Directed by Tod Browning / Screenplay by Garrett Fort

Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel was famously adapted for the silent screen in the form of the 1922 German classic Nosferatu, but it was Universal’s 1931 American talkie that established the cultural icon of the seductive Count with his flowing cape, slicked-back hair and lilting Transylvanian accent. This characterisation was largely the creation of the Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi, who had already played Dracula to great acclaim in a stage adaptation which opened on Broadway in 1927, and which happened to be on tour in Los Angeles just as the film was being cast. It was this stage version which provided the basis for the film’s screenplay, together with a few ideas lifted from Nosferatu - but despite the play’s popularity, Universal’s head of production Carl Laemmle initially rejected the notion of casting the little-known Lugosi in the title role, instead offering the part to more established stars including Conrad Veidt and Lon Chaney. While director Tod Browning assembled the rest of his cast (including Edward Van Sloan, who had played Van Helsing in the Broadway production), Bela Lugosi continued to lobby for the role of the Count. He eventually won over the studio bosses, not least by accepting the very modest fee of $3,500, and the rest is history. A star was born, and Dracula was an immediate commercial and critical hit, its success bolstered by lurid tales of audience members fainting in terror. Flushed with success, Universal announced immediate plans for a film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Hollywood’s first golden age of horror had begun.

Framed Dimensions: 400mm x 315mm

Acrylic on 230gsm Winsor & Newton canvas paper

Glazed, mounted and framed

Supplied with signed letter of authenticity from Barnaby.