Horror Masters: "Dracula" (1931) Quiz

Answer: Lon Chaney

Lon Chaney was an experienced actor, having starred in two Universal smash hits; the horror films "The Hunchback of Notre Dome" and "The Phantom of the Opera". Carl Laemmle (owner of Universal Studios) didn't want to do a film version of "Dracula" unless it starred Lon Chaney.

Unfortunately, Chaney died of throat cancer in 1930, before production began. Ian Keith was considered for the role of the Count after Chaney couldn't do it, but didn't make it either. Laemmle was not at all interested about Lugosi playing Dracula, but had to settle, due to the fact that he didn't cost much (only 500 dollars a week) and that he worked hard to land the role.

Answer: Hamilton Deane

Hamilton Deane wrote the stage version, making several changes that were significant to the 1931 version of "Dracula", including the omission of the characters Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood. In 1917, John L. Balderston revised the stage adaption by Deane, making it more Americanized for the audiences in New York (the play appeared on Broadway). Garrett Fort took this version of "Dracula" and re-wrote it to make the screenplay for the Universal horror film.

Answer: False

Browning was unaccredited as a helper to Fort for the screenplay of "Dracula". Nevertheless, the director received fame by directing one of the most significant horror films of all-time. He would direct another horror film (although a little more controversial) titled "Freaks" in 1932, following the success of "Dracula".

Answer: David Manners

This was the only proven evidence of how much Lugosi got paid compared to a supporting actor (it is unknown how much Van Sloan, Chandler, or Frye got paid), and he was getting paid very poorly. However, after the success of "Dracula", Lugosi signed a contract with Universal. Unfortunately, in later years, it wasn't enough to support his family.

Answer: There was no logical ending.

When the film was first released on Valentine's Day, 1931, it was reported that people fainted in shock at the horror of the movie "Dracula". American audiences had seen supernatural thrillers before, but "Dracula" had no trick or comic relief at the end to give it a logical ending, which scared people. Most people came to see the film out of curiosity, wanting to see if it was really a scream-out-loud production.

Answer: True

Overdubbing was not very popular back in the 1930s, so when people of another native country wanted to watch an American film, the movie studios sometimes made an alternative version of the film in another language. People and historians believe the Spanish version of "Dracula" is better because there are better special effects and better camera movement.

The Spanish crew would come in at the studio in the night after the English crew was finished using the sets in the day. When the Spanish crew saw the shots from the previous day for the English crew, they realized "hey we can do better than that". And most people agreed that they did achieve that goal, thus making the Spanish version of "Dracula" a must-see, too; of course, with English subtitles.

Answer: Children

According to this group of sociologists (group name is not known), children would claim "Dracula" as one of their most favorite films, and a film they enjoyed acting out at home. Bela G. Lugosi (Bela Lugosi's son) claims he has home videos of him acting as Dracula, using the same techniques his father used to play the role in the 1931 film. Bela G. Lugosi also said that whenever he went to see his father's films with his friends, his friends would be scared, but not Bela because it was his father up on the screen.

Answer: Bela Lugosi's Dracula cape

Bela G. Lugosi said that his father (Bela Lugosi, obviously) owned three or four capes, made either from heavy material or a lighter material and so on and so forth. Bela G. Lugosi owns the cape that his father wore for the film "Dracula", and it is one of the most treasured props in American film history.

When Bela Lugosi died, Bela G. Lugosi and his mother felt it was appropriate to bury him in one of his capes, but not the one he used during the filming of the horror movie.

Answer: Edward Van Sloan

This part of the film was censored by the Catholic Church, because it promoted superstition (thanks draculanut31). Edward Van Sloan played the role of Professor Van Helsing in the movie "Dracula", a role that he played on the stage for a while. Van Sloan, along with Lugosi and Henry Bunstun, were the only people from the cast to have played their roles on the stage, before playing them on the big screen, in this famous film (Lugosi played the Count as Bunstun played Dr. Seward).

Answer: Philip Glass

Philip Glass is an Academy-Award nominated composer, receiving an Award nomination for his score on Martin Scorsese's film "Kundun". Universal Studios had made three films as of 2007, based off of Bram Stoker's "Dracula". There was of course the famous 1931 version directed by Tod Browning, the 1931 Spanish version of the film, and a 1979 remake of "Dracula" starring Frank Langella has the Count.

The 1979 remake is the "Dracula" film that has more of a horror/romance story plot then the other two. People know Dracula from the 1931 film, because most have not seen "Nosferatu" (the first film that featured a story plot based on the Bram Stoker novel, but however it was stopped being shown because of lawsuits). "Dracula" (1931) marked one of the first times the famous vampire appeared on-screen. Bela Lugosi's role is very well known and is always considered the perfect Dracula. According to the Internet Movie Database, there are about 160 films with Dracula as a lead role! "Dracula" has been a very significant movie in American history, and it will be treasured forever as one of the greatest horror films of all-time.