Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931)

By sheer coincidence, this is the version of Dracula I have seen the most.

I recorded it off the TV and remember watching it quite a lot as a kid. I cannot say I loved it, but at over 70 mins in length, it was an easy watch.

It has been almost 20 years since I last watched it, which gives me some distance from my earlier impressions.

Watching it after FW Murnau’s Nosferatu does it little favour.

But like the earlier film, it benefits from a remarkable, one-of-a-kind star.

The first half hour, the film has an eerie, understated power. Once the action is confined to the Seward’s residence, the film loses steam. 

A lot of the more supernatural elements are conveyed through monologue, recalling this version’s stage origins.

I have read different stories of the film’s production - there are rumours that Browning, for various reasons, was not significantly involved, and it fell to cinematographer Karl Freund to direct the film.

Whatever the real story, the film’s most iconic effects owe a lot to his work, particularly the close ups of a glowering Lugosi. 

Certain edits around violence add to the film’s dreamlike vibe - the brief scene of Renfield crawling toward the maid’s body and lowering toward her exposed neck is never referenced.

While stilted and ponderous, it is hard to take these elements as purely flaws - that stop-start pacing and lingering shots are part of the film’s atmosphere, drawing attention to the theatrical yet uncanny power of the main character.

Related

Dracula (1979)

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

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