The Classic UNIVERSAL Monster Series: DRACULA!!!
In 1931 Tod Browning would deliver to the studio another even more triumphant hit, an atmospheric reenactment of the extravagantly successful Broadway play DRACULA, based on Bram Stoker's novel, and beautifully photographed by Karl Freund. He would use the hit play's star, classically trained Hungarian leading man Bela Lugosi to fill the lead role. The screenplay was written by John L. Balderston one of Hollywood's best writers of Phantasy.
"Aaaaah, listen to them...the children of the night...what beautiful music they make." Universal suddenly had a brand new superstar and a long-lived Horror franchise laid right in their laps. Dwight Frye is simply wonderful as Renfield. Jack Pierce designed the makeup. It would be officially released to American theaters in '31, '47, '51, and '63 each time with new movie paper. We own a 16mm print of this bit of celluloid poetry, all misty and macabre, a motion picture presented as metaphor.
1935 would see Lugosi play Count Mora (looking very much like Drac) in MARK OF THE VAMPIRE a film loosely based on "After Midnight". This was yet another Browning film and it features my all time favorite vamp Carol Borland as the deliciously seductive Luna Mora. Studio mainstay Lionel Atwill supported as Inspector Neumann. There remains only one known copy of its original 1-sheet poster surviving today.
Lugosi would return as Dracula for an instant in the studio's DRACULA'S DAUGHTER in 1936. The film would star Gloria Holden in the title role, with B-film regular Nan Grey as one of her most luscious victims. Jack Pierce once again did the makeup and John Balderston returned as screenwriter. This feature would be re-released to theaters in 1949 with an all new poster campaign. I've seen my 16mm copy of the theatrical trailer for this over 100 times and it still sucks me in.
SON OF DRACULA in 1943 would fore-go Lugosi and cast Lon Chaney, Jr. as Count Alucard, the cursed son of Dracula, picking up where his sister left off. Evelyn Ankers provided the love interest. Curt Siodmak was the author of this story, and his brother, Academy Award nominated Director Robert Siodmak, would helm the production. Pierce would again do the makeup. "Son" was reissued to theaters with all new paper in 1960.
In 1944 Bela would return to his old neck biting ways stalking the foggy streets of war torn London as Armand Tesla (once again a mirror image of Drac) in Universal's RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE. Also in '44 John Carradine would take his 1st turn as the "thin vampire" in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN who's original title was THE DOOM OF DRACULA.
1945 saw the sun rise on the HOUSE OF DRACULA, with Carradine reprising his role as the Count from that other "House of" movie a year earlier. Lionel Atwill co-starred as Inspector Holtz, along with Pierce's makeup. There is an official military release duo-tone 1-sheet and in 1950 it was re-released with all different posters.
Bela Lugosi would don his cape and crested ring again in 1948 when he played Dracula for the last time in the Universal horror spoof ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.
Over thirty years later in 1979 the studio would crank up its old war horse of a franchise one more time, dust off John Lloyd Balderston's original stage play and place Frank Langella in the lead role with support from Sir Laurence Olivier.
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