Lugosi,Frankenstein--and what might have been

[Phillyrich]

Has anyone read the series of books put out by BEAR MANOR press on movies that might have been classics--but were never made, or were not made with the proposed director and cast? I wonder if these books are mostly fact or fancy, and I wonder how well they make their case.

One book is Robert Florey's "Frankenstein," 1931, starring Bela Lugosi. There was supposedly a long-lost test reel of Bela in the role.

Another is the "Dracula's Daughter", 1936, starring Lugosi and directed by James Whale, with a proposed A-film budget, and set partially in Transylvania.

Another is Lon Chaney Talks: as "Dracula." He died suddenly, before he could be cast.

"War Eagles" was never made, halted in production in 1940, apparently not to offend Hitler.

[Donald Binks]

I thought the reason Lugosi turned down "Frankenstein" was that he would not be required to utter anything other than a few grunts here and there and therefore thought the role to be demeaning to his being a superior actor. (He was quite big in Hungary before venturing to the U.S.).

[ClayKing]

Swing over to the Universal Horror Film Forum http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuk ... wgUjaMo6cx for lengthy and very knowledgeable discussions of these things. The consensus is that once Whale took over the project he turned down Lugosi. Chaney would have never been loaned to Universal by MGM. Dracula's Daughter was intentionally scripted outrageously because Whale knew it would never be approved by the Code and he had no interest in another horror film.

[Mitch Farish]

I thought the reason Lugosi turned down "Frankenstein" was that he would not be required to utter anything other than a few grunts here and there and therefore thought the role to be demeaning to his being a superior actor. (He was quite big in Hungary before venturing to the U.S.).

I think Lugosi's story - that he turned down the part of the monster - can be dismissed as self-serving. He was certainly interested enough to submit to a make-up test. What I have heard (this may be apocryphal) is that Laemmle, Jr. laughed at Lugosi in make up and never considered him for the part. He didn't even want Lugosi in Dracula. Chaney could not be had, so he settled for Lugosi. What intrigues me is what might have been if Conrad Veidt had not returned to Germany at the dawn of the talkies. If there was a viable alternative to Lugsoi, Veidt was it. He certainly was capable of learning lines phonetically, as Lugosi did for the play in the '20s. But if Veidt had gone on to play the monster we may not have had Karloff's great career.