The Films (and other recorded performances) of Bela Lugosi



It's no secret around here that Bela Lugosi is my favorite actor of all time. No, I'd never dare to argue he is the best actor of all time, but there is a charm, an elegance, and a warmth to Lugosi, even beneath the often creepy/menacing exterior he exudes in his better known horror films, that I don't seem able to get enough of.

I've watched probably 90% of his horror films at this point (and if you check IMDB, you'll realize that's a serious accomplishment), but so many of those lesser known works run together in my mind so that I'm often left putting in a new Lugosi film only to realize I've seen it already. Thus, I decided it was time to do an actual review thread -- less the kind of deep analysis I tend to give to my comic reviews, and more a quick chronicling of each film so that I can remember the basics of what happened in the film and ensure that I finally watch EVERY Bela Lugosi film.

I'm also going to attempt to quantify my viewing experience. With such a large body of work and so many films that so closely resemble each other in plot and in style, I figure that quantifying how much I enjoyed each film will help me to figure out which films I should return to again and again. It will also be fun to finally be able to rank EVERY surviving Lugosi film from favorite to least favorite.

The system I intend to employ works as follows:

Plot (0-5 points): Is the story worth a damn? Some of my favorite Lugosi films have absolutely ludicrous plots, but (obviously) the plot is most of what you experience on that screen, so its quality absolutely affects the overall film experience.

Atmosphere (0-5 points): Not just the emotional quality elicited by the setting (though that's a huge part of the better Lugosi horror films), but really the overall mood or even the jeno se qua, that unexplainable factor that didn't come from Lugosi but is absolutely palpable throughout the film. Sometimes it's the cinematography, or the score, or maybe even the lighting. Whatever that extra element is, I include it here.

Other Actors (0-3 points): Lugosi didn't often collaborate with A level talent on his films, but some of those B actors were surprisingly good, while others were atrocious. Clarence Muse could absolutely steal the show in several of Lugosi's Monogram films and truly add to the overall enjoyment factor, whereas some films paired Bela with talent so lacking that it utterly weighed the film down.

The Lugosi Factor (0-10 points): Not just the quality of Lugosi's acting (which varied wildly), but also how well the film uses him. No matter how hard Lugosi acted his heart out in The Black Sleep, he was still a mute servant with only a handful of scenes. Similarly, while I enjoy Lon Chaney Jr.'s The Wolfman just fine, I'm not going to pretend Bela stole the show in that outing, so it probably shouldn't rank high in these reviews.



A few explanations I should offer in advance of beginning this thing:


Prior to 1931, whatever films I am able to review here will make for a highly incomplete sampling of Lugosi's work during this stage in his career. Not only are most of his films from 1917-1931 considered lost (I consider not being able to see him in Murnau's The Head of Janus a particularly significant loss), but he was also a very active stage actor during this time, performing in critically acclaimed plays that are impossible to view again in hindsight, not the least of which was his original performance as Dracula. So essentially, if it's on Youtube or home video, I'm including it, but that's going to give a highly incomplete picture of the first decade and a half of his career.

I'll make very little effort to be objective in my reviewing. This is a chronicle of my own personal viewing experiences and my own personal feelings about these films. I can tell you right now that Dracula (1931) isn't going to be my number one favorite Lugosi film and may not even make my top five. I'm less concerned with what critics, the general public, and Rotten Tomatoes have to say about this film and more concerned with my own reaction, untainted by outside pressures and expectations.

Finally, I'm making this for me. I truly do hope others will enjoy it, discuss with me, and hopefully even debate me, but my primary goal is to build a lasting memory of Lugosi's total output as I experienced it. If you find that enjoyable as well and maybe even want to watch along with me, well that would sure be swell.


Let the fun begin!