Tod Browning's Dracula: The First Film Adaptation with Sound

Dracula's Big Break in Hollywood

(3.)

Stoker's Dracula is an ironic work both in literature and pop-culture. In some respects, the literature elements of Dracula has fallen to the more popular vampire films and television shows. Regardless of what people have read, the iconic image of Dracula has achieved immortality thanks to a 1931 film by Tod Brownings, who directed the first film adaptation of Dracula with sound. (4.)


Tod Brownings was a director born in 1880 known for his success in silent films. The addition of sound to this kind of project proved to be a bit of a challenge for Brownings because he was used to dealing with silent films and was tasked with adapting such a well known property. Brownings nonetheless proved to be the perfect man for the job and completely changed what would become the horror genre. This would be the first of the Universal monster pictures and films like "The Mummy" and "Frankenstein" would not exist were it not for the success of this film. (1.)


The film was based on a stage play adaptation of Stoker's iconic work, written in the 1920s.
Actor Bela Lugosi, whose titular performance would solidify to this day the common image that comes to mind when one thinks of Dracula as a character. What is notable about this film compared to the novel is that it almost blends the characters of Renfield and Jonathan together. In the movie, it is Renfield who is the English solicitor sent to inquire about the count in Transylvania. Dracula then bites Renfield and has him committed to an asylum when they return to England. Jonathan is only mentioned at the end as Mina's fiance who she eventually becomes reunited with. Despite some changes, the movie does try to follow the source material and become a faithful adaptation. (4.)

(4.)

Tod Browning's film completely changed the image of what Dracula and a vampire is in the minds of millions. His Dracula as quoted from Ermida's "Dracula and the Gothic in Literature, Pop Culture and the Arts says, "The monstrously deformed Phantom was, like Lugosi’s Dracula, a combination of a ruthless killer and a connoisseur with sophisticated taste in clothes." This is important because this adaptation of Dracula is what created this image of a sexy vampire in peoples' mind. His suave style and charm contrasted the gruesome depiction in the novel. This would work to the benefit of Dracula though, as his powers of seduction become all the more plausible when they could be portrayed though the talents of an actor like Lugosi. (2.)

Although many may not know their names, Ted Brownings and Bela Lugosi completely changed what Dracula meant for modern audiences. People still picture that iconic Dracula today and the genre of horror as a whole can thank Brownings for his visionary work. 

Works Cited

Biscotti, Steven. “Remembering Tod Browning's Dracula!” Universal Monsters Universe, Universal Monsters Universe, 12 July 2016, universalmonstersuniverse.com/2016/07/12/remembering-tod-brownings-dracula/. (1.)

Ermida, Isabel. Dracula and the Gothic in Literature, Pop Culture and the Arts. Brill | Rodopi, 2016. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1940117&site=eds-live&scope=site (2.)

Gibson, Doug. “'Tod Browning's Dracula' an Analysis of a Film with Staying Power.” Standard, Standard-Examiner, 14 Mar. 2015, www.standard.net/entertainment/tod-browning-s-dracula-an-analysis-of-a-film-with/article_bd1505f3-b335-5df8-96d8-cff8a9eea5f1.html. (3.)

Pfeiffer, Lee. “Dracula.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 3 June 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Dracula-film. (4.)