Rated PG. Vampirism is dark material, but we kept it light this time.
The 1931 version of Dracula was the first Universal Monster movie and it stars perhaps the most famous vampire actor of all time. Bela Lugosi was certainly committed to the part and this is obviously his trademark role. You’ll just have to work hard to overlook his almost funny schtick. Is Lugosi any good as the Count though? Well, is anyone in this cast any good? Maybe one guy (Dwight Frye) nails it by going deliriously over the top. Yeah, it’s fair to say we didn’t have much lust for Tod Browning’s picture. His direction is creaky and stilted and if his film was scary to audiences 90 years ago, it certainly isn’t anymore. However, the sexual subtext and the theme of a Transylvanian visitor representing a foreign plague are effective, just as they were in Bram Stoker’s classic book. So go to bed in your trusty coffin just as home invaders have come to kill you, but before you lay down, cue up the 410th Ellises’ Analysis to hear us yack about Drac.
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Hey, Twitter is a place to post thoughts. We are @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis
Ryan also jabbers about sports movies on Scoring At The Movies
LINKS:
National Film Registry in 2000
Links to: Nosferatu and Frankenstein and Dracula 1992 and Bride Of Frankenstein and Shadow Of The Vampire
Previously on The Ellises’ Analysis: Doctor Sleep
October 5th on The Ellises’ Analysis: Scream
T100P 