Ha.
Was this meant to amuse people in 1931 and beyond?
Were people amused by it in 1931?
Was it supposed to be unsettling or ever seen that way by anyone?
I noticed that, too. Kind of cute...
I told you a million times not to talk to me when I'm doing my lashes!
It's definitely meant to be a bit of dark comedy, though I have no idea if people viewed it that way in 1931. It's very in keep with director Tod Browning's sense of humor.
BTW, before anyone brings it up, the reason there are armadillos in that scene is because rats were considered in bad taste to show on screen. Horror was not even established as a film genre in 1931, much less a genre that reveled in bad taste.
That's interesting about the rats.
"There is nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on." - Rod Serling
Thanks for the info about the armadillos, my family's wondered for years what the hell armadillos were doing in Transylvania.
That's interesting about rats being in bad taste for films, I always figured foul language and sexual innuendo were the big ones back then but then again it was a different time and rats tend to be associated with filth, disease and trash so I guess I can understand. Kind of ironic though, seeing as how often Renfield brings up wanting to eat rats.
Do you happen to know if the restriction on rats was something particular to American cinema or something during the 1930's? In the 1922 film Nosferatu (which I prefer to Dracula IMO) there's a scene where a group of sailors open up a few coffins to see what's inside and while most are filled with dirt one opens up and is swarming with rats. Perhaps it's because it was made in Germany? Then again Count Orlock was depicted as more of a plague/pestilence than Count Dracula, so perhaps that's why they had the rats.
Can't be too careful with all those weirdos running around.
America has always had a much stricter standard on what is decent and indecent, and film has never been an exception.
shareWhen I saw this about 60 years ago that was a scene that scared me. Couldn't figure what the hell that was. Saw it in double feature with Frankenstein and Dracula was definitely scarier than Frankenstein and those opening scenes helped to set the mood. Nearly 85 years later, and considering it was made at the very outset of movies, it's hard to feel the same way for younger folk.
share> Couldn't figure what the hell that was.
I just watched Dracula for the first time a few days ago, and that was how I felt. "What the-- was that a bug getting out of a tiny coffin??? Nah, couldn't be... had to be something else." I meant to go back and watch it again, but I guess I wasn't bothered enough to reach over and grab the remote. =)
The comedy of the insect and the armadillos kind of kills the tension-building mood.
shareI've read that it was supposed to be a giant insect crawling out of a normal-sized coffin, but they didn't do a very good job of disguising the miniature.
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"Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!"
- Bram Stoker, "Dracula"
Wow.
That's really ridiculous too.
OMG, if that's true then it was really badly done then! LOL! I find that hilarious actually if that was what they were going for!
shareIt's pretty silly looking. I remember when I watched it I wasn't sure what they were going for there.
For me, regardless of whether it's supposed to be an insect-sized insect or a human-sized insect, I still don't really see how the shot fits. No matter how you slice it, it just seemed to be out of place to me and I don't understand what the message was supposed to be.
According to the Trivia page the insect is a Jerusalem Cricket (Stenopalmatus fuscus).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_cricket
"It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations" Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
If it was supposed to be a Jerusalem Cricket, the film makers were ignorant since according to that wiki page those bugs are only native to the western United States, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. Nowhere near where the movie takes place! Then again Armadillos aren't native to Europe either.
shareI found that a bit funny in a corny sort of way actually. I certainly laughed when I saw that!
shareThose were vampire insects. Dracula had the ability to change not just humans into vampires, but also insects and animals
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