Dracula (1931 Spanish-language film)

Dracula (Spanish version)
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by	George Melford
Produced by	Paul Kohner Carl Laemmle, Jr.
Written by	Novel: Bram Stoker Stage Play: Hamilton Deane John L. Balderston Screenplay: Baltasar Fernández Cué
Starring	Carlos Villarías Lupita Tovar Barry Norton Pablo Álvarez Rubio Eduardo Arozamena
Cinematography	George Robinson
Edited by	Arthur Tavares (as Arturo Tavares)
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	April 24, 1931 (April 24, 1931)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Spanish Hungarian
Budget	$66,000

Drácula is a 1931 American Spanish-language horror film directed by George Melford. It is an adaptation of the 1897 novel of the same name by Bram Stoker as well as the 1924 stage play, and was filmed at night on the same sets that were being used during the day for the 1931 English-language film of the same name.

In the early days of sound film, it was common for Hollywood studios to produce foreign-language versions of their films (usually in Spanish, but also in French, Italian and German) using the same sets and costumes. Of the cast, only Carlos Villarías (playing Dracula) was permitted to see rushes of the English-language film starring Bela Lugosi and was encouraged to imitate the other man's performance. As well, some long shots of Lugosi as the Count as well as some alternate takes from the English version were used in this production.

In recent years, this version has become more highly praised by some than the better known English-language version. The Spanish crew had the advantage of watching the English dailies when they came in for the evening, and they would figure out better camera angles and more effective use of lighting in an attempt to "top" it. As a result, this version's supporters consider it to be much more artistically effective. The Spanish semiologist Roman Gubern considers that the longer duration allows better development of the plot in spite of the shortened shooting time and smaller budget.

This film was thought to be lost until a print was discovered in the 1970s and restored. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Cast (in credits order)

• Carlos Villarías (billed as Carlos Villar) as Conde Drácula
• Lupita Tovar as Eva Seward
• Barry Norton as Juan Harker
• Pablo Alvarez Rubio as Renfield
• Eduardo Arozamena as Van Helsing
• José Soriano Viosca as Doctor Seward
• Carmen Guerrero as Lucía Weston
• Amelia Senisterra as Marta
• Manuel Arbó as Martín

Plot

Renfield, a solicitor, makes a journey into Transylvania via stagecoach. He mentions his destination, Castle Dracula, to the locals who react with alarm. They tell him Count Dracula is a vampire and when he doesn't believe them, one insists he wear a cross. When he arrives at the Castle, the Count bids him welcome. After drinking drugged wine, Renfield drops the cross and is bitten.

Aboard ship, a now-enslaved Renfield laughs maniacally below as Dracula picks off the crew one by one. When the ship reaches [England], he is the only living person found.

Dracula meets Dr. Seward and his family at the opera. Lucia is completely fascinated by him and that night becomes his victim. Professor Van Helsing is called in, and he recognizes the danger for what it is. He also realizes that Dr. Seward's patient Renfield is somehow tied up in events. But soon after meeting the Doctor's new neighbor, Dracula, he figures out who is a vampire—based on the fact Dracula casts no reflection in the mirror. Not a moment too soon, because by now Seward's daughter Eva is falling under his spell. To her horror, she feels increasingly weak and also increasingly wild—at one point attacking her fiancé Juan.

With Seward's and Harker's help, Van Helsing seeks to trap Dracula but he outwits them and escapes with Eva by seizing control of a nurse's mind. They follow Renfield into Carfax Abbey—an act which ends with Dracula killing his slave by strangulation then tossing him from a tall staircase. Deep in the catacombs under Carfax, they find Dracula asleep and Eva, still alive. Van Helsing drives a stake through the vampire's heart, and as Eva and Harker leave, Van Helsing prays over Renfield's body.

Release

The film was theatrically released on October 25 & 28, 2015 as part of the "TCM Presents" series by Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events. Two showings each day played a double-feature with the Spanish film's English counterpart.

Home media

It was included as a bonus feature on the Classic Monster Collection DVD in 1999, the Legacy Collection DVD in 2004, the 75th Anniversary Edition DVD set in 2006, and was remastered in high definition for the Universal Monsters: The Essential Collection Blu-ray boxed set. In September 2014 it was released as part of the 4-DVD/6-movie set, titled Dracula: Complete Legacy Collection. Included was an interview with Lupita Tovar, who had married producer Paul Kohner two years after filming. The film had earlier been reissued in its own right on VHS.

See also

• Dracula (1979), which is based on the same Deane/Balderston play
• Vampire film

References

Bibliography

• David J. Skal (2004). Hollywood Gothic : The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen ISBN 978-0-571-21158-6

External links

• Drácula at IMDb
• Drácula at AllMovie
• Drácula at the American Film Institute Catalog for the Spanish version