The Bela Lugosi Appreciation Thread

[DoctorDeath]

In my humble opinion, Lugosi is one of the greatest actors of all time. So I have organized this thread in order to discuss and remember his greatest roles and some of his not-so great roles.

One of my favorite roles of his is his dual role in "Bowery at Midnight" (1942) of Karl Wagner/Professor Brenner. This Monogram picture is amongst his best and I think he does particularly well in this film. I love the idea of using the Bowery as a hideout for Lugosi's crime syndicate and this film is a tad more believable than most of his low-budget films since it does not involve apes, death rays, or robots (not that I have any problem with those things  ) One of my favorites!







What are some of your favorite Lugosi films?

[Paladin]

Two of my favorite Lugosi roles are...

[Haunted hearse]

Ygor from bride and Ghost will always be my favorite Lugosi role, and when I hear Dracula, Lugosi first comes to mind.   By the way, the ONLY reason to see "Lugosi meets a Brooklyn Gorilla"(I think that's the title) is for Lugosi's performance.

[DoctorDeath]

Ygor from bride and Ghost will always be my favorite Lugosi role, and when I hear Dracula, Lugosi first comes to mind.   By the way, the ONLY reason to see "Lugosi meets a Brooklyn Gorilla"(I think that's the title) is for Lugosi's performance.

Agreed. The Martin-Lewis impersonators make me want to gag.

[Rich]

My favorite roles Bela did were Count Dracula and Ygor.

Other good ones include Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, The Raven, White Zombie, The Wolf Man and The Devil Bat.

[Rich]

I just purchased Return of the Vampire and The Devil Bat (colorized and restored Black and White).

[DoctorDeath]

I just purchased Return of the Vampire and The Devil Bat (colorized and restored Black and White).

Return of the Vampire is one of his coolest films. I always kind of viewed this film as the true sequel to Dracula that was never made. Lugosi IS Dracula in this film in all but name. Plus the story is just really cool and Lugosi has a lot of screen time. The addition of a somewhat-werewolf into the mix makes it even more fun.

The Devil Bat is also one of the better Poverty Row films. The bat effects are terrible and the story is ridiculous but it is still a fun movie and one of Lugosi's better Mad Scientist roles.

[Paladin]

Wasn't The Return of the Vampire originally supposed to be a sequel to Dracula but Universal Pictures refused to work with Columbia Pictures, threatening legal action?

It is a great film.

[Haunted hearse]

I should have mentioned "Return of the Vampire", because it is one of my all time favorite vintage horror films.His "Armand Tesla", was not only a great Lugosi  creation, but it was a 1940's horror film  that was honestly at least as good as any from Universal from that period.

[DoctorDeath]

Wasn't The Return of the Vampire originally supposed to be a sequel to Dracula but Universal Pictures refused to work with Columbia Pictures, threatening legal action?

Yes, I think so. Which is a shame, because Universal was under the impression that they had the "rights" to Dracula, which is impossible because they bought the rights to the stage play, but the book was in the public domain.

I should have mentioned "Return of the Vampire", because it is one of my all time favorite vintage horror films.His "Armand Tesla", was not only a great Lugosi  creation, but it was a 1940's horror film  that was honestly at least as good as any from Universal from that period.

It would have been interesting to see Columbia continue on with a horror series to rival that of Universal. I seem to remember that Return of the Vampire was a big success for Columbia.

[Phantom Stranger]

Lugosi's Dracula is of, the quintessential movie vampire. So that's my personal favorite.  His Igor is absolutely brilliant. He steals the show everytime he's on camera.
"Return Of The Vampire" is a highly entertaining film. The un-official sequel to Dracula.
"The Raven"is another excellent film.
Sadly films like "Scared To Death", are beneath his talents, but a guys gotta eat.

[Paladin]

I agree- Dracula was definitely his defining role. I thought that this went pretty much without saying. Can't think of Dracula on- screen without thinking of Bela Lugosi.

It's really a shame how Lugosi died- penniless, taking roles that were way beneath him (see Ed Wood) and shooting heroin. It seemed that before he passed no one wanted him around.
 

[Mord]

I think Ygor was his greatest role, with the Black Cat as his finest movie (IMO, of course).

[DoctorDeath]

I agree about the end of Lugosi's career. No one but Wood wanted anything to do with him. I still get chills though every time I watch Bride of the Monster. Lugosi, even at that age and condition, could still out-act most of the classic actors, including Karloff.

[Haunted hearse]

I absolutely don't think of "Return of the Vampire", as a sequel.  Why does there have to be only one movie vampire, and that he has to be a count.  olumbia gave Armand Tesla his own history, and was able to make it into a wartime story at the same time.  This is an outstaning classic in it's own right, and was honestly a much better vampire movie then the ones with Carradine or Lon Chaney Jr.  Of course if someone wants to make a case why "Billy the Kid meets Dracula" is a superior film, I'm more then willing to listen.