My rating:
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