Historian John McElwee reports, in his 2013 book "Showmen, Sell It Hot!", that Bela Lugosi's popularity received a much-needed boost in August 1938, when California theater owner Emil Umann revived "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" as a special double feature. The combination was so successful that Umann scheduled extra shows to accommodate the capacity crowds, and invited Lugosi to appear in person, which thrilled new audiences that had never seen Lugosi's classic performance. "I owe it all to that little man at the Regina Theatre," said Lugosi of exhibitor Umann. "I was dead, and he brought me back to life." Universal took notice of the tremendous business and launched its own national re-release of the same two horror favorites. The studio then rehired Lugosi to star in new films.