1931's Dracula -- True cinematic masterpiece or overrated wasted opportunity?

[Madmick]

I'm with you Shadow. Always thought this one heavily overrated, and also greatly preferred the German stuff.

 

[europe1]

That scene with Carradine at the piano framed through the candles as he tries to "inspire" Martha O'Driscoll is easily worth the price of admission.

Yes. I will give you that scene. I will give you that scene with coffey on the side. It was really good.

But c'mon, Dracula gets killed by some dofus simply hauling his coffin into the open and exposing him to the sun while he sleeps. It's such an ignoble ending. The Hammer House vampire movies used to have this running gag about the bizzarely many ways to kill a vampire, but House of Dracula definitively claims the lame-cake.

Once it shifts from Dracula to Frankenstein/Wolf Man, I tune out,

I thoroughly disliked the "scientific" angle they took to lycanthropism. Removing the supernatural dimension cheapens it so much. That said, however retarded the brain-disease plotline was in that movie, I can not deny getting a bit misty-eyed when Lon Chaney Jr is finally able to gaze upon the moon once again, free from the chains of the werewolf.

It was satisfying, cathartic even. A long time comming.

Have you seen Carradine in that one?

have you ever seen

Bah! That has never stopped me before!

although the foggy Victorian visuals will be more potent if you can get your hands on a higher quality copy.

Scrupleless men like me always find a way to live a little richer.

There's no way you can talk shit about Bluebeard, though

Spoiler

Oh I won't even mention flatulence! A neat recommendation I must say. I would be more inclined to put it in the good with a plus, but not great category though. You are correct, Carradine does a very good job. He convey's this yearning to become good yet still faces every situation with proper, stiff decorous. That speech at the end where he comes clean to his love really simmers... and then the eyes widen!

I thought the Ulmer-quality was rather fascinating too. Wikipedia informs me that it was a poverty-row picture, and you can definitely see those typical limitations in this one. However, Ulmer's very artistic production values gave it an more cultured ambiance. It actually reminds me a lot about how Italian Giallo Slashers would hide their impoverished roots through similar means (like say, Blood and Black Lace or Lizard in a Woman's skin.)

Lured

Spoiler

You know what Bullitt? That was one well-heeled picture. Allured would have been a better title though. Or maybe Lurid in the forties sense of the word.

Man the cast really kicked ass in this one. Karloff's deranged performance really sent the film spiralling as you alluded to, but Ball, Sanders, Coburn and Calleia shouldered every scene they where in and made it look effortless. Great enjoyment, for sure. The narrative was really scattered I must say but it didn't really turn into a problem just because of how good and grounding those performers were.


You know what Bullitt, with these two neat yet rather obscure recommendations, maybe we could finally bury the hatchet? We wouldn't have to be so acrimonious and snide anymore. We could have buddy-buddy conversations about film. Laugh at people who don't watch Vincent Price movies. List endless points to why Kubrick is the undisputed GOAT. Create scenarios where Bruce Lee and Sylvester Stallone reenact All About Eve togheter! It could be fucking awesome!

Oh wait... you wrote something in the Aguirre thread too! Maybe I can give my response here as well...

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[JSN]

Omg a megapost outside of SMD. Please, pretty please, no. They already ruined that thread. No need to infect the rest of gheyberry.

 

[Guestx]

Omg a megapost outside of SMD. Please, pretty please, no. They already ruined that thread. No need to infect the rest of gheyberry.

What?

 

[Pixelated Porn]

What?

You can't triple stamp a double stamp.

 

[JSN]

You can't triple stamp a double stamp.

zactly

 

[Guestx]

You can't triple stamp a double stamp.

zactly

I'm all kinds of lost.

 

[Bullitt68]

Yes. I will give you that scene. I will give you that scene with coffey on the side. It was really good.

But c'mon, Dracula gets killed by some dofus simply hauling his coffin into the open and exposing him to the sun while he sleeps. It's such an ignoble ending. The Hammer House vampire movies used to have this running gag about the bizzarely many ways to kill a vampire, but House of Dracula definitively claims the lame-cake.

Hard to fault such a clean and logical kill. Lugosi's death isn't all that dissimilar (Van Helsing cracking open the coffin and staking him). And hell, in the first season of True Blood, a bunch of vampires get killed while they're in their coffins and their house gets Molotov Cocktailed.

Vampire or not, everyone is vulnerable when they're asleep.

That said, however retarded the brain-disease plotline was in that movie, I can not deny getting a bit misty-eyed when Lon Chaney Jr is finally able to gaze upon the moon once again, free from the chains of the werewolf.

It was satisfying, cathartic even. A long time comming.

Fair is fair: You gave me Carradine at the piano, I'll give you Chaney in the moonlight

A neat recommendation I must say.

Glad you liked it. I saw it once on Turner Classic Movies and really dug it. Years went by and they wouldn't play it again, it wasn't at any of my libraries, I couldn't find it online. I was getting really bummed. Then they played it again and I taped it (this was pre-DVR era). I actually haven't rewatched it in a while, but it's always been my favorite Carradine film.

That speech at the end

For as much as I love Carradine in that film, I will always maintain, in all seriousness, that his best work was as The Scarf in The Green Hornet.



The whole episode is great, steeped in those 1940s horror movie visuals (all the more impressive given the small budgets, limited sets, and short time of a TV shoot like that), but the last five minutes of that episode is such a tour-de-force from Carradine.

I also get a kick out of the fact that one of the many things on Bruce's resume is choking out John Carradine

You know what Bullitt? That was one well-heeled picture.

Another fortunate Turner Classic Movies find. Everybody knows and loves Lucy from TV, but she was in a bunch of great movies in the 1930s and 1940s. Stage Door, The Affairs of Annabel, Annabel Takes a Tour, Five Came Back, Dance Girl Dance, The Dark Corner, Two Smart People, Lover Come Back, they're all great and she's great in them (especially Dance Girl Dance). Lured is a personal favorite, though, and I'm glad you liked it.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Omg a megapost outside of SMD. Please, pretty please, no. They already ruined that thread. No need to infect the rest of gheyberry.

 

[Pixelated Porn]

I'm all kinds of lost.

This scene should 'splain