A few years ago a friend of mine saw Rowland V. Lee's SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939) for the first time at The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. At the end of the film his first comment was, “Why does everybody say Bela Lugosi was such a bad actor? He’s great in this! He steals the whole movie—and that’s not easy when you’re sparring with Lionel Atwill, Boris Rathbone, and Boris Karloff!” He then asked me to recommend other Lugosi films, so I took the opportunity to compile my personal “Top 13 Lugosi” list. Your forthcoming Halloween viewing experience can be vastly improved by the addition of any one of the following films from the Golden Age of Hollywood....
If any of these films whet your appetite for more information regarding the careeer of Bela Lugosi, I suggest listening to the following podcast: YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS: BELA AND BORIS EPISODE ONE: WHERE THE MONSTERS CAME FROM (OCTOBER 16, 2017).
Also, the following books by Gary D. Rhodes (and friends) represent the most comprehensive biographies of Lugosi's life:
And the best documentary film about Lugosi remains Gary D. Rhodes' LUGOSI: HOLLYWOOD'S DRACULA (Spinning Our Wheels Productions, 2000).
And if you want even more Lugosi, here's a 1951 interview with the actor upon his return from London where he had just completed filming John Gilling's very peculiar transvestite comedy MOTHER RILEY MEETS THE VAMPIRE (AKA VAMPIRE OVER LONDON) (1952):
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