Your Favourite Bela Lugosi Film, The Master of the Macabre

Master of the Macabre, indeed! Karloff and Bela ruled in the 30's, as evidenced by their output. For various reasons, Boris got more breaks than Bela, while Bela did lots more low-budget stuff. But his screen presence lingers for me and for many until this day, and he remains my favourite of the horror legends, along with Boris, Lon Sr, and Lon Jr, as far as the big stars (many others I enjoy also).

It's a VERY tough choice for me. And I'm going to say that, despite the fact that my favourite horror film of all time is THE BLACK CAT (1934), I'm going to have to go with DRACULA (1931), though WHITE ZOMBIE is a VERY close second! But I love them all--he was able to make even a bad or mediocre film watchable by his sheer presence and performance. While I clearly think that Boris had much more range and versatility, and could come off so creepy as well, to me, Bela just had that creepy thing going on! And that accent!

What is your favourite Bela film??? Inquiring minds wanna know!

Bela Rocks!

Mark

Dracula (1931) by quite a way still his image is summoned up by mention of that part. It did as you say sort of type him as a mad genius/ scientist though. One of his better underrated performances for me was as a victim in The Wolf Man (1941) : a monster in a sense as a werewolf but more a victim quite unusual for him.

God help me, but PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE.... Sublimely bad, incompetent...and yet, although Bela died before the film was finished, given his bad luck with being typecast, seemed to me this was a fitting farewell, and other than the original DRACULA, the movie he'll be remembered for....which I love...

ED

I have always prefered the Spanish version of Dracula over American version. I have both versions of Dracula and White Zombie on Dvd. For a so called poverty row picture,ZOMBIE was innovative for its time. Camera movements,music ,especially the drumming added an eerie atmosphere to the production. Lugosi plays his character over the top ,which to me was the way it should be. The dvd from Roan has a commentary that offers much information and insight into the production.

Hi Ed!

Yoiks and double yoiks!!!!! I nearly added that one, but thought better of it, because well, you know, Bela is really only in it in some stock footage for about, umm, 2-3 minutes? LOL Wasn't his "double" wild??? LOL

It's a fun film. I wouldn't include it among Bela's best, but in terms of mass popularity, yep, it's probably second to DRACULA, helped largely in that by the Tim Burton film, ED WOOD. Of the films Bela did for Ed, I think GLEN OR GLENDA is the most wild, far-out there bayyybeee! But my fave is BRIDE OF THE MONSTER of the Wood output. Bela's performance in that is solid, and harkens back to his heyday in some respects. I always love that scene in Ed Wood which has him deliver that monologue and everyone on the makeshift set just stopped what they were doing, in awe. I imagine that bit of celluloid representation was probably true, in spirit at least, if not in fact.

Mark

I loved Bela Lugosi's make-up in "White Zombie" and in "Island Of Lost Souls" which includes some seriously ultra-creep beasties ... and Laughton ... !!!

But, guess what, I loved "Mark Of The Vampire" an obscure one, I've only seen once as a kid. But I remember ghostly floating vampire chics hovering over gothic sets and Lugosi reprising his Dracula persona ... I wanna see that one again ... It ended up being a staged spoof to inherit insurance money ... or something like that ... huh ???

I voted for "Murders In The Rue Morgue", a film, I think, Lugosi really "acts" in. The scene under the street lamp with the prosititute and the sequence leading up to his killing her with his experiments, is the best I've seen him. Notice the dead girl appears to be crucified, (edit) ... a gutsy and artsy touch. The scene too, when lecturing to shocked Parisians, he challenges them with "Heracy? Do they still burn men for heracy? Then light the fire" and "I shall prove your kinship with the ape" as the camera closes in on his wildly sinister face ... great chilling moments ...

Hey Kenwalk, yeah, I've seen that Spanish version ... and yeah, some of it looks better than the English classic ... W o W ... !!!

Yoawzah ... !!!

Hi precoder!

I totally agree with your comments about MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE!! You pointed out some great stuff, that scene with the murder of the prostitute is very intense! Bela rocks in this very underrated film!

MARK OF THE VAMPIRE is pretty cool, there is some great acting and it's pretty atmospheric. The "vampire chick" is Carroll Borland, who had the hots for Lugosi, and Lugosi helped her get the part. She showed up for the audition and the director, Tod Browning, told her she was too small for the much taller Lugosi. Well, he came out, and had his cape on, and they told him it wasn't needed for the audition, and he replied that he always wears the cape, nose upward. LOL She said he scrunched down enough with the cape around him, that their height didn't look like a problem, so she got the part! She adored his dark looks combined with his blue eyes. Yum! Her appearance here served as inspiration for many of the later horror hotties such as Vampira, Elvira, Morticia Adams, Lily Munster. Hotcha!

Spoiler below!
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You're quite right about the ending. It's all a ruse, as we discover. Basically that is the only blemish on this film, for me, but otherwise, it's quite fine.

Hey Yum Yum ... It's Hollywood ... And it's 1935 ... !!!

Yoawzah ... !!!

By way of personal affection, THE RAVEN by a landslide. For an actor who's had a few rivals himself, I loved seeing him dominate the better-paid, higher-billed Boris KARLOFF - in a lunatic performance that outdoes any other actor for glorious ham, full-blooded theatrics and frightening passion. I like Karloff in it too - an underrated part as an oddball gangster - and Irene Ware as the heroine is surprisingly naturalistic. The musical score is rich in atmosphere, using themes from THE BLACK CAT mated with original letitmotifs by Clifford Vaughan. The sets (several from BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN) are cavernous, Gothic, and imposing... The script is rich in florid, quotable dialogue... In short, a very fun, fast (just over an hour), serial-like classic...

Clocking up second for me would be either MARK OF THE VAMPIRE or SON OF FRANKENSTEIN.

Probably his best film was THE BODY SNATCHER. Also, while it may not have been his biggest role ISLAND OF LOST SOULS was clearly among his best film.

Despite all his short-comings as an actor, Bela Lugosi will forver be remembered as "Dracula". There will never be another like him. Many of tried, but none have come close to the original.

DRACULA of course! I have never noticed this poll before. It was posted just before I joined the board.

I'm very glad you voted, Geoff!!! And a great choice too!!!! Bela's role as Dracula is incomparable in the annals of horror!!!

Wow..those are both great films, but Bela is hardly in either of them, so I wouldn't want to put them on a "best of" list...plus I do NOT like THE BODY SNATCHER...can't really say why, just a feeling I have about it...it's one of the few Val Lewton films I don't really like. I do love ISLAND OF LOST SOULS though!

I voted for "White Zombie" but honestly I want to vote for them
all. He is without doubt my favourite "King of Horror".
Even the films I haven't seen I know if he is in them he is out
there giving 150% of himself.
If you want to see him in a movie that completely takes you by
suprise - "The Death Kiss" (1932) is great.
SPOILER ALERT - At the end of the movie when he says something
like "I know you suspected me and I was very hurt by it" - you just
know that everyone watching at the movies was probably laughing
their heads off at that.

I voted for The Raven - not because it was his best, but because I perfected my impersonation of his voice by watching it.

"It's torture, Bateman - TORTURE!"