Given that Bride of the Monster was Bela Lugosi's last performance on film and given his health conditions, I thought that his performance in BotM was fantastic. He still maintained his nimbility of his lines and his movement around the sets was quite spritely, certainly not the performance of a dying man.
shareYes, esepcially the 'I have no home' speech, which was quite moving.
This was very poignant as this faded, once A-list star was reduced to accepting a role in such a low budget pot boiler.
The Ed Wood film portrayed this very well.
I hadn't seen this for about thirty years, but TiVoed it off of TCM last weekend. It is a lot of fun, and a must for anyone who is a Lugosi fan, as I have been since childhood. One thing that strikes me about the movie, though is the quality of the photography. It is really quite good, crisp and clear. It looks like there was more care taken in the making of this film than in any of Wood's other "masterpieces".
sharedellaware said;
"the 'I have no home' speech, which was quite moving."
In my opinion this was one of Lugosi's most powerful moments on screen.
it's just in my humble opinion - imho -
This was NOT Bela's last performance on film, although it was his last speaking role.
Both "The Black Sleep" and "Plan 9" were filmed after this.
Yes i though the whole conversation with the government agent was very moving, Bela certainly dragged the performance in this movie upwards.
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Applied Science? All science is applied. Eventually.
I saw this for the first time today, and I have to say that at times I forgot I was actually watching an Ed Wood movie! And I agree that we all have Bela Lugosi to thank for that. It is a true testament to his talent for him to be able to make an Ed Wood movie almost seem truly dramatic.
There were times when I was just on the verge of feeling frightened of him, and then, in a blink of an eye, I was just on the verge of feeling sad for him.
Great actor!
I also found the 'I have no home' speech quite touching. However, how much of this was due to watching the brilliant Ed Wood movie beforehand I'm not quite sure
shareEven before the Ed Wood movie, I've been moved by the 'I have no home' speech. Besides Bela's acting which is good, I knew a bit about Bela's life story and the words were true in terms of his treatment by Hollywood and his drug addiction.
BB ;-)
it's just in my opinion - imo -
I had found Bela Lugosi's 'I have no home speech' noticeably good in the film before I saw 'Ed Wood.' But I think the 'Ed Wood' film did highlight the poignancy of this speech well. It also touched on Hollywood's mistreatment of Bela Lugosi. And after reading your post I would like to read more about the callous mistreatment that he is likely to have received.
shareI, too, thought his performance was great. Bela never fails to take any movie he is in and make it memorable because he is just that good of an actor. He hasn't disappointed me yet. I have loved every performance of his that I have seen.
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I first saw this film as a kid in the 50s and, upon subsequent viewings, am always happy at how many images remained with me from that first viewing. Lugosi especially.
A couple of interesting points about the "I have no home" scene.
Lugosi had to leave his homeland (Hungary) due to political differences. And here we have someone trying to take him back to his home country from which his character had to leave. Poignant? I think so.
Also, in the speech he says "I have proven that I am all right", when the original script calls for his saying "I have proven that I am right." (rather than "all right". It is as if Lugosi is trying to subconsciously acquit himself both to Hollywood (that royally turned the screws on his) and to the homeland he had to leave.
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He was the best actor in Bride of the Monster. Everyone else paled in comparison. You can tell how great he was in that not only was he in poor health emotionally and physically, but he only had one take to do his scenes. Now that is an actor! Not like these people today who need ten takes to get anything half decent and they are top billed. What has happened to our standards in films today?
Bela Lugosi truly was a great actor.
As for the director/writer... Well, Ed Wood was one of a kind is all that I can say.