The fact is that Bela is an iconic figure in the USA, and not so much in Europe. Most French people who saw, for instance, ED WOOD, just didn't know who was Lugosi before. And an important part of the US cult about Lugosi is centered on his personal life, above his movies. But this has automatically an influence on American fan's judgement, to the point that any grade-Z Lugosi title is almost venerated like a sacred cow.
I agree, or course, that from a historical point-of-view, DRACULA is an important movie. But certainly not a masterpiece like FRANKENSTEIN, or BRIDE, or KING KONG. I saw it when I was 23, and in the best possible conditions, in English with French subs, on the big screen of the Cinémathèque Française at the Palais of Chaillot. After the show, everyone, as usual, talked about the movie, and the general consensus was that the 15 or 20 first minutes were brilliant and atmospheric, but that the movie degenerated quickly just after, until the end. And nobody was particularly impressed by Lugosi, after all, James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN was still shown in Parisian theaters at the same period, so the comparizon was rather rude for Bela...
I also agree about Clark Holloway's editing, but we are speaking of the released version. In any case, even in comparizon of the brilliantly re-edited Browning version, Melford's still reigns as the better - in spite of the defects common to BOTH versions, of course. There are really crude effects in the Browning movie, like these ridiculous spots in Bela's eyes (but the same effect was brilliant in THE MUMMY) - and THIS can't be attributed to "bad editing".   smiley: smokin

Last Edited By: todmichel Jan 27 12 7:57 AM. Edited 1 times.