Jessie Lilley
Buddy Barnett
Brad Linaweaver

November 2009     Web Edition     Issue #3

Forum Blog News Mondo Girl Letters Photo Galleries Archives Back Issues Books Contact Us Features Film Index Interviews Legal Links Music Staff

Vampire Over London

Bela Lugosi in Britain

Frank J. Dello-Stritto and Andi Brooks—Cult Movies Press—2015—495 Pages

reviewed by Michael Copner

A revised and enlarged edition of the earlier version of this gem is absolutely worth reading. It concerns the 3 films Bela Lugosi made in England, as well as the 1951 revival of Dracula—The Vampire Play. As most fans know, the plan was for a full fledged production of Dracula in the West End (London’s “Broadway”). What resulted was 6 months of touring and over 200 performances all around the circumference of the West End and coming amazingly close to that triumphant destination but never reaching it.

Lugosi and his managers hoped a play in the entertainment capitol of England would spark more work for the actor, back in Hollywood. Such did not occur, yet the result could not be called a failure. The shows thrilled thousands of audience members, garnered uniformly top rated newspaper reviews for Bela, and likely let him return home with a large payroll to show for his non-stop performing—usually 2 shows nightly, on the road.

There are special qualities about this book, which make it worth owning. Of note is the eye candy in the form of newspaper ads from 1951. The 2nd Appendix features many such ads, no 2 alike, from the Empire Theater, The Grand Opera House, Theatre Royal and more—most featuring Lugosi’s name in large type followed by “And the full West End company.” These are mixed in amidst reviews of the play as critiqued in The Glasgow Herald, The Stage, The Irish News and many other publications of the day.

This book has a “you are there” feel for what it must have been like to view the Lugosi and Dracula experience, live on stage. We delight in anecdotes of Bela & wife Lillian’s dealings with producers, directors and cast—not to mention Bela winning over audiences twice nightly in a creaky old thriller with a prop bat on wires which malfunctioned frequently.

Frank did most of the writing for this edition, though writing partner Andi dug up much of the actual facts. They are realistic enough to analyze their own book. At one point they conclude a view by stating, “The actor so often overlooked during his life and nearly forgotten at his death, is now arguably an over-researched and over-reported figure. The volume of works about Bela Lugosi is out of proportion to his contributions to film, perhaps even to horror films. The dozen or so books and documentaries devoted to Lugosi, as well as many journal articles and chapters in film histories, tell of a life and a body of work, of dizzying highs and crippling lows. His eight months in Britain are an important part of that story. Those months of 1951 were his last hurrah.”