Dracula (1931)

draculaDespite the funny “mayor of New York” line in Woody Allen’s futuristic comedy, Sleeper, I think that a hundred years from now people will still associate the character of Dracula with Bela Lugosi and Bela Lugosi with the character of Dracula, and both with the essential history of horror films. Like Dracula, Lugosi will live forever. You don’t get much more iconic than his performance—presence, actually—here. At the very least, Lugosi’s Dracula is probably the most fun character in the history of horror movies of whom to do impressions (“Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make” and so on.) He’s the best thing about the movie, which is on the slow side and stagey in that way that often distances modern viewers from early talkies. The second best thing about Dracula is its stunningly classic imagery full of shadows, cobwebs, fog and creepy staircases. The film goes limp at the climax, but the tension build-up at the beginning is beautifully done by seasoned director Tod Browning. It’s a model for how to set up a horror film.