EARLY CINEMA
Dracula Double Bill PG
Dracula
USA | 1931 75 minutes
Dracula's Daughter
USA | 1936 71 minutes
Dracula
DIRECTED BY Todd Browning & Karl Freund
STARRING Bela LugosiDracula's Daughter
DIRECTED BY Lambert Hillyer
STARRING Gloria Holden
Universal's Dracula is one of the most influential horror films ever made, establishing the foundation for Hollywood’s golden age of monsters. Directed by Tod Browning and adapted loosely from Bram Stoker’s novel and a later stage play, the film introduced audiences to a chilling new screen icon: Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula. Lugosi’s performance, complete with distinctive Hungarian accent, piercing stare and deliberate movements, defined the vampire archetype for decades.
A very early sound film, Dracula majors in atmosphere and mood rather than special effects. Karl Freund’s cinematography (eerie lighting, deep shadows, and sweeping camera-work) contributes to a gothic sensibility that became a hallmark of the genre.
The film was a financial success for Universal, solidifying its reputation in horror following The Phantom of the Opera (1925) - and it paved the way for Frankenstein, released later the same year. Dracula’s cultural impact is undeniable: it popularised the vampire as both a figure of terror and dark charisma and sparked countless re-interpretations in literature, film, and television.
Five years later, Universal released Dracula’s Daughter, a sequel beginning immediately after the events of the original, with Van Helsing's arrest for the murder of Count Dracula. The narrative then shifts to Countess Marya Zaleska, Dracula’s daughter, played by Gloria Holden. Unlike her father, Zaleska struggles with her vampiric curse, yearning for freedom and normality. Her story explores themes of repression, desire, and identity in ways that set it apart from its predecessor. Some have seen in the film coded references to sexuality, particularly in the scene where the Countess lures a young woman to pose for her.
While never achieving the iconic status of the 1931 film, it offered a more nuanced, almost tragic take on the vampire myth, which was unusual for its time and influenced later sympathetic depictions of supernatural creatures. These two films remain essential viewing for anyone interested in the origins of cinematic horror and the enduring power of the vampire legend.
27 October 2025 MONDAY 19:30
GREEN ROOM
Tickets £10.00|£7.00 (under 26) CONCESSION NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE