Hola Amigos! Universal Esteban here. This time we are going to take a trip south of the border to discover an unusual Universal classic. It is the Spainish version of the 1931 Bela Lugosi classic "Dracula" Universal wasn't into dubbing another language on their films at the time and especially since Dracula was the first talking horror picture. Universal decided to make a Spainish version using Spanish actors. Some critics say that this version is better than the original. I wouldn't go as far as to say that but it is a very good film and some might wonder if Lugosi had been directed by George Melford instead of Tod Browning there might have been a whole new look to the classic film. What Melford did was he would take a look at what the day crew did and say we have to do better. In some instances he did. He added a few visual enhancements such as when Dracula came out of the coffin he came from a cloud of smoke. No one can top Lugosi as Dracula. Carlos Villar was simular but with a few differences like the hair piece they both wore which accented the widows peak fit Lugosi but not quite as good on Villar. Lugosi had longer hands so he could do the motions with them while Villar had smaller hands. Villar was a little more dramatic than Lugosi in some scenes and there was even some music score in the Spanish version. Lugosi's had none which made it more creepy. It relied on acting and by hearing just the sound effects and not music it made it more real in my opinion. I must admit it looks a little wierd seeing a black and white Dracula movies with familiar scenes with different actors and a different language but it is worth a look. This is an overlooked classic.
Some interesting facts about this film:
The director could not speak Spanish. They had an interpreter speak to the actors for him.
They had Lupita Tovar wearing more low cut outfits while Helen Chandler had higher necklines on her outfits.
Lugosi and crew filmed during the day from 8:00 am and left around 8:00 pm. When they left the Spanish crew showed up and filmed on the same set from 8:00 pm to 8:00 am.
Even though the Spanish version had the same script as the original, it is a half hour longer than the English version.
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