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Dracula: The Original 1931 Shooting Script, Vol. 13 (Universal Filmscript Series) (Universal Filmscripts Series: Classic Horror Films)

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"Dracula: The Original Shooting Script" was produced in cooperation with Universal Studios and The Ackerman Archives, bringing together the original shooting script of 1931's "Dracula" and 88 pages of material about the novel, plays, and pre-production of this enduring film, including over 100 photographs and images. There is an Introduction by actor Bela Lugosi that reproduces a publicity blurb he was to deliver on a Los Angeles radio station to promote "Dracula" in 1931. The Foreword by Ivan Butler, written for the first edition of this book in 1989, recalls touring in the Hamilton Deane stage production of "Dracula". The preface by Carla Laemmle, cousin of producer Carl Laemmle, Jr., recalls life at Universal Studios in the 1920s-1930s.

Philip J. Riley, of The Ackerman Archives, and George Turner provide "Production Background", including 4 pages of Bram Stoker's rough draft of his novel "Dracula", some history of the brilliant but illegal F. W. Murnau film "Nosferatu", discussion of Hamilton Deane's 1924 stage adaptation and John Balderston's later adaptation upon which the film is based, a career bio of director Tod Browning, and the efforts to get "Dracula" made at Universal. There is a selection of early screenplays: A 32-page treatment of "Dracula" that Fritz Stephens submitted to Carl Laemmle is reproduced on 6 pages. A 50-page first draft of a screenplay by Louis Bromfield is partly reproduced in miniature on 13 pages. (You will need a magnifying glass to read it.) Part of the Dudley Murphy rewrite of the Bromfield script is included. There is a section dedicated to "Scenes from the Spanish Production of Dracula" that discusses some of the differences between the Spanish and English versions. A "Music" section discusses the film's score by Heinz Roemheld. There are excerpts from film reviews, sketches by Art Director John Hoffman, "Behind the Scenes" photos, and an eclectic mix of other photos and trivia.

The shooting script itself occupies about two-thirds of the book. It has been pieced together from the personal copies of Bela Lugosi, cinematographer Karl Freund, and producer of the Spanish version Paul Kohner. The most striking aspect of the script, in my view, is that so much of Renfield's scenes and dialogue were cut in the final films. Also cut were some short scenes with Count Dracula and Lucy Weston's un-dead scenes. The film lost some creepiness and suspense in cutting Lucy's scenes. But it lost most of Pablo Alvarez Rubio's great performance in the Spanish version of the film by cutting Renfield. Rubio's is the best performance of the two "Dracula" films, and I would like to have seen more of it. The shooting script is followed by a copy of the original press book for "Dracula", some old ads for the film, and the New York Times review from February 1931. "Dracula: The Original Shooting Script" is a nice collection of script, screenplays, history, and photos for fans of "Dracula" and aficionados of Universal horror films. My only criticism is that the sections preceding the script are poorly organized, the off-white paper doesn't reproduce photos well, and the quality of the paper is poor -although I have seen worse.

So MUCH information & images, many I'd never seen before. A compendium indispensible in understanding how the story moved from novel to stage to screen. Production stills, various early script treatments in their entireties... including oddities such as Forry Ackerman's 1st Edition Dracula hardcover signed by everyone from Stoker to Lugosi to Chris Lee and WAY beyond. Unbelievable-- a true treasure.