Dracula

• Director: George Melford, Enrique Tovar Ávalos
• Producer: Paul Kohner, Carl Laemmle Jr.
• Screenwriter: Baltasar Fernández Cué, Garrett Fort, Dudley Murphy
• Starring:
  Carlos Villarías as Conde Drácula,
  Lupita Tovar as Eva,
  Barry Norton as Juan Harker,
  Pablo Álvarez Rubio as Renfield,
  Eduardo Arozamena as Dr. Van Helsing,
  Carmen Guerrero as Lucia,
  José Soriano Viosca as Doctor Seward,
  Manuel Arbó as Martin
• Released: 1931

Reviews

Extracts of reviews, with links for the complete text:

"The Spanish 1931 Dracula is in almost every way a superior production. Not only is it technically more proficient, but the acting shows greater depth and range, and there's an energy to the proceedings that is absent from the more popular English cousin. There is, however, one crucial element missing from the Spanish Dracula - Bela Lugosi." ~ © 2000 James Berardinelli

"The superiority of the direction in this version is matched, for the most part, by the superiority of the acting. Lupita Tovar has a screen presence that puts her counterpart, Helen Chandler, to shame. Not only that, Tovar has real chemistry with Barry Norton, making the relationship between Eva and Juan far more believable than the one between Mina and John. As Renfield, Pablo Alvarez Rubio has some problems with his vocal delivery, but his physical acting is top-notch. Early in the film, when Renfield confronts the strange goings-on in Dracula’s castle, the man really does look scared. But the biggest improvement over the English-speaking version in the acting department is Eduardo Arozamena as Dr. Van Helsing. In Browning’s version, even Bela Lugosi looks good next to Edward Van Sloan (the sap who plays Van Helsing there). Arozamena’s Van Helsing is nearly as good as Anthony Hopkins’ interpretation from 1992’s mostly risible Bram Stoker’s Dracula (though it doesn’t quite bear comparison to Peter Cushing’s take on the role)." ~ © 2005 Scott Ashlin

There's little doubt that this was the superior of the two versions, and well worth watching for that alone; if only it were in English! The subtitles do make it hard work, and the length - some 104 minutes - means this will not be a film to watch on a weekly basis. The acting, generally, is much better; the photography is much, much better. And the direction is grander, smoother, truer to the book ... for a classic Dracula Movie, See This!