“My, what a big bat!”

Or, the Big Movie Cat takes a bite out of Dracula!

Lugosi’s Dracula is - without any real contest - the grand daddy of vampire films. Although Nosferatu (1922) preceded it by a few years, the 1931 Universal romp set the stage and the bar for everything that followed. Other than seeing it in clips though, I never sat down for dinner with the Count…until now.

Be warned! Spoilers about the Dracula the book and the film follow. Read freely, and of your own will.

Ok, so most fang freaks are familiar with the outline of the Bram Stoker novel this was based on. First spoiler: the film, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, alters key parts of the story. I had the good fortune of being guided through the film by an English teacher who covers D-Man in her class and she had to rescue me with a “Yeah, no. They changed that.” several times as I wondered if my memory had taken a wrong turn on a Transylvanian stagecoach.

So Dracula kicks off with an English lawyer named Renfield (Dwight Frye, who played in a bunch of later Universal monster flicks, as well as a minor detective film called The Maltese Falcon), on his way to Castle Dracula, to conclude a real estate deal with the Count. Stokerites will, of course, see that something is amiss, as the the lawyer in the novel was Jonathan Harker. We won’t dwell on the difference from here on, but there are plenty and while they can be disorienting, it is kind of fun to play “spot the difference” from home.

At Castle D, Renny meets the main man (and a couple of his toothy wives), as well as some of the most iconic lines in literature and film, from “I never drink…wine” to “Children of the night. What music they make.” It is…fun.

Undrained but insane, Renfield escorts Dracula (Bela Lugosi) to England, where the Count makes the acquaintance of some of his neighbors: John (because Jonathan isn’t hip) Harker (David Manners), his fiancé Mina (Helen Chandler), the spookily saucy Lucy (Frances Dade), and her very Victorian guardian Dr. Seward (Herbert Bunston).

The rest of the film follows (although in this case it probably created) the script for other vamp flicks: The innocent humans meet the mysterious and seductive Count, he preys on one of them as they slowly suspect the horror in their midst, there is a confrontation, and Dracula is sent to the crypt…at least until the next episode.

So how does Dracula age?

It is easy to Mystery Science Theater 3000 an older film. We aren’t going to do that. But there are a few quirks and quemeful qualities worth calling out.

Quirks -

The discontinuities with the book and with later films (that more closely follow the source) can be a little confusing. My best advice is go with it. If you know the original, it can be fun looking for differences. If you don’t, it is a good story in its own right.

Dracula is not the supernatural powerhouse he plays in later films and books. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) notes in the movie that “The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.” That seems to be the case here. He can turn into a groovy bat, walk through spiderwebs without them sticking, and has powerful hypnotic powers…but that’s about it.

Speaking of those zappy eye-beaming mental powers, Drac seems to have become so dependent on them that he uses them when other solutions are much easier. At one point he hypnotizes a woman working at a theater to deliver a message…which was kind of her job already. Drac - my man - just write a note, hand it to the attendant, and pay a tip like the rest of us. Don’t be such a cheapskate.

A final thing, and I suppose this is more complaint than quirk, is that Dracula is essentially killed off screen and the movie concludes with his death, the survivors saying “Well, that’s done” and rolling credits. It is a little jarring. Good thing we know he’ll be back.

Quemeful Qualities (Or as John Harker would say, “The Good Stuff”) -

Bela Lugosi.

It is hard to overstate the magnetic presence of Lugosi. His accent (the only authentic one in the movie) captures your attention and his eyes - often highlighted by Bergman-like lighting - hold you.

Renfeld.

Dwight Frye’s toothy portrayal of Drac’s henchman is worth the price of admission. This guy is nuts.

Martin.

We can’t do justice to Martin (silent film stalwart Charles Gerrard), a guard at Dr. Seward’s hospital. Trust us. He is hilarious and steals every scene - even ones with Lugosi.

So what’s the verdict?

Dracula is Hollywood history. It is dated but Lugosi, solid cinematography (especially in the Castle Dracula scenes), and Martin make it a timeless film that you should watch whether you are a fan of fangs or a connoisseur of celluloid classics.

You can catch the original bat man HERE.

Four out of Five Bats…errr..Cats.