Bela Lugosi... The Original Dracula!

As I mentioned on my Netflix page, the 1931 movie Dracula was the first vampire movie I remember watching as a kid. A small boy in my grandparent's basement with the door shut and the lights out being scared to death of the evil "living" dead. The impression the movie made on me forever began a fascination with vampires and the mystery of their unique power. Bram Stoker wrote such an innovative masterpiece that only the brilliant talent of Bela Lugosi could cement both book and movie into classics that have stood the test of time for generations. I put a clip of the movie in the middle of my blog. This scene is intense on many levels... the tension between two adversaries, Dracula and Van Helsing, is drama at its best. We learn a lot about the power of Dracula through mind control and Lugosi's piercing stare. The confidence Lugosi has in his persona Dracula is only mildly rebutted by the strong will of the Van Helsing character. You can almost see the respect Dracula has for Van Helsing as the two battle mentally before Van Helsing pulls out the crucifix and Dracula must flee from the battle. Great scene. Bela Lugosi never got the fame he wanted from this work. He was forever typecasted as Dracula and didn't get the roles he wanted in Hollywood. He was also very jealous of Boris Karloff because Karloff became know as the king of horror, but yet, was given many other roles in movies. I have to admit, Karloff was my favorite... but Dracula would not have been better without the great talent of Bela Lugosi.

I put a new review of the movie The Hitcher in the review section of my blog. Great horror movie... check it out!