Dracula (1931 Spanish-language film)

Dracula
Dracula
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	George Melford
Screenplay by	Garrett Fort
Spanish adaptation by	Baltasar Fernández Cué;
Based on	Dracula (novel); by Bram Stoker; Dracula (play); by Hamilton Deane; John L. Balderston;
Produced by	Carl Laemmle Jr.
Starring	Carlos Villarías; Lupita Tovar; Barry Norton; Eduardo Arozamena;
Cinematography	George Robinson
Edited by	Arturo Tavares
Production; company	Universal Pictures Corp.
Distributed by	Universal Pictures Corp.
Release dates	1 March 1931 (Havana); 24 April 1931 (New York);
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Spanish

Dracula is a 1931 Spanish-language American horror film directed by George Melford. The film is based on both the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker and the play Dracula by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston.^[1] The film is about Renfield (Pablo Alvarez Rubio), who travels to Translyvania to visit Conde Drácula (Carlos Villarías). He is drugged by the Count and becomes his minion. The two travel to England, where Drácula begins to seduce Lucía Weston^[3] (Carmen Guerrero) as she becomes his first victim. This leads Professor Van Helsing (Eduardo Arozamena) to investigate, who confirms that Drácula is a vampire.

Dracula was made as part of Hollywood studios' attempts to make films for foreign-language audiences. By 1930, Universal had focused primarily on developing Spanish-language films for the foreign market. Filming began on October 10, 1930, where it was shot on the same sets as Tod Browning's production of Dracula. Director Melford watched the footage of the same day and applied what he saw to film his own version.

The film was released in Cuba in 1931 and for a long time was forgotten, only mentioned briefly by some horror film historians in the 1960s and 1970s. It received greater attention after a print for the film was found in New Jersey. A screening at the Museum of Modern Art in 1978 led to a popular home video release on VHS in 1992. Critical reception to this film often compared the two versions of Dracula with some critics weighing the pros and cons of both based on the explicitness of the Spanish version with its costumes and scenes, the film's length, and the performance of Carlos Villarías as Count Dracula. In 2015, Dracula was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".^[4]^[5]^[6]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 33.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Drácula (1931)". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
^ While the credits do not list Lucía's last name, it is used three times during the film. "Dracula (1931) Spanish Version". Dracula (DVD). Universal Pictures. 1999. Event occurs at 27:22, 32:46, and 55:19.
^ Barnes 2015.
^ Cite error: The named reference lib was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference gov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEWeaverBrunasBrunas200733-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 33.

[afi-2] "Drácula (1931)". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.

[3] While the credits do not list Lucía's last name, it is used three times during the film. "Dracula (1931) Spanish Version". Dracula (DVD). Universal Pictures. 1999. Event occurs at 27:22, 32:46, and 55:19.

[FOOTNOTEBarnes2015-4] Barnes 2015.

[lib-5] Cite error: The named reference lib was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[gov-6] Cite error: The named reference gov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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