'Dracula' featured at October’s Movie Night at the Museum

In a month known for spooks and goblins, movie buffs get a chance to see one of Hollywood’s horror classics, 1931’s “Dracula” starring Bela Lugosi. The film screens 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the Northwest Montana History Museum in Kalispell.

“Dracula” was the first sound film adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel of the same name, making a Hollywood celebrity of Lugosi, who starred for three years in the same role on Broadway. Lugosi’s portrayal of Count Dracula as the suave yet frightening creature who sleeps in a coffin during the day and preys on women at night set the standard for future depictions of the vampire.

At its publication in 1897, Stoker’s book of Gothic fiction on which the movie is based netted positive reviews for its use of horror. Other reviewers panned it, calling it excessively frightening.

Along with Lugosi, the 1931 film features Dwight Frye, Helen Chandler and Edward Van Sloan as vampire hunter Van Helsing. Directed by Tod Browning, the film was both a critical and commercial success for Universal Pictures, which also released “Frankenstein,” starring Boris Karloff, the same year. Those films established the studio as Hollywood’s major producer of horror films.

In 2000 “Dracula” was selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Brit Clark, director of the Conrad Mansion Museum, will introduce the film.

Doors open at 6:50 p.m. with the film showing at 7. Admission and popcorn are free, but donations are gladly accepted to help defray the costs of the monthly Movie Night at the Museum series. Soda pop, water, beer and wine are available for purchase. Seating is provided, but viewers can bring their own cushions or seating if they choose.

Located in the former Central School in Kalispell, the Northwest Montana History Museum brings the past alive through exhibits, artifacts, programs and events. Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at 124 Second Avenue East, Kalispell. For information, call 406-756-8381.