WaverBoy wrote:
Apparently Melford told Villarius to imitate Lugosi's performance, and if true, I say his performance can't be fairly judged.
This would make evaluation dicey.  As an actor myself, I've always believed that you do what the director asks/tells you to do.  If I deeply disagree with a director, I'll try to talk some sense into him, but if that doesn't work, I almost always take the 'good boy' route and just do as told.  On at least two occasions this has seriously backfired (always on me, never on the idiot director).  The first time I was ever reviewed by The New York Times, I got seriously slammed for giving the director's performance (which I absolutely did not agree with.)

So, if Melford told him to imitate Lugosi, or in any other way be that goofy, we'd need to give Villarias some leeway.  Working against this theory, however, is that Melford's other actors are not remotely near the silly vein that Villarias drinks from.  Still...who knows?