Drácula

An estate agent's clerk travels to a count's castle in Transylvania. The count wants to buy a property in London. The clerk loses his mind there. The count sails to England and nobody on the ship survives. In London he moves close to a family; the young women begin to sicken and the doctors cannot find the cause. In the end one physician works out what it is. George Melford directs. Carlos Villarías plays the count. The source is Bram Stoker's novel. Its position in film history is particular. Two films were made at the same studio, on the same sets and from the same script: the English version by day and the Spanish version by night. The Spanish crew watched what had been shot in the day and tried to do the same scenes better. The result is technically more ambitious: the camera moves more, the takes are longer and the lighting is worked in more detail. For that reason the film was reassessed years later. Against that the lead loses the comparison; the interpretation in the English version stayed in people's minds. The Spanish version was considered lost for a long time; it was found later and restored. The production is an example of the method studios used for foreign markets at the time, abandoned once dubbing became common. Who it is for: anyone interested in classic horror and film history. Who it is not for: the pace is slow, the acting is theatrical, and the comparison is unavoidable for anyone who knows the English version.