Dracula (1931 English-language film) Dracula (1931 English-language film) Dracula is a 1931 American pre-Code vampire-horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula. Produced by Universal, the screenplay is based on the 1924 stage play "Dracula" by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is loosely based on the novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. Renfield (Dwight Frye) is a solicitor traveling to Count Dracula's (Bela Lugosi) castle in Transylvania on a business matter. The people in the local village fear that vampires inhabit the castle and warn Renfield not to go there. Renfield refuses to stay at the
Donald Cook (actor) Donald Cook (actor) Donald Cook (September 26, 1901 – October 1, 1961) was an American stage and film actor who had a prolific career in Pre-Code Hollywood films and on Broadway. Cook is perhaps best known for his film roles in "The Public Enemy" (1931), "Safe in Hell" (1931), "Baby Face" (1933), and "Viva Villa!" (1934), as well as for his stage role as David Naughton in "Claudia", which ran for a total of 722 performances on Broadway between 1941 and 1943. He was also one of the first actors to play Ellery Queen. Cook was born and raised in