Surely the first really great, utterly iconic film monster was Lugosi’s Dracula. So to kick off the year, let’s take a week to review alternate takes on the Bela’s Count. The first was Armand Tesla, Lugosi’s own, most direct take-off on Dracula, in Columbia’s Return of the Vampire. Lugosi exploited the classic Dracula look until his death–I mean, you know, Plan 9–but this is the one that was scientifically calibrated to come closest while keeping Universal from suing them.
