While people seem tired of movie remakes now, this is not a new thing, and one of horror cinema’s most iconic films had its remake made at the same time as the original was being sH๏τ. Although this may seem unusual, the truth is that two Dracula films were sH๏τ simultaneously on the same set, with the remake featuring an entirely different cast and the same script.

Bram Stoker wrote Dracula in 1897, and it remains the novel that made vampires famous. Filmmakers had wanted to make it since the advent of movies, but Stoker’s estate refused to allow it. As a result, F.W. Murnau changed the name to Nosferatu and made the first unofficial adaptation in 1922. Finally, the real Dracula arrived in 1931, with a remake sH๏τ simultaneously.

The Original Dracula Was Immediately Remade Using The Same Locations

Universal Remade Dracula As A Spanish-Language Film

Universal Studios’ 1931 version of Dracula was the first official adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel, introducing what most fans today know about the legendary vampires. The film introduced the now iconic Middle-European villagers who were frightened of the mythical vampire in the castle and the man sent to sell him land in England. This was Universal’s first monster movie.

Everyone knows this story, with Bela Lugosi starring as Count Dracula, a nobleman who seeks to find the woman he believes was reincarnated as his lost love. However, as an immortal creature of the night, he brought death and destruction with him. It took the might of a vampire hunter named Abraham Van Helsing to stop this evil man.

However, this version of Dracula was not the only vampire movie released in 1931. A remake of Dracula was sH๏τ simultaneously on the same sound stage, using the same script, but with different actors. Known as Dracula (The Spanish Version), Universal hedged its bets by remaking the movie in the Spanish language with a new cast.

In the 1930s, there was no technology to dub a film into foreign languages. Hollywood usually had the cast read their lines twice, once in a foreign language, and create the two versions. For Universal, they wanted to create a new movie that Spanish-speaking audiences could enjoy in their language, resulting in this remake.

Wanting to create a love story that could translate, Universal Studios executive Paul Kohner cast Spanish actress Lupita Tovar in the role of Eva, the remake’s equivalent of Mina, played by Helen Chandler in the American version. From there, Universal hired George Melford to direct the Spanish-language remake (Tod Browning directed the American version).

The two movies filmed their versions of Dracula on the same sets, rotating their schedules to accommodate each other. In the daytime, Browning would shoot his film with Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. After Browning wrapped for the day and went home, Melford showed up and directed his version, with Carlos Villarias starring as the vampire.

The Spanish-Language Dracula Is Just As Good As The Original

The Spanish-Language Dracula Is As Respected As The Original

There are plenty of remakes of international movies today. Films like The Departed and Insomnia were made in other countries and then remade with American actors years later. There have also been American movies remade in other countries, with international versions of films like Forrest Gump and What Women Want.

However, this was very different because it was a remake sH๏τ alongside the original with the same script. What is impressive is that, in many ways, the Spanish-language movie is superior to the iconic Universal Monsters classic. The Spanish version of Dracula followed the script more closely and is 28 minutes longer. It is also sH๏τ better and looks more impressive technically.

The camerawork, atmosphere, staging, and special effects (especially the fog) are more sophisticated than those used in Browning’s film. The costumes were also better, and Eva’s dress was magnificent. However, U.S. censors would never have approved it, nor would they have allowed the bite marks from that version to remain.

However, while the Dracula remake looks better than the American version in almost every way, the original film has one thing that sets it above the Spanish-language remake. Bela Lugosi is Dracula, and while Villarias looked similar to Lugosi, he didn’t have the mannerisms that made this vampire a horror icon, which is where the original movie stands out.