Bela Lugosi
 

Bela Lugosi splits horror fans down the middle it's a love or hate relationship in my eyes from people who think he can't act he is only Dracula he's no Karloff and so on and then there are the people like me who love everything he has done from Dracula to his Ed Wood movies and everything in between.

I'd like to use this thread to talk about the career and my love of all things Lugosi from his early stage work in Europe all the way through his rise and fall.

I will also be reviewing as many if his films as I can get a hold of so reviews will be up each time I receive one I am missing.

Sounds interesting Nordy.

I look forward to what you come up with. It may make me think twice about Bela as i'm one of those who thinks he's a one trick pony.

Cheers Dem if I can just reach one person my job is done :lol:

chump chimp
 

ahem ;)

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My fav film with Lugosi as one of the main characters is without a doubt The Black Cat (1934). He was also great in Island of Lost Souls despite his very small part.

I thought he was excellent as Ygor in both 'Son of Frankenstein' (1939) and 'Ghost of Frankenstein' (1942).

He was outstanding as Ygor he was so menacing and you believed in the fear the towns people had of him.

This is one of the reasons I love him as an actor even in a small role like Island Of Lost Souls he is 100% committed and puts everything into the role. He could of just taken the pay cheque and just went through the motions but you can see it in his eyes he was going to be the stand out performance when ever he was in front of the camera.

Bela Lugosi was born in Hungary in 1882 ironically only 50 miles from Transylvania. By age 12 he had decided to run away from home with only the few odd jobs he could get and the kindness of people to feed and give him a bed for the night. Finally coming to rest in the town of Resita more than 300 miles from his home town he started working in the mines just to survive. Bela became fascinated with touring theatrical troupes that often came through town and set his heart and becoming a stage actor.

In 1897 Bela returned to live with his mother and sister but would not settle for long. After a failed attempt to return to school and also failing to settle in any jobs he could find Belas brother in law managed to find him a place in a travelling theatre company as part of the chorus. Bela displayed great talent and his time in at the back of the chorus were very short lived and leading roles soon came flooding in.

Bela was accepted into the Hungary's Academy of Performing Arts and his skill was in Shakespearean roles. With impressive roles in Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and Richard III Bela joined the Hungarian National Theatre in Budapest where more Shakespearean roles followed.

When World War 1 broke out Bela answered the call of Hungary to fight Russia Bela was discharged in 1916. He returned back to Hungary and picked up where he left off before the war broke out and took on the role of Jesus in the Passion. It was only a matter of time before Bela would make the transition from stage to silent film roles and he started the worlds first actors trade union.

In 1919 the Hungarian revolution broke out in which Bela took part but when it failed Bela fled to Germany where during a short stay his acting roles continued to come thick and fast but Bela was still restless and set his mind to America. In 1920 Bela set sail for New Orleans and from there his travels took him to New York. In his first few years in America he acted and directed some Hungarian productions before moving on to American silent films. Bela still had not mastered the English language but being the era of silent film this was not an obstacle. His first American film was Silent Command in 1923.


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Last two pictures are from Silent Command and The Midnight Girl his first American films.

I remember him most from Scared to Death.

Everytime he kills a person, he looks like catching a rabbit. Hilarious. But obviously, this is one of his later, cheaper movies.

Nice idea and interesting introduction, Nordicdusk :nod:!

Cheers Zane :)

Great thread Nordy, keep it going. I adore Bela, as well as Lon Chaney and Jnr, Karloff, Lionel Atwill, Charles Luaghton et al. Look forward to your information. I have a few books I have purchased about Mr Lugosi but yet to traverse the pages, this could spur me on. Bring back more black and white to t.v!

The Raven
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White Zombie
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Thanks a million

Bela's finest moment must surely be "Old Mother Reilly meets the Vampire" aka "My Son the Vampire".

The Ape Man (1943, USA)
 

what wheres the love,wheres the good times,nah has to be Ape Man,surely there more fun to be had from a man dressed as a gorilla rather than a man dressed as a woman?

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hung hungarian
 

here a few of my favs from Big Bela

Dracula

In 1927 Bela was offered the chance to play the leading role in a stage production of Bram Stokers Dracula. Right from his first appearance as Dracula audiences were captivated. After an extensive and very successful run on Broadway Bela toured around America with the Dracula stage show.

Bela made such an impact in the role that in 1931 Universal came calling for a film version of Dracula a role that would bring Bela right into the limelight. Unfortunately the role both made his acting career and killed it at the same time. No matter what Bela would do throughout his career he could not shake his connection to Dracula.

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The Silent Command

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFtica5gba4

The Midnight Girl 1925

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWGbdVkxdgo

Ron. Have you seen The Vampire Bat?

A proper creepy gothic horror with Dwight Frye playing an Igor type character whom the villagers all accuse of being a killer. It's a very good performance and evokes a lot of sympathy for the character.

Sorry Nordy. It has nothing to do with Lugosi but Ron's mention of The Devil Bat made me think of it.

children of the night
 

White on white translucent black capes
Back on the rack

Bela Lugosi's dead
The bats have left the bell tower
The victims have been bled
Red velvet lines the black box

Bela Lugosi's dead
Bela Lugosi's dead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Bela Lugosi's dead

The virginal brides file past his tomb
Strewn with time's dead flowers
Bereft in deathly bloom
Alone in a darkened room
The count

Bela Lugosi's dead
Bela Lugosi's dead
Bela Lugosi's dead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead

Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead

;);););););););)

I will be starting my reviews tonight starting with Dracula. If I'm honest I would rather not review it because everyone has seen it and reviewed it a million times but it would be stupid to not include it. Sorry for the delay with the thread I need the time to sit down and watch it and pick it apart. It took me well over an hour just to review Mr Sardonicus last night. Reviews are not my strong point please bare with me and thanks for all the interest so far.

I love all those films you featured. Invisible Ghost is a low budget fave of mine.

Dracula 1931

Solicitor Renfield leaves his home in London his destination is the Carpathian mountains in eastern Europe where he must meet with the mysterious Count Dracula to finalise the sale of a property in London call Carfax Abbey. Ignoring the warnings to stay away from the Counts castle Renfield is determined to stick to his appointment and get the transfer of Carfax Abbey complete so he can return to London as soon as possible. Shortly after meeting Count Dracula Reinfield is drugged and used to protect Dracula while he sleeps in his coffin on his journey across the sea to London.

On arriving in London the everyone on the ship is dead apart from Renfield who is found below deck after loosing his mind and feasting on rats and insects. Renfield is taken to a a sanitarium run by Dr. Seward. Dracula comes to Dr Sewards house to try and find Renfield but instead finds Mina the daughter of the doctor and he becomes entranced by her beauty. After killing her friend Lucy Dracula turns his attention to Mina and soon she is totally under his spell. With her moods and health in rapid decline Dr Seward consults his colleague Dr. Van Helsing who is convinced her sudden change is cause by an encounter with a vampire and Count Dracula is the vampire then seek.

We have all seen the films heard the stories and read the books so there is no need to go to too much detail my main focus with talking about Dracula is the discuss the performance of Bela Lugosi and Count Dracula. But before i do that i have to mention Dwight Frye as Renfield. His performance is outstanding when he is totally under Draculas spell his role of a man no longer in control of his own sanity and emotions ranging from weak and afraid of his own shadow to a crazed lunatic he almost steals the spotlight from Lugosi. Almost

From the moment Bela Lugosi appears on screen he is a very intimidating and imposing figure. When he first appears on the steps to greet Mr Renfield he seems to float where he delivers the famous line " Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make." with such creepy conviction. Every close of on his face of which there are many throughout the film he delivers an almost hypnotic stare that in 1931 im sure frightened the lives out of the cinema going public. Lugosi has to be given a lot of credit for his performance because at the time he could barely speak any English but still managed to give a very convincing performance non the less and sadly people do not seem to be very aware of this fact so just put how he delivers his lines as bad acting or over dramatisation. Love or hate his performance there is no one that can deny the lasting impact Lugosi had on what image pops into peoples minds when they hear the name Dracula.

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Keep in mind Dracula is almost a silent film. ;)
I mean it's somewhat of a transition between silents and talkies as Tod Browning (as well as many actors) was just adjusting to the talkies.

Reportedly there was even a silent version for theatres not yet equipped for sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UehobGtSnOk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqr3yzr64V4

It's interesting some scenes from the script were filmed for the Spanish version and apparently not for the English one, I always wondered about those? The English version has always felt suspiciously short imho. ;)

The second Gif sums up Lugosi for me. ;)

The Spanish version seems more sexualised or is that just me :blush:

It's not you. ;)

Hollywood was already getting heavy flack for their "amoral" films by then and the Hays Code was already in effect (though it would take till 1934 before it was strictly enforced). Could the English version of Dracula have been censored by the studio?
That would maybe explain some missing scenes involving what happened to Lucy for instance.... ;)

Enjoying the thread Nordic.

What's next? Murders in the Rue Morgue?

Maybe the unoffical sequel to Dracula: The Return of the Vampire (1944)?

The vampire played by Lugosi could not be named Dracula because of legal issues. ;)

Cheers Dem :)

Yes Murders In The Rue Morgue is next ill be doing them in order and i will be doing more detailed reviews of his other films just felt Dracula has been so over done already there is not much more i can add. As i said earlier im not great at reviews but i will try make them interesting.

After a little checking up these are the Lugosi films i own.

The Body Snatcher
Zombies on Broadway
One Body Too Many
The Return of the Vampire
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
The Ape Man
The Corpse Vanishes
The Ghost of Frankenstein
Black Dragons
The Wolf Man
The Black Cat
Invisible Ghost
You'll Find Out
The Devil Bat
Black Friday
The Gorilla
The Son of Frankenstein
The Invisible Ray
The Raven
The Mysterious Mr. Wong
The Black Cat
White Zombie
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Dracula

Quite a few to say i don't particularly rate him. I suppose that qualifies why i can make that judgement though.

I think you are over qualified in this case :lol:

I look forward to your views on them and more hopefully. :nod: :pop2:

My plan is to break each film down into a review of the films itself and a review of his performance i think that makes sense.

After the success of Dracula Bela was offered the role of the monster in Frankenstein. This is where there are conflicting stories of what happened next. Bela maintained that he turned down the role because it was not a speaking part. But others tell a different story that a 20 minute test reel was shot of Lugosi as the monster but when the producer saw the make up he started laughing at Lugosi. No matter which is the true story this was a decision that could of changed the career and even the life of Bela. Playing Frankensteins monster shot Boris Karloff to stardom a stardom that Bela craved and in my eyes deserved.