Dracula (1931) Film Review

Joshua Van der Ryn

13 May 2020

Tod Browning’s film Dracula which aired in 1931 is a great adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, though the plot was straightforward and less mysterious. In the film, the solicitor who visits Transylvania for estate business is Renfield. In his visit, Renfield became under Dracula’s influence. This explains the question of how Renfield became Dracula’s “loyal” servant, which would come up while reading the novel. Van Helsing’s identification of Dracula as a vampire in the film is quick and doubtless. The secrets of a vampire, (e.g. having no reflection, leaving two bite marks, crosses, wolfsbane, way of killing a vampire) are all easily told by Van Helsing. Thus, the mysteries of Dracula are exposed, while not allowing the audience for a chance of discovery.

Although the plot is seemingly simple, the shooting, set up, and dialogue used in the film were especially good. I especially enjoyed the settings and visual effects of the film. The fog effect gave it, especially in the beginning, a ghastly feeling. The setting of Transylvania and London reflect the income of the people in that country. The house in London seemed much more modern and high-class while Dracula’s castle appeared ancient and falling apart. The script of the movie was most important. Bela Lugosi’s words as Count Dracula were not to be missed, especially with his accent. The telling of vampire secrets by Edward van Sloan was central to the film. The only “girls talk” of the film, was merely about a man, indicating the Victorian standard for women to prioritize marriage above all else. The script carries much of the vampire story than the actual film itself. Not only that, it is essential in understanding Victorian dialogue, in which we can grasp hidden meanings, such as the “back to your country” attitude consistently apparent in the film, a topic I am conducting research on.