Synopsis
British estate agent Renfield travels to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Count Dracula, who is interested in leasing a castle in London and is, unbeknownst to Renfield, a vampire. After Dracula enslaves Renfield and drives him to insanity, the pair sail to London together, and as Dracula begins preying on London socialites, the two become the subject of study for a supernaturalist professor, Abraham Van Helsing.
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Cast
- Bela LugosiCount Dracula
- Helen ChandlerMina Seward
- David MannersJohn Harker
- Dwight FryeRenfield
- Edward Van SloanProfessor Abraham Van Helsing
- Herbert BunstonDr. Jack Seward
- Frances DadeLucy Weston
- Joan StandingNurse Briggs (uncredited)
- Charles K. GerrardMartin
- Anna BakacsInnkeeper's Daughter (uncredited)
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
Certainly it is Lugosi's performance, and the cinematography of Karl Freund, that make Tod Browning's film such an influential Hollywood picture. - 80
Variety
On the screen it comes out as a sublimated ghost story related with all surface seriousness and above all with a remarkably effective background of creepy atmosphere. - 80
Empire
There have been many Draculas. But the one against which all others are measured is Bela Lugosi. Tod Browning's 1931 film is stagey and creaky, but it also has wonderful, unforgettable moments. - 75
ReelViews
As is often the case with pioneers, it is ragged around the edges, but the film's weaknesses are not enough to prevent it from being appreciated. Dracula is not scary; it's a little too campy and hokey to be so (especially by today's standards), but it is nevertheless an effective storytelling vehicle, and there are occasional moments of movie magic. - 70
The New York Times
With Mr. Browning's imaginative direction and Mr. Lugosi's makeup and weird gestures, this picture succeeds to some extent in its grand guignol intentions. - 70
Time Out
Not by any means the masterpiece of fond memory or reputation, although the first twenty minutes are astonishingly fluid and brilliantly shot by Karl Freund, despite the intrusive painted backdrops. - 70
Los Angeles Times
Despite having been directed by Tod Browning, the classic 1931 version of the oft-told horror tale suffers from a poor script, a deservedly forgotten supporting cast and a stately pace better suited to silent films. But it does have the suavely sinister Bela Lugosi and superb cinematography by Karl Freund. [09 Sep 1990, p.22] - 60
Chicago Reader
Universal's classic from 1931, directed by Tod Browning. The opening scenes, set in Dracula's castle, are magnificent—grave, stately, and severe. But the film becomes unbearably static once the action moves to England, and much of the morbid sexual tension is dissipated.
