The Horror Of...Universal Monsters, Dracula (1931)

Dracula, when I was a kid still had a certain sway. Yes it was old, and a new era of slasher killers was coming into prominence, but those Universal Monsters couldn't be denied. The black and white, the misty streets and forest, the baying wolves, and the creatures walking out of the shadows seeking their prey.

They were also conveniently available for us to watch, or sneak a viewing of. I remember the first of my viewings of Dracula came late at night when I got up and turned on the old portable TV near my bedroom. It had a broken antenna on it, and the wiring to the back of the tv was not great, but if you fidgeted with it, you could break through the static and get some channels, and some UHF. (...I know most of you have no idea what I'm talking about. I clearly come from some dark age of entertainment.) And as I moved the lousy antenna a bit, the opening of Dracula came into focus. A carriage racing through mountains.

It was thanks to Shock Theater that we all had these movies ingrained in us at a young age. Creatures of the night. Cinematic terrors, that by my childhood became more agreeable for the whole family to enjoy. How horrible!


Now let's go back to where we left off, Universal had finally gained the rights to Dracula (They got the rights to the book and stage play for $40,000.), and Tod Browning had been brought on board to direct.

Tod Browning had a good career as a director: London After Midnight (which was sadly mostly lost -- But I plan to cover down the road.), Thirteenth Chair (his first talking movie, and his first time working with Bela Lugosi), Freaks, Mark of the Vampire (with Bela Lugosi again), The Unknown, The Unholy Three, The Blackbird, The Road to Mandalay. Several of his movies were made working with Lon Chaney. They were good friends.

Chaney was one of the leading men they wanted to have in the film. In fact, it's one of the reasons that Carl Laemmle, Sr. greenlit the movie. He expected they could get Chaney onboard at Universal. But that didn't happen, as he stayed at MGM. And he ended up remaking Browning's The Unholy Three without Browning. Shortly after, Chaney died.

The Horror Of...Halloween Night, The Old Dark House (1932)

While their is a set of classic horror films people know, many others from the period fall in the cracks. Some found no audience, some were lost, and some just get missed. So let's look at a strangely missed work.

After the fun of The Ghoul let's step back a year to another under appreciated classic from Boris Karloff's filmography. A dark manor house on a dark night filled by a raging storm. A house full of history, secrets, and misery. Then, as the roads are washed away, a collection of young and clueless travelers arrive, seeking shelter from nature's wrath. What ever will they find in the depths of...

The Old Dark House.

One of the next films James Whale worked on, following Frankenstein, was The Old Dark House. It also allowed him work with Boris Karloff again, in the colorful and silent role of Morgan the butler. Morgan is also a drunken and angry man who is held in place by the lady of the house. This also was the first film where Whale and Karloff worked with Ernest Thesiger, who plays Horace Femm. He is a member of the family that own the house, but is cowed by his sister and terrified of the house and it's secrets.

This is also Charles Laughton's first film in the United States. He plays voracious businessman Sir William Porterhouse. The character carries a grudge against wealthy elite snobs that he thinks look down on people like him.


Beyond these 3 men, this is also another production of Carl Laemmle Jr, and from Universal Studios. It has a clear pedigree as a part of the whole of Universal Horror. But it lacks any of the classic monsters, like the film Black Cat, so it ends up excluded.

The story this film is based off is a 1920's book. There the focus is more on the post-WWI period and the impact on the war on the characters. Some of this can be seen in the film. Like with the character of Penderel. He is a friend and hanger on of a married couple. He is casual and jovial, but always is an outsider and disenchanted with the modern world. He's a little lost since the war.

Universal eventually let their rights to the book lapse, and another studio began working another film. At the time in the 1960's, Universal seemed uninterested in this film, and it was at risk of being lost due to neglect. But an enthusiast searched Universal and found the negatives. He then helped get them restored, to ensure the film would be available for decades to come.

And here we are.

The Horror Of...Universal Monsters, and the coming of Dracula

There has been a quite a gap in my coverage of Dracula in films, and Universal Movie monsters. So much so that I had not realized that the last of the cast of Dracula (1931) had passed last year. Carla Laemmle.

So as we delve back into the catacombs where Dracula lies, let's remember this woman with old ties to our classic horror.

Carla Laemmle was the niece of Universal Studios executive Carl Laemmle. She was lucky enough to get a role in Dracula, a speaking role even. That is a feat, if you consider how few speaking roles there are in the film, and that movies with talking in them were still rather new.

Speaking role in the movie, and great lighting. She must know someone.

More over, she gets the honor of being the first voice heard in a "supernatural thriller". She has a place in horror history. Mark her!

It's not her only tie to horror films. She also plays a small role in the early silent Phantom of the Opera. She's a dancer on stage.

People do like to know when actors overlap between different. Carla Laemmle is one of them. (And as we go through Universal Horror, we'll see some more of the cast of Dracula popping up in other later films.)

Now, let's get back to Dracula. If you have a desire to go back to some of the earlier pieces on Dracula and vampires, check here. And for a recap of Universal Horror.



I have previously touched on Dracula's early cinematic history, and Universal Studios acquiring the rights. But, before we delve into Dracula and it's making, let's look back at what made this film possible.

Creeping Up On Halloween With Universal Monsters

While many people and studios have had there impact on cinematic horror, Universal Studios has a long pedigree.

The 1930's began a line of films that help shape horror in many ways still. Black and white. Dark moors and forest. Angry villagers with their torches. "Good evening." "It's alive!" "Even a good man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when..."

Remember the Treehouse of Horror 20 title sequence?

Passing out of 2008, we now reach the 20th anniversary of these Simpsons' Halloween Specials.

We pan up to a castle overlooking the city.

Inside Frankenstein's monster rests.

But now he rises.

And heads out.

But comes back for the lights.

The Horror Of...Dracula Through the Ages - All of the Posts

"Hey! ...You aren't sleeping are you? I'm bored. Wanna
talk?"

With a finish to the extended cursory overview trek into Dracula and his progenitors...that's a lot of words...I thought it would be nice to put them altogether in one post.

"Well I thought it was a good idea!"

From legends to Penny Dreadfuls to novel to Bela.

"How are you getting 4G here?"

• From Folklore and History

• The Literature That Came Before

• Stoker's Tale

• Beyond Books

I won't be updating this for the movies as I look at various Dracula movies. Of course that's why there's the Dracula label. This is also part of the look at Universal Monsters overall, started here.

"Damn it! Get to my movie already!"

The Horror Of...Dracula through the Ages - Beyond Books

Stoker's Dracula novel had it's day in the light, but it did not cement Stoker's place among writer's of his day. People shifted to other stories soon enough. While much of the public moved on from Dracula, it did stick in some people's head. It latched on. Dracula would not rest.

Dracula did not make the Stoker's economically comfortable. They struggled. Late in life Stoker had to try for grants to support his family. It wouldn't be until after Bram Stoker's death that the Stoker family would see real returns from Dracula.

It would take a new medium. Theater.

The Horror Of...Dracula through the Ages - Stoker's Tale

Having enjoyed some folklore, having taken in some other literature, it's time for the main act.

It's time to get to the book most know. You know the book. Bram's Stoker most remembered tale.

Dracula (1931) Promo Photo

DRACULA

The Horror Of...Dracula through the Ages - The Literature That Came Before

From folklore and rumor, we go to the tale on the page.

Let's get into the literature that led into and inspired Dracula. After all, while Dracula inspired many, it was also born from earlier work.

Many of the works that helped cement the more modern view of the vampire, and formed the basis of Dracula, came early in the 19th century.

The Horror Of...Dracula through the Ages, From Folklore and History

In the dark, down through the ages, we have been stalked. From the shadows we can feel it, but never can we escape it. Our dreaded myths and legends will never let us be.

That which hunts us has gone by many names, and has had many forms. Folklore. Legend. Myth.

And among those mythic visions is the vampire. The creature of the night. The creature of the tomb. The creature of blood.

While we've grown comfortable with a particular vision of the vampire it hasn't always been limited by one set of rules. Different cultures have had their beasts. Beasts that feasted on blood. Beast that feast on flesh. Beast that won't stay put in their graves. Dracula may be synonymous with vampirism, but he isn't the Alpha or Omega.

Le Vampire Engraving - R. de
Moraine - 1864

The vampire has had it's forms and predilections. An amorphous form with tentacles. A hopping corpse that can go rabid. A ghoul. A ghost. Detachable parts. A creature that spreads sickness. A being that stalks up behind lords in their halls and bashes them over the back of the head, using a bucket to catch up all the best bits.

Another aspect often at debate is just who can become a vampire. Generally, it was the dead who would turn; unless we are talking of tales of naturally preternatural being. Sometimes a person who was wronged would not stay still in their grave; no peace found. Other times it was a vile criminal who Hell could not hold. As you can imagine the ideas intersected a great deal with the ideas of other beings, like ghosts.

That is just how folklore works. It changes, from person to person, from culture to culture, and age to age. Changing. Morphing. It finds it's new niche.

Transitioning from word of mouth the vampire became a useful force in written stories. They would appear in different forms from time to time in different cultures.

Let's get into the some tales that at least partly step out of folklore and into reality. Some historic events also marked future tales of vampires.

The Horror Of...Universal Monsters and Shock Theater

From Screen Gem catalog.

Following my look at Universal Monsters in general, I wanted to consider how these characters emerged. Sure, they had their premieres, and found fans. But what happen in the decades to follow, to help keep them in the public's mind? I wanted to look at where those creatures went in the 1950's. And the answer is...

Shock Theater! (or Theatre, if you like)

In 1957 Universal made the decision to release 52 of it's horror movies in a package called SHOCK! It was part of a deal made with Screen Gems. (They also sold packages of other genres.) The idea was to syndicate these movies, and share them on television.

It was an important moment, as it allowed these movies to be more easily accessed by a new generation of potential fans. Like the young kids that never got to see these movies the first time around. Also those that remember seeing these movies in a different time. It was a chance to be taken back to their youths.

Among this package of movies was Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, and The Mummy. Most of what would be called the Universal Monsters. (Obviously Creature from the Black Lagoon was still a too recent movie for them to offer up.) Also many of the sequels were also offered up. And other interesting films, like The Black Cat.

And then in 1958 a second batch of 20 movies were released. SON OF SHOCK. It included more of the Universal Monster sequels, including Bride of Frankenstein.

It all created quite a stir with TV viewers, and inspired new merchandise and new media.

The Horror Of...Universal Monsters *UPDATED*

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS

Those words conjure potent images.

Going back a century the horror films coming out of Universal have set benchmarks. And up through the 1950's the creatures and figures at the center of these movies became cemented in the minds of movie goers and kids.