[HorrorScience] Dracula -Spanish version- (1931)

Reading time: 9 minutes

Qualification

Dracula

Year

1931

Duration

104 minutes

Director

George Melford

Distribution

Carlos Villarias, Lupita Tovar, Barry Norton, Pablo Álvarez Rubio, Eduardo Arozamena, José Soriano Viosca, Carmen Guerrero, Amelia Senisterra, Manuel Arbó

Script

Bram Stoker (original story), Hamilton Deane, John L. Balderston

Dubbing in films is so common that it is difficult to imagine that there was a time when it did not exist and many companies recorded different versions of the same movie to be able to export it to other countries.

Today's film is an example of that case, because in 1931 at the same time that Bela Lugosi played Count Dracula under the direction of Tod Browning, the Spanish actor Carlos Villarias played the same role, on the same sets, but under the supervision of George Melford, in the Spanish-speaking version of the film. Both films shared a script, so we are faced with two films that are the same on paper, but different on the screen.

Bela Lugosi became a star thanks to his role in Dracula, Tod Browning is also more famous than George Melford, so it is logical to think that the Spanish version was so inferior that it was forgotten. The truth is that despite how commercial the English-speaking version was, many critics consider the Spanish version notably superior, a fact that recently aroused my curiosity and the main reason why I have decided to watch and comment on this film in the section.

The story tells us how Renfield (Pablo Álvarez Rubio) arrives in Transylvania where he has an appointment with Count Dracula (Carlos Villarias) to confirm the purchase of a property in another country. Locals warn Renfield that he is in great danger if he is heading towards the castle, but he attributes it to gossip and superstition.

After arriving at the majestic old castle, Renfield meets Dracula, who after completing the paperwork for his purchase and preparing for his next trip leaves him alone during the night, a situation that causes the lawyer to fell prey to three strange women ghostly looking.

[HorrorScience] Dracula -Spanish version- (1931) — Renfield meeting Dracula

Shortly after, the police find a ship in the port with the entire crew dead and whose only survivor is Renfield, who has gone mad completely. For his part, Dracula meets Dr. Seward (José Soriano Viosca), his daughter Eva (Lupita Tovar) and his companions, Juan Harker (Barry Norton) and Lucía Weston (Carmen Guerrero).

A few days later, Lucía appears dead without blood, with marks on her neck and Dr. Seward speaks with his friend Professor Van Helsing (Eduardo Arozamena) about the strange conditions of the incident.

The insane Renfield will also be the object of study by both of them, since he is confined in Dr. Seward's sanatorium and seems to know who is behind the latest deaths, although his state of mental health does not help to clarify too much.

The situation becomes critical when Eva begins to feel sick and after a nightmare wakes up with the vampire's mark on her neck. Van Helsing begins to make conjectures about everything that is happening and after meeting Dracula he will confirm his theories.

It is very difficult for me to rate this film, mainly because the original version by Bela Lugosi exists and of course, all I can think of is to compare both versions and make it clear what I like more about one than the other.

When I commented on Lugosi's version I already made it clear that the pace of the film is slow and that it has a touch that makes it more like the play on which it was based than a film, something that is maintained in this version, although with nuances.

For me, the most valuable things about the American version are its atmosphere, its sets and the performances of Frye and Lugosi. This version has the same sets and shows us the same scenes (although shot differently) so the atmosphere remains and regarding the performances of Villarias as Dracula and Pablo Álvarez as Renfield, I can only say that they are not bad at all.

Villarias is an overacted Dracula, the faces he makes are very funny and even ridiculous, but also They make you think he's crazy and is capable of killing you at any moment. You could say that his performance as Dracula is extravagant, but honestly, Lugosi became famous precisely for his extravagances when playing the character. If I had to choose one of the two performances, I would choose Lugosi without a doubt, but I have to say that Villarias' performance has some moments that I really like since It's a more violent Dracula. For example, when Van Helsing opens the cigar box to see how Dracula reacts to seeing himself in front of a mirror, Lugosi smacks the box and steps away. Villarias, on the other hand, takes his cane and destroys the box like a madman. These moments lead you to think that Dracula is going to abandon his cover as Count of Transylvania and show his bloodthirsty monster side at any moment.

Frye's role of Renfield is simply excellent, it is the best in the film, so Pablo Álvarez had it tremendously impossible in a direct comparison. However, upon watching the film I have verified with satisfaction that the Spanish actor He plays a very dignified role and that his dementia is excellent, to the point that he is very close to achieving what Frye did and that is something incredible.

The rest of the actors do not seem surprising or striking to me and in fact I think that some are dazzled by making the same gestures as their American counterparts, giving the sensation that they are imitating them. This may be because the American version was filmed during the day and the Spanish version at night and some of the actors (or perhaps the director and his team) added those gestures to their version after seeing them live.

Regarding the direction We found quite a few differences when shooting the film. The situations are the same, but in many cases they are executed differently, either because of the camera shot or because the actors do something different, for example when Renfield is in Dracula's castle he falls victim to the vampiresses, while in the American version Dracula avoids being attacked or when Eva is under the influence of Dracula she tries to bite Harker, while in the American version this happens out of shot, as if it were censored.

It is surprising that, despite being used to Browning's version, it seems to me that esta versión ha logrado un resultado superior en la mayoría de escenas. Por ejemplo cuando Renfield llega al castillo de Drácula, en esta versión la cámara se va a acercando progresivamente hacia el vampiro, mientras que en la versión americana se muestra fija. Parece que Browning rodó una película que queda emparentada con el cine mudo en cuanto a estilo, mientras que Melford le encontró el gusto a mover la cámara y jugar más con los planos móviles. Esa superioridad pasa de ser ligera a ser notable en bastantes escenas. No todos los cambios en actuación y dirección son a mejor, de hecho hay algunas que me parecen algo torpes o mejorables, pero en general creo que es más satisfactoria esta versión, lo cual es curioso si tenemos en cuenta que utiliza algunas escenas de la versión americana para ahorrar costes (principalmente las escenas de decorados y exteriores sin actores en primer plano).

Debido a esto, me cuesta bastante quedarme solo con una versión, aunque seguramente elegiría la versión americana, quizás porque es la que he visto más veces o porque fue la primera que vi (lo cual es curioso, teniendo en cuenta que esta versión era para hispanoparlantes). Lo cierto es que me habría encantado que la versión americana incluyese las mejoras que existen en la versión española y que Lugosi se mostrase tan violento como Villarias cuando se enfrenta a Van Helsing o acaba con Renfield. Una combinación de ambas películas nos daría el Drácula clásico definitivo. En lugar de eso tenemos dos versiones, lo cual nos permite hacer algo único como comparar dos películas iguales pero con diferentes actores y equipo, sin que una de las dos sea un remake.

Curiosities about the film:

Lupita Tovar llegaba a los decorados una hora antes que el resto para prepararse, decía que los decorados le daban miedo, pero le fascinaban.
El actor Pablo Álvarez Rubio ensayaba a solas, le puso tanto empeño que la mayoría de sus escenas se rodaron a la primera. Lupita Tovar comentó que parecía que se hubiese vuelto loco de verdad.
Esta versión incluye escenas que se eliminaron de la versión americana, de manera que la historia es algo más completa.
Aunque la película se rodase al mismo año que la versión americana, la ropa de Lupita Tovar es más atractiva y muestra más escote que Helen Chandler.
Esta película se consideró perdida durante años hasta que en 1970 se encontró una copia.
En algunos carteles el nombre de Carlos Villarias está mal escrito y en la película se le acredita como Carlos Villar.