It seems as though no matter where you look, Stephen King’s name is always popping up. Whether that’s through the horror writer’s dozens of adaptations of his iconic novels like Carrie, The Long Walk, and It: Welcome to Derry, or his many thoughts about the TV shows and movies he watches, people can’t get enough of the opinionated Maine native. Good or bad, King will make it known what he thinks about anything he feels people should know about, and one particular actor from a classic horror movie did not make it onto his “nice list”. The celebrated horror writer, now 77, has written hundreds of novels, novellas, short stories, screenplays and even some nonfiction. Stephen King’s worldwide popularity is so vast that he even had to use the pseudonym Richard Bachman, just to publish all of his ideas in order to increase his publication without saturating the market for the “King brand”. Never seemingly prone to suffering from writer’s block, at least not for too long, King’s most recent work includes the novel “Never Flinch”, which features the return of Holly Gibney, and the picture book “Hansel and Gretel”, which brings his signature voice, along with illustrator Maurice Sendak, to the classic fairytale of two brave children lost in an eerie and dangerous forest.

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Stephen King Thought Bela Lugosi Portrayed a “Terrible” Dracula

According to Far Out, Stephen King wasn’t a huge fan of Bela Lugosi’s interpretation of the legendary vampire in his 1931 movie, Dracula. King said, while talking about how his characters are portrayed in live-action, Lugosi’s portrayal of the night stalker was “terrible,” but “He was alright until he opened his mouth, and then I just dissolved into gales of laughter.” Written by Garrett Fort and starring Bela Lugosi in the title role, the 1931 movie is based on the stage play Dracula by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Even though King wasn’t too fussed on Lugosi’s acting skills, his portrayal of Dracula established the character as a cultural icon, as well as the archetypal vampire in later works of fiction. In 2000, the film was selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. In the same article, King also spoke about what he thinks about certain actors taking on characters from his books when adapted to the big and small screen. “What they look like isn’t terribly important to me,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be John Wayne in True Grit. It doesn’t have to be Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster. It doesn’t matter to me. Some actors are better than others.”

However, King previously mentioned that he did feel sorry for Lugosi while talking about one of the most “abysmal” horror movies ever made, which was Ed Wood’s 1957 film, Plan 9 from Outer Space. “Lugosi died shortly after this abysmal, exploitative, misbegotten piece of trash was released,” King stated. “And I’ve always wondered in my heart if maybe poor old Bela didn’t die as much of shame as of the many illnesses that were overwhelming him.” Thankfully, there was a vampire adaptation that King did really enjoy, calling the BBC One series of Dracula on Netflix, “smart, involving, and bloody terrific. Which is to say it’s terrific and VERY bloody.”

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Dracula

Release Date

February 12, 1931

Runtime

74 Minutes

Director

Tod Browning, Karl Freund

Writers

Louis Stevens, Garrett Fort, Tod Browning, Louis Bromfield, Frederick Stephani

Source: Far Out