Wednesday, October 29, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Instructor: Alice Bullitt, M.A., BMFI Board Member
In the universe of cinematic monsters, none looms quite so large as the vampire. And among the array of cinematic vampires—Edward Cullen, Lestat de Lioncourt, Sesame Street’s Count—none compares to Count Dracula. Originating from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, the OG creature of the night is a mass of contradictions, an object of simultaneous attraction and repulsion, and a locus of the cultural and sexual anxieties of its day.
Tod Browning’s 1931 film was the first licensed adaptation of DRACULA, largely based on a Broadway play starring Bela Lugosi. Reprising his role in the film, Lugosi would deliver a career-defining performance. With his thick Hungarian accent, mesmerizing gaze, and signature tuxedo and cape, Lugosi’s DRACULA was at once seductive and dangerous, thus creating the template on which all other representations of the character would be based.
Additionally, DRACULA was one of the first horror films produced by Universal, a second-tier studio at that time. Released at the height of the Great Depression, the film’s success led Universal to invest heavily in—and in effect create—the modern “monster movie” genre, with films like Frankenstein, The Mummy, and a score of DRACULA sequels to follow. Our discussion will cover the historical background of the novel, production history and analysis of the film, and an assessment of its cultural and stylistic legacy.
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