Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers

by Gary Don Rhodes

Overview

He was born Bela Ferenc Dezso Blasko on October 20, 1882, in Hungary. He joined Budapest's National Theater in 1913 and later appeared in several Hungarian films under the pseudonym Arisztid Olt. After World War I, he helped the Communist regime nationalize Hungary's film industry, but barely escaped arrest when the government was deposed, fleeing to the United States in 1920.

As he became a star in American horror films in the 1930s and 1940s, publicists and fan magazines crafted outlandish stories to create a new history for Lugosi. The cinema's Dracula was transformed into one of Hollywood's most mysterious actors. This exhaustive account of Lugosi's work in film, radio, theater, vaudeville and television provides an extensive biographical look at the actor. The enormous merchandising industry built around him is also examined.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786427659
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	04/05/2006
Pages:	430
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.86(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Gary Don Rhodes, a documentary filmmaker, is a professor at the Queen’s University, Belfast.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Foreword by F. Richard Sheffield     
Preface and Acknowledgments     

I. Lugosi, the Man     
1. A Biography     
2. Personal Data     
Imperial-Cameo Pictures Corporation Biographical Information (1935)     
Residences     
3. Lugosi in Court     
4. Lugosi in Politics by Frank J. Dello Stritto     

II. Lugosi, the Performer     
5. Feature-Length Films     
Hungary     
Germany     
United States and United Kingdom     
6. Serials     
7. Stage Appearances     
Hungary     
United States, United Kingdom and Canada     
8. Vaudeville and Live Appearances     
9. Radio Performances     
10. Television Appearances     
11. Other Celluloid Appearances     
12. Newsreels and Short Subjects     
13. Unfinished Projects and Canceled Roles     

III. Works By or About Lugosi     
14. Reviews, Articles, and Pamphlets     
15. Books     
Biographies     
Film and Stage Histories     
Novels and Film Novelizations     
Published Scripts     
16. Quotations from Lugosi     
17. Quotations About Lugosi     
18. Quotations About Lugosi and Karloff     
19. Sources and References     
Audio Sources     
Visual Sources     
Documentary Sources     
Multimedia Sources     
Theatrical References     
Animation References     
Visual References     
Verbal References     
Television Sources     
Archival Sources     

IV. Critique and Appreciation     
20. Image, Apparition, and Icon     
21. Authority Survey     
22. Advertising Lugosi     
23. Collecting and Merchandising Lugosi     
24. Unmasking the Mysteries     

V. Index     

Editorial Reviews

everything Lugosi ever said or did”—Library Journal; “highly engaging...exhaustive...a magnificent collation of facts and figures”—Film Review; “for serious students of Lugosi, this is the place to start”—Movie Collector’s World; “belongs in any film lover’s library”—Filmfax; “I have this book and I treasure it...grand”—Scarlet Street; “nothing short of amazing”—Cult Movies; “highly recommended!”—Midnight Marquee; “it can easily lay claim to being the best book ever written about Bela Lugosi”—Little Shoppe of Horrors; “illustrated throughout with rare stills, candid publicity shots and trade posters...this is an essential purchase”—Crimson; “probably won’t be topped”—Fangoria; “I really can’t praise this book highly enough”—Samhain; “truly an achievement”—The Silents Majority On-Line Journal; “excellent...definitive and comprehensive chronology of Lugosi’s career”—Monsters from the Vault; “first class”—The Other Side of Show Business; “the most revealing biography of all”—www.maremagnum.com; “a book that should answer every question a Lugosi fan might have”—Big Reel.

From the Publisher

Lugosi was an actor whose fame came mostly from his portrayal of Dracula, and little has been written about him-until now, probabaly owing to Martin Landau's recent OscarR-winning portrayal of Lugosi in the film Ed Wood. Two biographies have appeared in as many months, and one wonders if Lugosi's career merits this much attention. One may be even more skeptical of the need for 300 pages comprising a filmography, a bibliography, a list of reviews, quotations by and about Lugosi, and a compilation of unfinished projects. Rhodes (Univ. of Oklahoma) admits he set out to record everything Lugosi ever said or did, and comprehensive film history collections that can afford to pay $55 for such a compendium may welcome it. Larry Edwards's Bela Lugosi: Master of the Macabre (LJ 3/1/97) covers the same biographical ground, however, and smaller collections will find it a better value for those interested in Lugosi.-Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Bay Area Cooperative Lib. System, Cal.

Library Journal

for serious students of Lugosi, this is the place to start

Movie Collector's World

highly engaging...exhaustive...a magnificent collation of facts and figures

Film Review