History Trivia / Dracula1931

** Of special note is the Spanish-language version of the film, which was shot concurrently at night with a different cast, using the same costumes and sets (a not-uncommon practice for early talkies). Despite having an even smaller budget and less shooting time, the Spanish production averted troubles and benefitted from the missteps made by their Anglo counterparts, viewing the English dailies before filming to improve their own work. Considered a "lost" film until it was rediscovered in the 1970s, it is now regarded by many film historians as the superior of the two versions.

* CreatorBacklash: David Manners (Harker) ''hated'' this movie and hated talking about it. Considering he had easily the worst role in the film with much less to do than the book's Harker, it's difficult to blame him.

* OldShame: Despite the film being a horror classic, many cast and crew members of ''[[Film/{{Dracula1931}} Dracula]]'' (1931) felt this way about the film:
** Creator/BelaLugosi enjoyed making the film and playing the character, though he later referred to it as a "blessing and a curse" and disliked the typecasting that occurred after the film. He spent his later years making B-films (at best) and battling drug addiction.
** Director Tod Browning did not enjoy making the film, since his original choice for the film, Creator/LonChaney, had died, and the film was being made on a much lower budget than he wanted. The cast complained about Browning being a hands-off director, and showing no enthusiasm for the project whatsoever.
** Creator/DwightFrye (Renfield) was also typecast as crazy loons after the film, and he was not happy about it. His career never recovered, and he died of a heart attack in 1943 at the age of 44.
** Helen Chandler (Mina) wanted to play Alice in a film adaptation of ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' and wasn't happy being stuck in a horror picture instead. Her career never got off the ground, and she battled alcoholism only a few years later, and nearly burned to death in a fire 15 years before her death at age 59.
** David Manners (John) didn't have it as bad as his co-stars, but he disliked being a Hollywood actor and making ''Dracula'', and in an interview shortly before he died in 1998, claimed to have never seen the finished film.

** Filming was rocky and disorganized. On top of being an early talkie film, film with all the troubles that implies, Tod Browning was depressed over the death of his friend Creator/LonChaney and unhappy about the film's low budget, sinking into alcoholism during the shoot. Amid complaints about his difficult attitude and unfocused direction, Browning passed many scenes onto cinematographer Karl Freund, who went uncredited for his directorial contributions. The cast was deeply unhappy with the messy shoot, and Lugosi grew disillusioned and concerned he would be typecasted. Late into production, Lugosi was reportedly offered to once again play Dracula for a stage tour and said "No! Not at any price. When I'm through with this picture I hope to never hear of Dracula again."

** Of special note is the Spanish-language version of the film, which was shot concurrently at night with a different cast, using the same costumes and sets (a not-uncommon practice for early talkies). Despite having an even smaller budget and less shooting time, the Spanish production averted troubles and benefitted from the missteps made by their Anglo counterparts, viewing the English dailies before filming to improve their own work. Considered a "lost" film until it was rediscovered in the 1970s, it is now regarded by many film historians as the superior film of the two.

** Of special note is the Spanish version of the film, which was shot concurrently at night using the same costumes and sets (a not-uncommon practice for early talkies). Despite having less shooting time and a smaller budget, the Spanish production averted troubles and benefitted from the missteps made by their Anglo counterparts, viewing the English dailies before filming to improve their own work. Considered a "lost" film until it was rediscovered in the 1970s, it is now regarded by many film historians as the superior film of the two.

** Of special note is the Spanish version of the film, which was shot concurrently at night using the same costumes and sets (a not-uncommon practice for early talkies). Despite having less shooting time and a smaller budget, the Spanish production averted troubles and benefitted from the missteps made by their Anglo counterparts, viewing the English dailies before filming to improve their own work. Considered a lost film until it was rediscovered in the 1970s, it is now considered by many film historians to be the superior film of the two.

** Of special note is the Spanish version of the film, which was shot concurrently at night using the same costumes and sets (a not-uncommon practice for early talkies). Despite having less shooting time and a smaller budget, the Spanish production averted troubles and benefitted from the missteps made by their Anglo counterparts, viewing the English dailies before filming to improve their own work. Considered a lost film until it was rediscovered in the 1970's, it is now considered by many film historians to be the superior film of the two.

** If he hadn't died, the role of Dracula would have gone to Creator/LonChaney. Creator/ConradVeidt was also considered. Creator/JohnCarradine (who donned the cape in two later Universal films) claimed he was a candidate.

** The producers originally wanted the film to be a faithful adaption of the original Bram Stoker novel with a big budget, but the depression crunch forced them to adapt the stage play instead.
** The shooting script features a scene not found in the film in which Van Helsing kills Lucy following her transformation into a vampire. In the scene, Van Helsing brings John into the graveyard to prove the existence of vampires. There, they witness Lucy walking into a mausoleum. After consoling John, Van Helsing pulls a parcel from his pocket and makes clear his intentions to follow Lucy and destroy her. At this point, the film was to have cut back to a scene of Dracula abducting Mina. Only the Spanish-language version retains these events, leaving Lucy's fate a PlotHole in the English film.

* ImageSource:
** OurVampiresAreDifferent (top left)

* CreatorBacklash: David Manners (Harker) ''hated'' this movie and hated talking about it. Considering he had easily the worst role in the film it's hard to blame him.

* UrbanLegend: While it is rumored that Creator/BelaLugosi, could not speak English very well, and had to learn his lines phonetically, this is not true. Lugosi was speaking English as well as he ever would by the time this was filmed.

* UsefulNotes/AFIS100YearsSeries
** AFIS100Years100Thrills: #85
** AFIS100Years100HeroesAndVillains:
*** #33 Villain, Count Dracula
** AFIS100Years100MovieQuotes:
*** #83, "Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make."

* AwesomeDearBoy[=/=]DoingItForTheArt: Creator/BelaLugosi was so eager to repeat his stage success and play the Count Dracula role for the film version, that he agreed to a contract paying him $500 per week for a seven week shooting schedule, an insultingly small amount even during the days of the Depression.

* AFIS100YearsSeries