Trivia / Dracula (1979)

• Cast the Runner-Up:
  • The role of Van Helsing was offered to Donald Pleasence, but he decided that it was too similar to his role as Dr. Loomis in Halloween (1978), so he chose to play Dr. Seward instead.
  • Sylvester McCoy tried for the role of Renfield. Moreover, most of his scenes as Walter were cut.
• The Cast Showoff: Jan Francis (Mina) arranged the dancing sequence featuring Dracula and Lucy. Francis was a professional dancer before she became an actress.
• Creator Backlash:
  • In an interview with Empire Magazine in February 1994, Donald Pleasence said about the movie:
  I've only done one Dracula, that very expensive one with Frank Langella. Lord Laurence Olivier and I were the doctor and the professor. We had a really good time but it was an awful film...Larry and I did it for a laugh.
  • Frank Langella feels this way specifically about the red lasers during the Dracula/Lucy 'vampire marriage scene', feeling it completely shattered the mood of the rest of the movie (he's right). When interviewed for a 21st century re-release of the movie, Langella said plainly "I hated it then and I hate it now."
• Dueling Works: With Nosferatu the Vampyre, another remake of a classic vampire film, a previous adaptation of Dracula as well, that was released in the same year.
• Fake Brit: Englishwoman Lucy is played by Canadian actress Kate Nelligan.
• Fake Nationality:
  • Count Dracula of Transylvania is played by Frank Langella of New Jersey.
  • The Dutch Professor Van Helsing is played by the quintessentially English Laurence Olivier.
• Looping Lines: The dialogue just before Dracula sucks Lucy's blood had to be looped because the dramatic fog machines made too much noise.
• Money, Dear Boy: According to Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier appeared in the film for this reason.
• Wag the Director: There were two stipulations that Frank Langella insisted upon when accepting the role of Dracula in this movie. First, there would be no scenes with fangs dripping blood, and second, that Langella would not do any commercial promotions as Dracula.
• What Could Have Been: The film was intended to be shot in black and white but the studio didn't allow it.

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