---
title: "Dracula"
year: 1931
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/dracula"
fi1m_id: "dracula"
imdb_id: "tt0021814"
tmdb_id: 138
wikidata_id: "Q279378"
fi1m_score: 75
critics_score: 67
critics_reviews: 5
published: "2026-09-25T00:49:02.360036+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-25T00:49:02.948322+00:00"
region: "FR"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Dracula (1931)

Directed by Tod Browning · 1h 14m · Horror

## Identity

Dracula

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/dracula
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** dracula
- **IMDb ID:** tt0021814
- **TMDB ID:** 138
- **Wikidata ID:** Q279378
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021814/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/138, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q279378

**Fi1m score: 75** · Critics 67 (early) from 5 reviews

*In a sentence:* Bela Lugosi makes good manners seem a sound reason to leave the house

> Bela Lugosi remains unsettling in *Dracula*, even when the film around him grows stiff and talkative. Tod Browning’s horror is worth seeing for its leading performance and an opening that the rest cannot quite match.

## Synopsis

Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) is the central figure in this adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel. The other characters include Renfield (Dwight Frye), Mina (Helen Chandler) and John Harker (David Manners), alongside Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) and Doctor Seward (Herbert Bunston). Lucy (Frances Dade), Martin (Charles K. Gerrard) and the Maid (Joan Standing) also appear. Tod Browning directs the horror film, with a screenplay by Garrett Fort. It runs for 74 minutes and carries a 12 certificate.

## Review

Tod Browning’s [*Dracula*](https://film.one/film/dracula-2025) is good horror with a persistent problem: it keeps stopping to talk when it has already given us something to fear. Bela Lugosi makes Count Dracula sufficiently compelling to carry us through much of that talk, though not all of it. At 74 minutes, the film ought to feel leaner than it does. Its serious approach to the material deserves respect, but the opening establishes an assurance that the later staging cannot consistently maintain.

Karl Freund’s cinematography gives those opening scenes a freedom of movement that the talkier passages sorely need. The fluid camera encourages us to keep looking for danger, and the atmosphere develops without having to be explained at every step. John Hoffman and Herman Rosse’s production design contributes to that early unease, giving the horror a persuasive setting. Too often afterwards, the director seems content to let the surroundings do their work while the conversation receives rather less imaginative attention.

We found Bela Lugosi unsettling, and the deliberateness of his performance is the reason. He gives Count Dracula’s speech such careful weight that ordinary courtesy starts to sound like a warning. There is enough charm to prevent the menace from becoming monotonous, and enough restraint to make us attend to small changes of emphasis. The faint romantic appeal matters: we understand why this figure might hold someone’s attention before we consider whether staying near him is sensible.

That command also exposes how much less interesting the surrounding dialogue can be. Helen Chandler’s Mina and David Manners’s John Harker struggle to make an equivalent impression, although competing with this Count would be a difficult assignment for anyone. Their performances cannot quite turn the more static conversations into encounters whose every exchange matters. Too many passages retain the stiffness of a staged conversation, with neither the actors nor the camera finding enough within them to justify the time spent listening.

Garrett Fort’s screenplay takes the horror seriously, which helps, but solemnity becomes a habit rather than a response to something disturbing. We do not need a joke or a sudden shock every few minutes; we do need the dialogue to make the danger feel nearer. Milton Carruth’s editing cannot do enough to hurry along scenes that develop so little as they proceed. The running time remains modest, yet individual exchanges can feel as though they have been allotted more time than they have earned.

The opening provides a useful answer to the suggestion that this is simply how older horror films have to move. Its confidence comes from making us look, allowing atmosphere and camera movement to sustain our attention without constant conversation. The later stiffness is disappointing precisely because the film has already demonstrated another way of working. Even so, the central performance remains strong enough to make this a worthwhile evening for anyone who enjoys horror that proceeds with some ceremony. Give it a little patience, but do not feel obliged to find every slow conversation frightening.

*Fi1m score 75, published 25 September 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is Dracula worth watching?**

*Dracula* is worth watching for Bela Lugosi’s unsettling performance and its atmospheric opening, especially if we enjoy patient, measured horror; we score it 75 out of 100. The later scenes grow stiff and talkative, so its 74 minutes can feel longer than they should, but Lugosi’s carefully weighted courtesy keeps the menace alive.

**How long is Dracula, and what is it rated?**

*Dracula* runs 1h 14m. It is a horror film.

**Where can I watch Dracula in France?**

*Dracula* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from €2.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Dracula, and is it suitable for children?**

*Dracula* carries a UK 12 certificate, so it is not suitable for younger children; its unsettling qualities lie in atmosphere and Lugosi’s restrained menace. We find his deliberate speech and warning-like courtesy disturbing, but the certificate is the clearest guide for parents deciding whether it suits an older child.

**Is Dracula based on a true story or a book?**

*Dracula* is adapted from Bram Stoker’s novel, rather than presented as a true story, with a screenplay by Garrett Fort. We find that the adaptation takes its horror seriously, sometimes too solemnly; knowing the book is not necessary to appreciate Lugosi’s performance, though we make no claim about how closely the film follows it.

### Reviews we read (5)

- **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (4/5): Jones finds the film talky and stagebound by modern standards, but still a highly atmospheric and subtly romantic classic. He singles out Browning’s opening scenes for their macabre perfection. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-x3a76t/dracula/)
- **Empire**, Angie Errigo (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the film stagey and creaky but ultimately a classic, largely because of Bela Lugosi. Lugosi’s unsettling, charismatic performance is singled out as the element that makes this Dracula endure. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dracula-2-review/)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (75/100, inferred): The review finds the film an effective, serious ghost story. It particularly praises the creepy atmosphere and Bela Lugosi’s performance as Dracula. [Read](https://variety.com/1930/film/reviews/dracula-1200410467/)
- **RogerEbert.com** (64/100, inferred): The page could not be accessed, so its critical verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or criticism is visible in the supplied content. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-dracula-1931)
- **Time Out**, TM (40/100, inferred): The review regards the film as less than the masterpiece its reputation suggests. It praises the first twenty minutes as astonishingly fluid and brilliantly shot by Karl Freund. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dracula)

## Details

- **Director:** Tod Browning
- **Director:** Tod Browning
- **Screenplay:** Garrett Fort
- **Writer:** Frederick Stephani, Louis Bromfield, Tod Browning, Louis Stevens
- **Novel:** Bram Stoker
- **Cinematography:** Karl Freund
- **Editor:** Milton Carruth
- **Production design:** Herman Rosse, John Hoffman
- **Costume design:** Ed Ware, Vera West
- **Producer:** Tod Browning, Carl Laemmle Jr.
- **Cast:** Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula; Helen Chandler as Mina; David Manners as John Harker; Dwight Frye as Renfield; Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing; Herbert Bunston as Doctor Seward; Frances Dade as Lucy; Joan Standing as Maid
- **Runtime:** 1h 14m
- **Release (France):** 22 January 1932
- **Genres:** Horror
- **Budget:** $355,000
- **Box office:** $700,000
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5zL-jCgvUA

## Where to watch in France

- Amazon Prime Video: rent €2.99, sd
- Apple TV: rent €3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy €8.99, uhd
- Apple TV: buy €8.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-25.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, HU, IE, IL, IN, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, TH, US, VN. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Nosferatu* (1922): A harsher vampire presence, with dread carried through bodies, buildings and shadows.
- *Vampyr* (1932), Fi1m 85: Its drifting camera sustains the unease that the conversations here sometimes interrupt. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/vampyr.md)
- *The Innocents* (1961): Polite conversation becomes dangerous, while the house gives everyone somewhere to hide.
- *The Hunger* (1983): For more vampiric glamour, with desire given rather less discreet treatment.
- *A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night* (2014): A lonely vampire and nocturnal streets make room for a different romantic unease.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/dracula