Dracula

Saw the 1931 version of Dracula (thanks, John!) It's the absolutely classic, Bela Lugosi, "I vant to suck your blahd," definitive Dracula. It's fairly old and thus kind of kooky in parts. There's some horrendous silent-era mugging (Renfield...) and also some costumes of yore that have aged into absurdity (at one point one of the main characters is wearing knickerbockers. He looks like Mr Tumnus.) but the main story holds up very well.

I enjoyed that Dr Van Helsing (who is the vampire-expert) is not totally trusted. Several times the characters express doubt about his "expertise" and he keeps demanding absolute control with creepy frequency. He is right, of course, but the "are you sure?" bits are often skipped in other Dracula films. Also good is Renfield, for all of his grimacing and scene-chewing. He does sell the wild-eyed lunatic thing to the hilt. Very fun. There's also gloriously rubber bats and hokey wolf-howls that play well for not yet being worn-out staples. There's a sense of playful ghastliness and freshness about everything.

And then of course there's Bela himself. There's something very compelling about the intense foreigner who is entrancing our women. He's clearly aware that he's doing a great job here. He never really escaped this role, but it's easy to see why. This dude just is dracula. This was the definitive version that really everyone should see before seeing the many, many variations of the theme.