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The Blood Is the Life: Actors and Vampires

© Elizabeth Burton

Our fascination with vampires, which essentially began in 1897 when Bram Stoker published Dracula, never seems to flag. Of course, the undead Count has changed a bit from the unpleasant creature of Transylvanian folklore, in some cases assuming the role of hero rather than villain. Nevertheless, the majority of the nosferatu who have appeared in the movies are definitely not the kind you'd bring home to meet the folks--unless you really didn't like the folks.

What's particularly interesting as one studies the various actors who have portrayed Dracula in one incarnation or another are the many individual dimensions each one has given to his role. Even granting that some of those differences are the result of directorial intervention, those variations are fascinating.

Although the image that usually first comes to mind with the name of the nefarious Count arises is that of Bela Lugosi, the first actor to tackle the role of revenant was German Max Schreck in F.W. Murnau's classic, Nosferatu. There is nothing romantic about Schreck's Count Orlock. He is the ultimate illustration of the effects of corruption and evil. Yet there is something compelling about him as well, and his mad, staring eyes filled with unholy hunger are the stuff to beget nightmares.

Max Schreck, whose name means "terror" in German, was born in Berlin in 1879 and trained as an actor there in the Staadtstheater. In 1919, he added roles in the newborn medium of film, dividing his time between that and the stage. Nosferatu was done in 1921 by Prana Films, the only known production of theirs. Clearly based on Stoker's novel--or at least the stage adaptation of it--the film was nearly lost when Stoker's widow won a copyright-infringement suit and the court ordered all copies destroyed. Fortunately, it had already been pirated, so a few copies survived.

Those who prefer their vampires dark, brooding and sexy aren't likely to enjoy Nosferatu as much as the films that followed. Nevertheless, there is no question of Schreck's tremendous magnetism. His Count is truly a creature of night and shadows, as far from the humanity on which he preys as it is possible to be.

Ten years passed; and Universal Studios, buoyed by the phenomenal success of Frankenstein, was making preparations to bring Stoker's novel once again to the big screen. Their first choice for the role of the Count was Lon Chaney, Sr., but by the time they were ready to begin filming Chaney was already dying of throat cancer. They opted instead for a fairly obscure European actor with a flamboyant acting style and a thick accent.

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