#it's been a while since i've seen some of his movies but this lugosi character felt like the scariest i've seen so far

[marypickfords]

The Raven (Lew Landers, 1935)

[spacetrashpile]

DRACTOBER DAY FIVE: DRACULA (1931)

Welcome back to Dractober, where I watch and rank one film adaptation of Dracula for every day in October! I'll be ranking each film on two one to ten scales (was it a good adaptation of Dracula and did I enjoy it?) and giving the film a final score at the end by averaging out the other scores.

Today's film was Dracula (1931), starring Bela Lugosi as Dracula himself. This film follows Dracula as he arrives in London and, with the help of his servant Renfield, terrorizes our protagonists, Mina, John, Seward, Lucy, and Van Helsing. Yes, I know this is basically just the plot of the novel, but I've been giving all these movies the summary treatment thus far, so I'm giving it to this one too. This is one of the few films on this list that I've actually seen before, but it's been ages since I last saw it, so this was basically a first watch, with how much I actually remembered of the film.

Let's get into it!

So, our first question, was this a good adaptation of Dracula?

Everyone get excited, this is the first film where the answer is unequivocally yes! While this film does make some significant changes to the plot of the novel, it's still a very solid adaptation.

One of the biggest, and most unfortunate changes (in my opinion) is the cutting of Lucy's suitor plot line, and as such, the cutting of Arthur and Quincy. Their presence is greatly missed, but I understand why the filmmakers chose to cut this plot- this movie's runtime is only just over an hour, they had to make cuts somewhere and this is one of the places that made the most sense. This also means that Lucy gets significantly less screen time, with her death coming about 30 minutes into the film (and her first appearance coming maybe 15 minutes in, to give you an idea).

There are also a few changes made to the relationships of the characters. Van Helsing doesn't have a clear connection to Seward, other than maybe being his coworker (unless I missed a line), and Seward is now Mina's father and has no real connection to Lucy, outside of her being Mina's friend. I remember when I first saw the film and noticed that Seward was the only suitor in the credits, I assumed he would be taking both his original role in the novel and the role of Lucy's husband. And while this change does make sense as a way to more clearly connect Seward to Mina with how pared down Lucy's role is, it does still feel like a missed opportunity.

They also changed the opening portion of the novel (when Jonathan visits Castle Dracula) to instead follow Renfield, showing how he became Dracula's servant and went crazy. Unlike the other notable changes, this is one I really enjoyed! It was another way to cut the runtime of the novel down for the sake of the film, but it was one that I think worked really well for incorporating Renfield more heavily into the story.

The final confrontation is also significantly different from the novel. For one, it takes place in England, rather than back in Translyvania (and the brides actually aren't involved in the film at all after that opening sequence). Renfield is also still alive at this point, and plays his own role in leading Van Helsing and Johnathan to Dracula to confront him.

Honestly, though, my biggest complaint is the extremely small role Jonathan actually plays in the film. While I was a fan of the choice to work Renfield into the story much earlier, it also meant that Jonathan had very little to do, and as such, he really didn't feel like much of a protagonist at all. And this is disappointing because I really like Jonathan, but also because I imagine this choice by the filmmakers played a not insignificant role in the way Jonathan tends to be utilized in other adaptations (which is to say, not enough).

But overall, this is an extremely solid (and refreshing, lol) adaptation of Dracula, and I'm going to give it a 8/10 on the adaptation scale. I'm hoping we'll have a few more films on the list that include the full cast of the novel (I know at least one does!) and utilize the characters a bit more closely to the way they're originally presented, but this is still a really solid adaptation, and one I recommend if you're looking for an accurate adaptation of the novel.

Next, how much did I enjoy the film?

Look, this film is a classic for a reason. It's an enjoyable and effective film, especially considering how old it is. Bela Lugosi is an amazing Dracula, and the film as a whole is a blueprint for not only most modern day horror, but also for most Dracula adaptations there are. And this is something I was able to especially appreciate on this second watch. I kept noticing little moments or lines that I'd seen in other films I've watched this month, and it made the whole thing extra enjoyable.

The film isn't particularly scary, however. I think this is partially a side effect of knowing the entire plot going in, but also a side effect of how old the film is and how much they could actually do at the time. This isn't a huge deal breaker for me, however. I would've appreciated a few moments that really got my heart racing, I'm not super mad about the loss. Though, I do wish the final confrontation scene had been a bit more intense. But if you're looking for a properly scary film this Halloween, that might be something to keep in mind.

I also enjoyed how much of the novel the filmmakers clearly wanted to include, even when they couldn't. For example, the moment when Martin tries to shoot bat!Dracula is ripped straight from when Quincy tries to shoot him. It was nice to see that the filmmakers clearly knew the novel well, even with the changes they were making to it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! I'd say this film gets an 8/10 on the enjoyment scale. I highly recommend!

In the end, Dracula (1931) gets an 8/10. What can I say, this is a classic for a reason! If you haven't already seen the film, I highly recommend giving it a watch sometime. I'll see you tomorrow for my next film!