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| Bela Lugosi (October 20, 1882-August 16, 1956) |
Coinciding perfectly with my current listing of my favorite scary movies, there is no better detour on this day than to give homage to the great Bela Ferenc Dezso Blasko, or better known as Bela Lugosi. Better known as Dracula and the fan boy object of Ed Wood's affection, Bela had been heartbreakingly typecasted throughout his stage and film career. But in his gentlemanly manner, he never turned down a role which further enabled addictions to drugs and women. Despite his humanity and weaknesses, those beautiful brown eyes expressed themselves through the vampiric stares to the moment where the protagonist he plays finally breaks into insanity.
The latter is truly Bela's epitaph in Edgar Ulmer's "The Black Cat" (1938) and Joseph H. Lewis's "Invisible Ghost" (1941). To see a horror icon playing a dimensional character is always an event and Lugosi's catatonic dark gaze is more than just haunting, it's sad and tragically underrated. But Lugosi knew what worked and how to play his talents to work for the studio system that did not have an established place for wild card international actors. His body of work may have been on a slow decline, but just remember, he did play against Greta Garbo in the MGM comedy "Ninotchka," proving he was more than what the Hollywood studio system gave him credit for.
Further Material:
Stuff You Missed in History Class:: Bela Lugosi Part 1
Stuff You Missed in History Class:: Bela Lugosi Part 2
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