Dracula (1931) Movie Reaction | FIRST TIME WATCHING
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- Today I'm watching Dracula for the first time! Hope you enjoy my reaction! 😊
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"Love at first bite" is a Dracula movie you might want to consider. Put out in 1979, it's a comedy with George Hamilton as Dracula
Lugosi and Frye give legendary performances here. Lugosi didn't grow up far from Transylvania, so the accent was perfect. As far as how they brought Dracula back in subsequent films, Universal never really explained that, lol. His body is burned to ashes in the sequel, "Dracula's Daughter", but they kept bringing him back anyway. Kinda like how Freddy and Jason and the rest keep coming back these days. Unlike the Wolfman or Frankenstein's Monster, who didn't ask to be what they were, Dracula was purely evil. Karloff was the better actor, but while Bela could've played the Monster, I can't see Boris pulling off Dracula. Ninety years later, kids still eat Count Chocula and watch the Count on Sesame Street. Lugosi's influence is here to stay.
And the fact pretty much everyone playing Dracula whether they realize it or not are mimicking Legosi.
Well freaking said!
Film was born out of theater. Movies through the mid 1930s tended to be more like stage performances.
For a long time before I watched this version of Dracula some years ago I thought the voice of Dracula was just a made up voice. When I watched this version of Dracula, I realized it was Bella Lugosi‘s accent that everyone was imitating. It wasn’t actually Dracula‘s voice but Bella Lugosi‘s.
Bela Lugosi is always THE Dracula for me. I've always loved his presence in this film. He was performing Dracula on stage in the 1920s for years and who else would they cast but the lead in a hit Broadway play?
That's neat, I didn't know that. Thank you!
Actually, they wanted to cast Lon Chaney, sr., but he died before filming could begin.
When I noticed the carriage is driven by no one then the door creeks open, the meme of JT singing “F*ck this sh1t I’m out” comes to mind.
Right?! But at the same time, are you gonna get the bat to bring you down to the other carriage? 😂
Vampire rules shift and change with whatever story's being told, but Bram Stoker, author of the novel "Dracula", did set down a couple of general standards.
A Spanish version of this movie was made concurrently with this production: when the English language crew closed up for the day, the Spanish team went in, and made their own version, based on the same script but with some interesting variations. Worth catching. I love their Renfield, incidentally.
The novel's good too: the structure was off-putting to me the first time around, as it's a collection of letters, journals, articles and other media woven together to make the narrative. It's actually very, very well done. Stoker had a lively interest in the then-modern technology, and it's fun to read it, compared with the character and implications of Dracula.
Mina is quite different in the book: an intelligent, independent and professional lady, expert in shorthand and the proud possessor of a portable typewriter (you should only see the Victorian definition of portable for a typewriter...)
I have the annotated edition of the novel, complete with illustrations of certain things, typewriter included, and it really helped me appreciate the story, and the historical setting very much.
Interesting. Thanks for the heads up. I can't see me reading the novel anytime soon, but an annotated version seems like the way to go. I'll be covering Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) soon so I'm excited to see another version!
@@JayBondReacts The novel is excellent in audiobook as well, as the epistolary format feels like being read letters from an acquaintance. There's a few readings floating around YT, since the novel is public domain.
You should see "Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein".
Your description of how the character of Van Helsing might have developed is more or less what happened in the Hammer series.
Bela Lugosi only played Dracula on screen one more time (in Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein). He did play Ygor in Son of Frankenstein.
Cool fact: Lon Cheney Jr. is the only person to play the Wolf Man (his most famous role), Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster & The Mummy.
Both those tidbits are cool. That's pretty incredible for Lon Cheney Jr.
And yet he will always be remembered for this role....btw I love Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein!
@@raynavarro7997 Yes. Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein is one of the funniest films ever, as well as the first possible Horror Comedy.
Lugosi did, however, get to play a Dracula-like vampire named Armand Tesla in *Return of the Vampire* (1943).
@@oliverbrownlow5615 ...I also like him in MGM's "Mark of The Vampire" (1935), also Directed by Tod Browning- another VERY Dracula-esque film...until THAT ending, which still has me on the fence on how I feel about it...but I still usually watch it every Halloween 🎃 Would love to have seen Lon Chaney's lost, silent original, "London After Midnight", also from Browning.
The main thing that always bugged me is that they based their script off the much more confined Broadway play as opposed to the more expansive novel.
There was a Spanish language version shot at the same time. English version was shot during the day while the Spanish version at night. Both used the same set. Many consider the Spanish one to be better than the English one. You may want to watch this one.
Nice.
this channel deserves more views !
I appreciate that!
As an old-movie buff, this movie is right up my ally. It scared the hell out of me when I watched it as a kid. I've watched it several times since then. You can't go wrong with Bela Lugosi as Dracula. He's the perfect Dracula.
"This is very old wine. I hope you will like it."
"Aren't you drinking?"
"I never drink... wine."
Fun Fact: A Spanish-language version, Drácula (1931), was filmed at night on the same set at the same time, with Spanish-speaking actors.
Music Enthusiast Fact: The theme music at the start of the film is the second movement from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (1876). Considering the general date in which the story is set, this would have been only a few years old, with a popular version of the sheet music being widely available.
Lost In Adaptation Fact: In this version of the Dracula story, the woman partially transformed into a vampire is Mina Seward. In the original novel, her name is Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray, and she has no relation to Dr. Seward. In the novel, she works as a school mistress (schoolteacher) and she had lost both of her parents at a young age.
The actor who played Renfield was named Dwight Frye, he also played Frtiz, the laboratory assistant usually named Igor, in the 1932 movie "Frankenstein". Rock singer Alice Cooper did a song about him called "The Ballad Of Dwight Frye". Frye started out on Broadway and then went to Hollywood and had a successful career there. For instance, Frye also put in a cameo in the movie "The Invisible Man", which "starred" Claude Rains, as a reporter.
Dwight Frye's film career actually started in silent movies. In 1931 (if you'll pardon my correcting your date), he appeared in *Dracula, Frankenstein,* the original version of *The Maltese Falcon* starring Ricardo Cortez, and also reunited with Bela Lugosi in the Charlie Chan mystery, *The Black Camel.* Despite having been killed off as Fritz in *Frankenstein,* he was back again in *Bride of Frankenstein* (1935) as Karl, a kvetching grave robber, and as a villager in *Ghost of Frankenstein* (1942), and *Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man* (1943), where his villager character finally gets a name, Rudi. Some say he filmed scenes for *Son of Frankenstein* (1939), too, but that they were cut out of the film. He was in two more vampire films: *The Vampire Bat* (1933) and *Dead Men Walk* (1943). And he turns up in many other unlikely films, such as *The Man in the Iron Mask* (1939), *The Son of Monte Cristo* (1940), *Tough Guy* (1936), starring Jackie Cooper and Rin Tin Tin, and the James Cagney musical, *Something to Sing About* (1937), among many others. Unfortunately, he died young, in November, 1943, at only 44 years old.
@@oliverbrownlow5615 It's good to hear from a Dwight Frye expert. Good info. Thanks.
Great fun watching you view this version of the tale. Bela Lugosi sunk his teeth (!) into the Broadway production of "Dracula" before it was filmed. Still a fun film to watch for "deep background." 😎
Haha Nice. 😂
It's little known that during the Broadway run of *Dracula,* in 1928, original cast members Bela Lugosi and Edward Van Sloan appeared in a 30-minute radio version of the play broadcast by NBC
FYI: David Manners was actually a relative of the future Princess Diana. I loved his other movies like The Mummy and The Black Cat.
I'm reading the book Dracula after also suggesting the movie Dracula Dead And Loving It to you here. Watching this, all I can say is the Mel Brooks movie will definitely ring a few bells now. lol! This and Bram Stocker's Dracula. In the book, the vampire killer isn't Van Helsing but a different character who is not included in most adaptations. Most of the pop vampire lore kind of rolled Van Helsing and this other character together so that's how we ended up with Van Helsing the grizzly vampire hunter as an iconic character.
Fav Dracula? Leslie Nielsen obv. lol RIP
Haha Nice. He's my friend's favorite Dracula too, for real. 😂 Thanks for the heads up on Van Helsing. That makes more sense. I've got Dracula (1992) coming to the channel before I watch Dracula Dead and Loving It. I should be in on more of the jokes than the blunder that was my Young Frankenstein video. 😂
One of my favorite Dracula interpretations was done by Jack Palance.
Fun fact: Bela Lugosi was an heroin addict. Right after he quit, within a few weeks he died.
love these old horror films . Dracula, Wolfman, Creature from the black lagoon . Then you have the 60's with the Blob , killer tomatoes and attack of the 50 foot woman . What a pleasant surprise . Don't have a favourite Dracula movie although the first one i watched at 11 years old was Nosferatu 1922 scared the heck out of me lol . Still the most creepy version I think. All hail Sir Graves Ghastly best saturday scarefest of the 70s .
2 (count em!), 2 alternative versions of this.
1: exact same flick *but* with a "new" score by Philip Glass. It's 🔥!
2: This was filmed in the day and then at night a Mexican crew and Mexican actors filmed the _exact_ same movie for release in Mexico (literally no one had thought of dubbing nor subtitles yet, so...) Filmed in the witching hours adds to the atmosphere, and everybody trying harder (See: folks of color having to be Better at Everything 'cause of the world, most certainly in the 1930's)...it's the _far_ *better* movie. Dig it if you can find it.
I love that they just shot a second movie, that's amazing. I'll have to watch that one. Probably not for a reaction, but out of curiosity.
They weren't Mexican. The cast was Spanish speaking but the actors came from various different countries and all had differing accents.
@Gary Satterlee For some reason I thought it was specifically Mexican, but you're right. It's Spanish/Latino Dracula from across the globe...my mistake. Sincere apologies for not checking resources and then sounding like a jerk.
@@gggooding It's a common misconception.
Was raised watching this thanks to our local TV station playing the Universal stuff on weekend matinees on the regular.
Director Tod Browning was a silent filmmaker first and foremost, so his sound films always feel like silent films that just happen to have people talking, relying more on visuals than music and dialogue. This almost leaves Dracula feeling unfinished, but the creepy atmosphere and Bela Lugosi's creepily haunting performance make the film. I love Dracula, but I can admit that Frankenstein and many later Universal Monster movies are technically better.
Oh, that makes more sense why it was lacking music. Appreciate that. I agree though. I think the way Bela Lugosi's lines stand out via the long awkward (for lack of a better word) pauses worked well!
@@JayBondReacts More than that, sound movies had just been introduced, and even though silent movies had traditionally had live musical accompaniment, they basically hadn't figured out yet that audiences would accept synchronized musical underscoring, since the gimmick of talkies was supposed to be that all the sound was naturalistic. Thus, the only scene with musical accompaniment is the scene at the opera house, where the music can be explained as being played by a live orchestra within the scene.
Alice Cooper wrote a song called "the Ballard of Dwight Frye", about the actor's mental instability, who also played Fritz in the Original Frankenstein , great song , kinda creepy
There is also a Spanish language version, made by a different crew and cast. It was filmed at the same time, using the same sets but had to be filmed in the middle of the night, as the American crew were filming during the day. Many believe it to be superior. (Myself included)
Wow, that's actually really cool!
@@JayBondReacts its superior "looking".. they got to see the other crews dailies and improve on it... but their Dracula actor is dull as dirt. Lugosi OWNED Dracula on stage... so obviously he was gonna nail it on screen
@@JayBondReacts some people say the Mexican one is better than the American one.
My friend … read the book! It’s even better than ANY of the Dracula movies. I used to love the “Hammer” horror films with Christopher Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. 🦇
Not bad, but definitely doesn't hold up as when I saw it as a kid. But there are some really good 50's/60's horror/Sci-Fi flicks, like the original, uncut Spanish (?) version of "Castle of Blood", or "Danse Macabre" as the original title. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is pretty good as well. Then there's 'The Thing" (from another Planet"). Different story from the Kurt Russel remake, but still has that claustrophobic feel. "War of the Worlds" is really good!. Love "Forbidden Planet"!. That one screams to be remade. And finally, "The Day the earth Stood Still" is superior to the remake in IMHO. I can tell you exactly what's wrong with the remake, but it would require "spoilers" to do so.
I actually haven't seen any of those, shocking I know haha
I like Bela Lugosi - but I prefer Christopher Lee's Dracula in the Hammer films, and Max Schreck's Nosferatu, of course. And I have a deep love for The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974). 🙂
Bela Lagosi was THE Dracula back in the day. I used to watch "Creature Features" on WGN every weekend... Unfortunately he developed a bad Drug habit...
Movies with sound, or "talkies" as they were called, were still fairly new at this time. It must've been quite unnerving (and thrilling) for those audiences to hear creaking doors, rats, etc.
As much as I love Lugosis seriously iconic Dracula, I think my favourite Actor and Character in this movie is Edward van Sloan‘s Van Helsing. He plays him as someone who is extremely smart, wise and highly experienced… but I also get the feeling that there is a certain world-weariness there, maybe a little bit insanity of the „has seen some shit“ kind.
A true classic,...a lifelong horror fan thanks you Jay!
Fantastic selection 👊😎
Please check out Teen Witch from 1989! It's Valley Girl meets Sabrina the Teenage Witch. It stars Robin Lively and Zelda Rubinstein from Poltergeist. No one ever reacts to this movie, even though it's a moderate cult classic and it inspired a Lonely Island parody.
Oh that sounds fun, thank you!
Awesome! This is a suggestion that I had for you (and probably countless others as well lol) and the monster squad? Fn great kids fun movie. Best use of a hearse besides ecto 1. 👍
Hahaha Yes! I'm gonna revisit that one this month but not for a reaction, unless I start a "throwback revisits" series? 🤔 Cause honestly, I probably would still have a fun reaction as I've had my memory wiped 3 times over since I saw a lot of stuff.
We gotta schedule you up with Nosferatu from the 1920's. Obviously, it's a slower watch...admittedly a different era. And maybe "I was a Teenage Werewolf." from back in the '50's. Don't forget Blackula either. Good to see you drag one out of the basement to watch.
Netflix Dracula from 2001 is really great
Really happy your checking this out also Nicholas Cage is making new movie called Renfield
Yes! Can't wait for that. I need to see him in Vampire's Kiss too. I've only seen one image of him in that.
I love all the Universal Horror movies. Camp & fab. But this movie is like…the *OG* Dracula - kids still do that accent. All from Bela.
I'm glad you liked it. Sometimes it's hard for people like us being so used to modern movies to get into such old ones. And you're right, the lack of soundtrack and sound effects that we just take for granted as being everywhere is so odd.
If you like MST3K and Rifftrax type riffing you should check out the Hor-Riff-ic Productions riff of Dracula, it's really funny.
Yeah. It's definitely odd to go back, but it's also neat to see how much we've evolved while still using so many concepts from back then. I'll keep that Riff in mind on revisit. Thanks!
Bram Stoker's is good. My favorite vampire movie of all time. The Dracula film with Frank Langella is good too, but I forgot the title. Daybreakers, Salem's Lot, Blade series, are other notable vampire films that also a lot of fun. And the BBC series, 'Dracula' is amazingly terrifying.
Just avoid Twilight, okay.
Awesome! And I can't promise about Twilight. I'm oddly curious. 😂
The Frank Langella *Dracula* (1979) is the only other version based directly on the same source material as the 1931 classic (the Hamilton Deane-John Balderston play). In fact, following in Lugosi's footseps, Langella had starred in a 1977 Broadway revival of the play before doing the movie.
You should check out Blacula (1972)
Agreed. I haven't seen that full movie, only short clips in interviews and stuff.
Here are some suggestions for the rest of the Universal Monster movies; Frankenstein, The Wolfman, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
I love the Classic horrors, specially the Universal Monsters, in fact, the horror movies by universal were really a great time. Music and sound effects were already a thing but the director made a choice of not having in many scenes because he thought - and i agree- it brings are even more scary/uneasy vibe to it.
*brings a
Classic Bela Lugosi!
For a more bizarre take on Dracula - Blood For Dracula, with Udo Kier, produced by Andy Warhol. There's also a Frankenstein - Flesh For Frankenstein. They are terrible in the best ways. Watch without subtitles at your own confusion.
Nice! Haha Udo Kier is always great but definitely shows up in questionable movies.
Wait! URGENT UPDATE!- You gotta go find the new "Werewolf by Night" by Marvel, Mr. Bond, Jaymes Bond. Not gonna lie. REALLY liked it. Can't say much so you can see it! It's only a 1 hour "movie" if you will.
Reaction coming tomorrow!
@@JayBondReacts HOT DIGGITY!
Should check out the 1922 movie, "Nosferatu." The original vampire movie. Before the Universal release.
Its a silent movie.
There is a 1979 release as well of Nosferatu. But the original is good place to start.
Then check out the Hammer Films studio releases of Dracula, starring Christopher Lee. They released several.
Great video, man! But hey, I'm gonna do my man Bela a solid. His name isn't pronounced Bella like from Twilight, but as Bay-Luh.
I heard that this movie was shot on a very small budget of $355,000 and in 2022 would of cost $6,147,497.52
If I'm not mistaken that's why they decided to adapt the play version and not the original book. It was significantly cheaper.
@@Quirderph I haven't read the original book by stoker but will get around to it
My mom first introduced me to the Universal Monster series and this is one of her favorites. I think from that and probably 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?', I developed a fascination with vampires. It's generally one of the genres of horror I gravitate to. I remember even reading Bram Stokers Dracula; so for me, I prefer the 90s version with Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins, it's my favorite, so I'm really excited that you are going to watch it!
This kicked off the whole Universal horror era, but I have to say it's my least fave compared to "Frankenstein" which came out months later, and "Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde" which came out months after that. Other FANTASTIC horror films of the early 30s: "Island Of Lost Souls" is a must-see. "Freaks" and "M" are honorary horror films. The original "King Kong" is still the greatest (and most important) version. "The Invisible Man" is great. "The Bride Of Frankenstein" is even better than the original. "Dracula" is great and iconic (a Spanish version was made at the same time, on the same exact sets and I think is superior), don't get me wrong. But what followed has aged a lot better. "Island Of Lost Souls" is particularly creepy, even now.
This was great! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've never seen this one - I grew up with the romanticized Frank Langella version (1979) and then later the Hammer version with Christopher Lee.
I love Bram Stoker's novel. I'm afraid modern readers might find it really slow - admittedly there's a lot of repetition (I think it was first published as a serial? - so that makes sense) - but there are a lot of epic scenes, and some real tearjerkers, like when the guys pledge their loyalty to Mina after she's been attacked, and they swear to wipe out Dracula and save Mina's soul.
I'm definitely on board if you want to react to more oldies like this.
Hi Jay,
if you're really intersted in the OG, please watch the silent movie "Nosferatu" (1922) by Friedrich Murnau. To my knowlege, it is the first adaptation of the novel, the producers only changed the names of the characters for copyright reasons 🙂
Other classics from that era would be "Metropolis" (1927) and "The cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920).
Thanks! I watched Nosferatu as a teen but I'm not sure if I could sit through it these days. The other two I have not seen though.
@@JayBondReacts I would say, give it a try. You're older now and you've seen much more movies, you'll surely find other aspects of it interesting than back then.
I hope you will review the Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis movie "Scared Stiff." Another movie that scared the hell out of me as a kid but was funny as well. It's one of my all-time favorite movies.
Oh, I haven't seen that one! I have seen an 80s horror movie of the same name though. 😂
Renfield was in an asylum Jonathan Harker closed the deal
I'm confused, what do you mean Jonathan Harker closed the deal? Renfield was the one who went to Dracula's to get him to sign the finalization papers.
It's easy for people to get confused, because in Bram Stoker's original novel it's Jonathan Harker (rather than Renfield) who travels to Transylvania to meet Dracula and arrange the sale of Carfax Abbey.
Ppl talked weird back then
I like it! It's almost like a stage play where things are over exaggerated.
@@JayBondReacts everyone is so articulate compared to nowadays. I hadn't seen this movie in prolly 20 years. It's also weird to think about how many of these movie stars back then were like hard core opium, heroine, laudanum addicts and yet nobody looked all shitty and broke down
@@JayBondReacts There is a good reason it feels like a stage play. That's because this is a filmed version of the Broadway play from 1927 which had starred Bela Lugosi and Edward Van Sloan ( Van Helsing ). Only the Castle scene was adapted from Stoker's novel - the rest is Balderston's stage version.
You need to realize that this was the starting point for Horror movies in the "sound age."
There was a silent movie version - 1922's NOSFERATU but, it was not authorized by Stoker's Widow and courts ordered it pulled from theaters and destroyed. Very few audiences actually saw it during that time period. Decades later, a surviving print was found and today it has become quite popular.
But, the Bela Lugosi film is the one that actually started the suspension of disbelief in the Supernatural for horror movies in the 1930s. Horror movies prior to DRACULA ( 1931 ) always had a " reasonable" explanation.
DRACULA challenged theater-goers of that age and soon more such "horrors" followed: FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY, THE INVISBLE MAN, etc... It was with FRANKENSTEIN that Universal dared something new - by introducing a sequel and showing that the Monster had survived. Eventually, they figured out how to make it seem plausible for DRACULA to be brought back, too. But, before that, they simply gave us his progeny: DRACULA'S DAUGHTER and SON OF DRACULA. And, to be honest, it was Columbia Pictures movie: RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE ( 1943 ) which beat Universal Studios, showing audiences how a destroyed vampire could be revived. And to increase its credibility, the vampire was portrayed by none other than BELA LUGOSI!
Gary, thanks for all the info! It's cool to hear all of this. As much horror as I watch, the details of the origins like this was never something I ever knew. I've never done any film studies or anything, so this actually helps fill in gaps in my knowledge of that era. Truly appreciate it.
@@JayBondReacts Thanx for your movie reaction and interest in these older classics! It's very refreshing.
If you can put up with me rattling on a bit more...
There are some silent film classics that you simply MUST see that are bordering on the Supernatural. These include: Lon Chaney's HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Fritz Lang's groundbreaking Sci- Fi: METROPOLIS and the most supernatural precursor of all: Paul Wegner's DER GOLEM.
The thing that sets DER GOLEM apart is that it isn't based on a work of fiction! It is based on a Czechoslovakian legend that many feel convinced may be true. Rabbi Loew was an actual, historical person who many believe brought a Golem to life in order to protect the Jewish people in Prague!
so, shocking I know, but my obsessing with Dacula, and who he based off of Vlad, is well, ginormous. (and creature from black lagoon) but I wrote so many reports every year from middle to high school on Vlad. Count Orlok will away have my heart (nosferatu) But Gary Oldman's version is and always will be my favorite. But I'm gonna save that for that video. ANYWAY, I also named my chihuahua, Mina from Dracula. Love the review, lol neck meat.
I'm not sure what caught my attention more, the black and white film choice or the Timmie's coffee!
This review was excellent. You did some editing explaining, not sure if it was deliberate, but I appreciate it. I'm hoping The Lost Boys is coming down the pipe soon...
@Baked Biehn Hi Friend! Lost Boys is a great intro movie, it's fun and not *too* scary....I have my niece and nephew into horror now, we broke the ice with the It remake (at their request), I'm careful to scare but not traumatize, lol
Hahaha I honestly had Lost Boys on my calendar for today, but if all goes well, I'll be watching it for next week!
@Baked Biehn Thanks for the tip! We did Big Ass Spider, they loved it. Lake Placid is on our list, and they love shark movies too: Jaws, Bait, The Shallows, etc
@Baked Biehn Yeah, I can't wait for Halloween!! These kiddos know who all the players are (Freddy, Michael, etc), but I don't think they're *quite* ready for that. Let me know what you think of Halloween Ends!
Thanks!
Thank you Adrianne! 🙌
@@JayBondReacts ❤