Dracula in popular culture Melford was the director, and it starred Carlos Villarías as the Count, Eduardo Arozamena as Van Helsing and Lupita Tovar as Eva. Because of America's movie industry censorship policies, Melford's "Dracula" contains scenes that could not be included in the final cut of the more familiar English version. It is also included on the Universal Legacy DVD. The Universal Studios horror films made Dracula a household name by starring him as a villain in a number of movies, including several where he met other monsters (the most famous being the comedy "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein", in which Lugosi played
Dracula over the years, and many films have used the character as a villain, while others have named him in their titles, including "Dracula's Daughter" and "The Brides of Dracula". As of 2009, an estimated 217 films feature Dracula in a major role, a number second only to Sherlock Holmes (223 films). A large number of these appearances are not adaptations of Stoker's novel, but merely feature the character in an unrelated story. Dracula Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. It introduced the character of Count Dracula, and established many conventions of subsequent vampire fantasy.