Volume 29, No.40
October 17, 2004

Sound Bites

   Universal Studios really sank its teeth into a new way of doing business with the 1931 horror classic, Dracula.  Cinema would never be the same again.

   In the early days of Hollywood, everyone could understand silent movies, so they were watched all over the world.  In fact, U.S. studios made half their money from foreign sales. So the arrival of sound was a huge problem.  All of a sudden, anyone who didn’t speak English couldn’t follow the stories!  Early technology made dubbing other languages onto the films nearly impossible, so Hollywood found another solution, especially for the lucrative Spanish-speaking market.

   Hollywood added a night shift.  After a day of shooting on a major movie, Latino actors and technicians were brought in at 8 p.m. to use the same expensive sets.  Since no-name talent was cheap, the $450,000 Dracula, could be made in Spanish for a mere $66,000.

   But to everyone’s surprise, that Hispanic version was vastly superior to the one featuring Hollywood’s best!  In Hollywood Gothic, author David Skal blames Director Tod Browning, who was hard-drinking and hard-headed. He stuck with traditional camera angles, ignored reaction shots and special effects and didn’t care about quality. In one scene, cardboard used by the crew to reduce the glare of a lamp takes up a quarter of the screen. Even Dracula’s climactic death isn’t shown on film — the audience only hears him groaning.

   In great contrast, the Spanish Dracula used innovative camera moves and clever lighting to make the story come alive. When the vampire climbs out of his coffin, a double-exposure is used to create a mist that rises out of the casket and becomes Dracula himself whereas — in the English version — the lid shakes, the camera pans to a wall, then pans back to the vampire who’s just standing there.

   The one thing the night crew couldn’t improve on was Bela Lugosi’s impeccable depiction of Count Dracula.  Director Paul Kohner insisted actor Carlos Vallerias imitate him as closely as possible and even allowed him to see the daily footage shot by the English crew, to make sure he got things right.

   After rave reviews, the Spanish Dracula showed in several Latin countries then disappeared.  Universal Studios hadn’t bothered to make preservation prints, so no new copies could be made when the originals wore out.  The masterpiece seemed lost forever until 1989 when a complete version was found in the Cuban Film Archives.

   In many ways, we Christians are like the Spanish film unit. We share this world with others who follow the same essential script, from the first flicker of life to the final fade to black. But we have a completely different culture and don’t even speak the same language.  More and more, we’re the mostly-ignored minority in a secular society entranced by the trappings of sin, success and celebrity.

   While the focus is fixed on those with the status and prestige, we quietly go about our work, using our combined talents to tell the story of Good’s triumph over evil;  of how the forces of darkness can’t stand the Light;  and how true relief and release come only when we let the Gospel drive a stake through our torn, tormented hearts.  Those who don’t understand the language of our spirits pay little attention, but the message resonates with those who do.

   In the end though, there’s respect from those who truly look objectively at what we produce, compared to our worldly counterparts.  And the credit goes to our Director.  Unlike the self-serving Satan who controls this earthly sound stage, our God brings out the best in us.  He insists on moral excellence, self-control, patient endurance and godliness that leads to love (2 Pet. 1:6,7.)  To help us master our role, He points us to the One who personifies it all  and bids us imitate him in every detail. In his Word, He gives us moving pictures of Jesus upon which to model our performance.

   Despite the world’s apathy, our contribution and reward will be preserved forever, “beyond the reach of change and decay... It will be revealed on the last day for all to see.”  (1 Pet. 1:4,5)

By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the Followers of Christ church family in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To receive these free weekly articles via email, send a note to sgamble@bfree.on.ca