Home
search
more | tips
SHOP DRACULA
Amazon.com Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk Amazon.de Amazon.fr
IMDb > Dracula (1931)
Dracula
[Add to My Movies]
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Dracula (1931)

advertisement
Register or login to rate this title
User Rating: 7.7/10 (9,399 votes)
Photos (see all 44 | slideshow) Videos
IMDb Coverage of Comic-Con 2008

Overview

Director:
Tod Browning
more
Writers:
Bram Stoker (novel)
Hamilton Deane (play) ...
more
Release Date:
14 February 1931 (USA) more view trailer
Genre:
Drama | Fantasy | Horror more
Tagline:
The story of the strangest passion the world has ever known! more
Plot:
The ancient vampire Count Dracula arrives in England and begins to prey upon the virtuous young Mina. full summary | full synopsis (warning! may contain spoilers)
Awards:
1 win more
User Comments:
Lugosi's Triumph more

Cast

 (Complete credited cast)
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
75 min (corrected release length)
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Hungarian
Colour:
Black and White (tinted)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Finland:K-15 (2004) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Iceland:12 | Spain:T | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | UK:PG | USA:Approved | Sweden:7
MOVIEmeter: ?
^ 15% since last week why?

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the scene where Dracula and Renfield are traveling to London by boat, the footage shown is from a Universal silent film called The Storm Breaker (1925). Silent film was projected at a high frames-per-second speed than sound-on-sound film, accounting for the jerky movements and quicker-than-normal action of the 'The Storm Breaker' shots. more
Goofs:
Errors in geography: Dr. Seward's sanitarium is said to be both "near London" and "in Whitby." Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast in northern England, is nowhere near London. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Young Girl Passenger: [reading from a Transylvanian tourist brochure] "Among the rugged peaks that crown down upon the Borgo Pass are found crumbling castles of a bygone age."
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (2003) (TV) more

FAQ

Is Lucy still roaming around London killing children?
What is unusual about Renfield and John Harker in this adaptation?
A NOTE ABOUT SPOILERS
more
10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful:-
Lugosi's Triumph, 23 July 2004
9/10
Author: Arriflex1 from Beyond The Cosmos

Tod Browning's film of the Stoker novel didn't so much eclipse Murnau's NOSFERATU (1922) as shove it into antiquity. One big reason was the technological advancement of sound. Roughly three years old by 1930, the public embraced the talking picture wholeheartedly over silents.

The other big reason for Dracula's success was that the star of the stage play had been cast as the star of the film. And movie history was made. Bela Lugosi's Count Dracula is now a seventy-four year old icon, outlasting all other interpretations before or since. The twist is that this Dracula looks nothing like Stoker's creation (read the book). Lugosi, either through his work with the playwrights or later at Universal with Browning, devised the most insidious form the character would ever take- a handsome, courtly, well-groomed, civilized aristocrat, so gracious and attractive that he projected an aura of well-being over the viewer. This was worlds away from the Murnau/Max Schreck approach of head-on abomination in NOSFERATU.

Sensibly, no one in their right mind would stay within viewing distance of Schreck (or Kinski in NOSFERATU, THE VAMPYRE and Dafoe in SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE) after the first glimpse. But Lugosi's Count would have you chatting and drinking wine- until he began to drink of you. That cape and those evening clothes are the perfect deception. Browning's Dracula is sometimes stagy and tentative in its continuity (it feels at times that the director was unsure where to go next in the progression of scenes). But Karl Freund's photography summons up a persistent mood of heavy gloom and enveloping dread.

Two other assets in the film are Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing and Dwight Frye as Renfield. Van Sloan was Universal's resident Learned Man, appearing as an Egyptologist in THE MUMMY (1933), and perhaps most famously as Dr. Waldman in FRANKENSTEIN (1931). A career-long character actor, Dwight Frye was an eccentric talent who appears to have worked exclusively at Universal. He had his best role as Renfield, producing a still blood-curdling, sneering laugh that seemed to come from the depths of a hellish insanity. If you haven't seen this Dracula please do so. The Count awaits.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this title with other users on IMDb message board for Dracula (1931)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
75th Anniversary Edition or Legacy Collection? Christopher_Robin_1955
this movie was hilarious!!! fmandosa
Should I show the Original Score or the Philip Glass Score? kalchthaleri
I finally got the DVD, Philip Glass' score is great! bilttd_biscoi
Dracula Sequels Doc_Copeland
Who Is Dracula? pepe1615
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Drácula Dracula Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht Dracula Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Drama section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.