"I am Dracula..." And So Much More

Even in today's Hollywood, few stars can say they hold an iconic or cult position in mainstream culture. When you first hear the word "Dracula" or "vampire", most do not think of the hideous creature of Nosferatu. Modern followers of vampire lore think of the suave, well-dressed sophisticate who mixes his lust for blood with an almost romantic aura about himself. The idea of the romantic vampire comes to us not from literature, but from one man who will forever be identified as the creator of the modern vampire ideal: Bela Lugosi. The Lugosi version of the famed vampire has penetrated our culture in the way the way the vampire Dracula's own fangs penetrated his victims. Ironically, Lugosi's Dracula bit no one on camera and left no bite marks on any necks.

Born in what was at the time Austria-Hungary and now Romania, Bela had an unusual rise to stardom. He served in the army during World War I for the Austro-Hungarian army and then branched into Shakespeare on stage and films in Hungary and Germany. He illegally immigrated to the US in 1920 and then legally gained entrance in 1921. He married a San Franciscan socialite only to be divorced three weeks later after an affair with famed silent film flapper and "It" girl, Clara Bow. Bela received his studio contract with MGM after the death of Lon Chaney and had his first commercial success with Dracula.

The original Dracula was billed with the slogan: "The story of the strangest passion the world has ever known". The film itself was released on Valentine's Day of 1931, which some might consider a little ironic for a horror film. Lugosi delivers his lines in the movie with a wonderful accent that portrays the foreignness of the creature in a way no American-born actor could have. So many of his famous phrases such as "Listen to them, the children of the night, what music they make" and "I never drink wine" have become so intertwined with our culture that we know them before many of us even know Lugosi was the famed actor who created the modern version of Dracula. Unfortunately, many people know little of Lugosi past his infamous role as the vampire defeated by Van Helsing.

Accent and appearance type cast Bela into the mysterious European, usually of some sort of supernatural or otherworldly origin. Because of changes in Hollywood, Bela's success wavered and he was soon resigned to doing B-movies and taking roles less than suited to a man of his talents. He delved into drug use and became so obscure, many thought he was already dead. His last major motion picture was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, where he recreated the role that made him famous. After this, he began doing less and less work in film.

However, Bela's career was reserected by notoriously strange cult director Ed Wood, a major fan of Bela's, hired him to do work in his famous B-movies. In 1959, Bela died of a heart attack in the midst of filming Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space, causing Wood to replace him with a thinner, non-accented lookalike. The brave or mildly curious of you can watch Plan 9 here if you like, though it is often listed among the worst films ever made due to Bela's untimely death and replacement, not to mention Wood's directorial... skills... On request of his wife, Bela was buried wearing his vampire costume, further adding to his legend.

In addition, two other public domain movies of Bela's are available online for those who want to watch as well. The 1932 White Zombie is a great horror film and one of Bela's last "A" pictures. It can be found here. The full length version of the 1939 serial The Phantom Creeps, is more on the B-movie side and you can decide for yourself whether it is good or bad, since opinions tend to vary on this picture. It was featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000, if that gives you any indications about anything at all. Those of you who want to see The Phantom Creeps can view it here. I highly recommend checking out Bela's other films if you have time, good, bad, and ugly, just to get a broad sense of his acting spectrum.

Creating an icon like Bela Lugosi's Dracula is something very few can claim to have done. Our modern image of the vampire comes directly from this character he created and he has influenced more popular culture in America than perhaps he ever intended to. The man was even given his own stamp by the US Postal Service as part of the monster movie collection, a honor few people have ever had. We owe a lot to this Eastern European actor who spawned not only a cult following but a culture.