Bela Lugosi in the motion picture Dracula and Boris Karloff in Frankenstein created the archetypes for two of the most famous monsters in the horror film genre.
No two performers have been more associated with a particular motion-picture genre than Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Lugosi’s chilling portrayal of the vampire in Dracula and Karloff’s sensational incarnation as the monster in Frankenstein left Hollywood with a legacy of definitive performances that established a standard for horror films to come.
Dracula and Frankenstein, both released in 1931, were the first horror films produced by Universal Pictures.
In 1930, Universal bought the film rights to a play by Hamilton Deane that was based on the 1897 Bram Stoker
The director of the film version of Dracula, Tod Browning, had a talent for the macabre. His direction of Lon Chaney,
The tremendous impact the film had on audiences was in part due to Lugosi’s exotic and mysterious presence. His halting command of English, his long black cape, and his refined manners created a stir among women, some of whom actually fainted during showings of the film. In the credits, however, Lugosi was merely listed along with the other players.
In the film, Lugosi plays the part of Count Dracula, a five-hundred-year-old vampire whose thirst for human blood cannot be quenched. As the undying vampire constantly in search of new victims, he moves from his castle in Transylvania to the ruins of an abbey in England. While attending an opera one evening, he meets two young women from polite society. Using his cultivated charm and mysterious gaze, he begins stalking them, apparently with the aim of turning them into vampires also, but a famous vampire killer, Dr. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) comes to the rescue. After some psychic struggle between the two, Van Helsing tracks Dracula to his coffin lair and drives a stake through his heart, thus breaking the spell.
Because Dracula was being filmed during the Depression, when Universal operated under rather severe budget restraints, every effort was made to save money. In one scene, Universal even used footage cannibalized from one of its other films. Most of the four hundred thousand dollars it cost to make Dracula went into the fantastic sets of Dracula’s castle; Lugosi was paid a mere thirty-five hundred dollars for his performance.
Universal was at first unsure of the impact Dracula would have on the public. Fearing that the film might be rejected as too horrible or disgusting, the studio had its publicity department advertise the film as “the story of the strangest passion the world has ever known.”
Dracula was released on Valentine’s Day, 1931, and was an instant success. The popularity of the film owed as much to Lugosi’s sinister charisma as to Tod Browning’s direction and the magnificent sets. The role of Count Dracula was Lugosi’s greatest success, and he became permanently typecast as a player of vampires, monsters, and fiends. His “Count Dracula” was copyrighted by Universal, and virtually all subsequent movie vampires were modeled after him in name or in style.
So successful was Dracula that Universal immediately set out to make another horror film. Choosing the right material was a challenge; however, Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein was considered a likely follow-up to Dracula. Although an early treatment was prepared by writer-director Robert Florey, the studio finally gave the picture to director James Whale.
Whale, a theatrically trained director, selected Boris Karloff, an established character player in Hollywood films, to test for the part of the monster. Karloff saw the role as a dramatic challenge and had Jack P. Pierce,
As adapted for film, Frankenstein is the story of a slightly mad scientist, Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive), who attempts to create a living man by stitching together parts of cadavers. His final and most important step in the process is to find a suitable brain. Frankenstein’s assistant, Fritz (Dwight Frye), a half-witted hunchback, mistakenly brings his master a criminal brain rather than a normal one. After being subjected to electrical current from bolts of lightning, the monster comes alive. Although Frankenstein is thrilled at the success of his work, the monster is so hideous that he is kept hidden from view in a dungeonlike cell. After being tortured by Fritz and finally escaping, the monster accidentally kills a child and is pursued by an angry mob of villagers. Dr. Frankenstein joins the mob in search of the monster. During the night, the monster grabs his creator and seeks refuge in an old windmill. The villagers finally surround the windmill and set fire to it, apparently killing the monster in the process.
Jack Pierce’s artistry transformed Karloff into a truly horrible creature, with hinged skull, electrodes protruding from his neck, and a stiff-legged, lurching walk. So fearful were studio managers that Karloff would terrify audiences that a prologue was added to warn the audiences that the film was capable of frightening and shocking them.
When Frankenstein premiered in Santa Barbara, California, on December 6, 1931, it created a huge sensation. Karloff, who was not even invited to the premiere, became an overnight horror superstar. In choosing Karloff to play the monster, Whale had made a brilliant choice. Karloff, who had served a lengthy apprenticeship both on the stage and in films, gave the monster a sympathetic quality. Although the character had no dialogue, Karloff was able to convey a wide range of emotions, from childlike innocence to terrified bewilderment. The poignant performance confirmed Karloff’s ability as a first-rate actor.
Not only are Frankenstein and Dracula the most famous of the Universal horror films of the 1930’s and 1940’s, but they also influenced the development of the entire genre. One of the most significant results of the success of the films has been the enduring popularity of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Both men were highly regarded actors who had already established their careers well before becoming involved in horror films. Because of their definitive performances, however, Lugosi and Karloff became typecast in the horror genre. For better or worse, their names became forever linked in the minds of the public to films that evoke fear and terror.
Frankenstein was quickly followed by Murders in the Rue Morgue,
Two other Universal films of 1932, The Old Dark House and The Mummy,
The Invisible Man, directed by James Whale and starring Claude Rains, was adapted from H. G. Wells’s 1897 novel The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance. Because of the innovative special effects devised to convey the illusion of invisibility, The Invisible Man is considered a unique film in Hollywood history.
Lugosi and Karloff made their first joint appearance in a Universal film in The Black Cat (1934).
Lugosi and Karloff were to be paired again in the 1930’s in another Universal adaptation of a Poe tale, The Raven (1935). Karloff was to re-create his role as the monster in two Frankenstein sequels, The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which also featured Lugosi. Among the other memorable films of those years are Dracula’s Daughter (1936), The Wolf Man (1941), and The Mummy’s Tomb. The studio even successfully rereleased Frankenstein and Dracula on a double bill in 1938.
Although Lugosi was perhaps as talented an actor as Karloff, he did not select his roles carefully, and he went on to make a number of forgettable, even embarrassing, films. In later years, marital and health problems took their toll, and by the mid-1950’s he was broke and addicted to drugs. He died practically destitute in 1956. Karloff, although also typecast as a horror film star, had a busy and varied career in other areas of show business, including television and the stage. In 1941, he achieved critical success in the Broadway production of Arsenic and Old Lace. Karloff’s gentle nature and quiet refinement were in stark contrast to the fiendishness of the ghouls he played in films.
By the end of the 1930’s, although fans still turned out to see the latest Universal tales of horror, many of the studio’s films were mere remakes that exploited earlier films. The result was that each new title seemed to parody the horror genre.
Although Dracula and Frankenstein are far from perfect films, horror fans continue to consider them minor masterpieces. The films may have lost much of their power to frighten, but the monsters created by Lugosi and Karloff remain definitive horror performances.
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Bojarski, Richard. The Complete Films of Bela Lugosi. New York: Citadel Press, 1980. Comprehensive survey of all Lugosi’s film appearances, including his earliest films made in Hungary and Germany. Carol Borland, who played the female vampire Luna alongside Lugosi in Mark of the Vampire (1935), contributes a wonderful introduction. Brief biography precedes the catalog of films. Includes many rare photographs. -
Brunas, Michael, John Brunas, and Tom Weaver. Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931-1946. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1990. A critical examination of every horror film produced by Universal in the 1930’s and 1940’s, presented chronologically. Features insightful commentary presented with a nice touch of humor. Includes photographs and informative appendixes. -
Lennig, Arthur. The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003. Extensively researched biography seeks to expand the public’s view of Lugosi beyond his image as the Count. Draws on interviews, studio memos, and other primary documents. Includes numerous photographs. -
Lindsay, Cynthia. Dear Boris. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1975. Intimate, readable biography of Karloff by a longtime friend. Carefully explores Karloff’s early years in England and his moves to Canada and then to the United States. Quotes Karloff extensively and features excerpts of letters to Karloff from such friends as Vincent Price and Ronald Reagan. Includes photographs, family tree, and filmography. -
Nollen, Scott A. Boris Karloff: A Critical Account of His Screen, Stage, Radio, Television, and Recording Work. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1991. Scholarly historical and critical analysis of Karloff’s body of work, well organized and well documented. Features an assessment of Karloff’s artistic contributions written by Ray Bradbury in 1969. Includes filmography, list of television and radio performances, and bibliography. -
_______. Boris Karloff: A Gentleman’s Life. Baltimore: Midnight Marquee Press, 2005. Biography written with the cooperation of Karloff’s daughter includes coverage of all aspects of the actor’s life. Features appendixes listing all of Karloff’s many performances, including those in radio and television as well as those on stage and in film. -
Underwood, Peter. Karloff: The Life of Boris Karloff. New York: Drake, 1972. Biography effectively recalls Karloff’s struggle to become an actor, first on the stage and then in films. Offers a detailed, anecdotal account of the making of Frankenstein. Includes photographs, selected bibliography, discography, and filmography.
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