A couÂple days ago, we feaÂtured some intriguÂing clips from the new aniÂmatÂed Edgar Allan Poe film, ExtraÂorÂdiÂnary Tales. DirectÂed by aniÂmaÂtor Raul GarÂcia, the film draws on the voice talÂents of sevÂerÂal clasÂsic horÂror actors and direcÂtors, includÂing the late ChristoÂpher Lee, Roger CorÂman, and—in an archival readÂing of Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart”—the legÂendary Bela Lugosi. You can hear his readÂing above, a recordÂing that seems to date from 1946. The HunÂgarÂiÂan actor, who strugÂgled to find work late in his career, and wresÂtled with a morÂphine addicÂtion, likeÂly “recordÂed it for his agent,” writes Ronald L. Smith, “who would have been depÂuÂtized to make copies and send them out to anyÂone interÂestÂed in bookÂing Bela’s solo stage act (which includÂed an enactÂment of the Poe tale).”
All of the great horÂror stars of the earÂly twenÂtiÂeth cenÂtuÂry cut their teeth on Poe, and perÂformed his macabre stoÂries throughÂout their careers. Lugosi was no excepÂtion. After his typeÂcastÂing as an exotÂic vilÂlain in the stage adapÂtaÂtion of Bram Stoker’s DracÂuÂla in the late 20s, then in Tod Browning’s famous 1931 film, Lugosi would remark, “I am defÂiÂniteÂly typed, doomed to be an expoÂnent of evil.”
He appeared the folÂlowÂing year as the mad sciÂenÂtist in Universal’s adapÂtaÂtion of Poe’s MurÂders in the Rue Morgue (watch here). Then, in 1935, Lugosi played yet anothÂer crazed docÂtor, who is obsessed with all things Poe, in The Raven (view here), a film that also feaÂtures Universal’s othÂer major horÂror star of the time, Boris Karloff. The two had teamed up the year preÂviÂous in Edgar G. Ulmer’s Poe adapÂtaÂtion, The Black Cat, a huge hit for UniÂverÂsal, in which Lugosi plays yet anothÂer evil docÂtor.
After Lugosi’s sucÂcessÂes with Poe-inspired films in the thirÂties, his career preÂcipÂiÂtousÂly declined, and by the forÂties, when he made the “Tell Tale Heart” recordÂing at the top of the post, he’d been reduced to playÂing parÂoÂdies of his DracÂuÂla charÂacÂter, notably in 1948’s Abbott and CostelÂlo Meet FrankenÂstein. Lugosi attemptÂed to bank on earÂliÂer sucÂcessÂes with Poe, or Poe-like, charÂacÂters. Before Ed Wood found and resÂurÂrectÂed him in now-clasÂsic fifties B‑movies like Glen or GlenÂda, Bride of the MonÂster, and—posthumously—Plan 9 from OutÂer Space, Lugosi made one final appearÂance onscreen in a Poe adapÂtaÂtion. Click here and see him in an adapÂtaÂtion of “The Cask of AmonÂtilÂlaÂdo,” an episode from teleÂviÂsion series SusÂpense. Set in Italy durÂing World War II, this verÂsion of “AmonÂtilÂlaÂdo” casts Lugosi as Nazi offiÂcer “GenÂerÂal ForÂtuÂnaÂto,” whom one fan describes as a “ruthÂless, amoral rouĂ©, with equalÂly ruthÂless storm troopÂers at his beck and call.” It’s not Lugosi’s greatÂest perÂforÂmance, but it’s “Bela doing his 1949 best,” and an imporÂtant entry in his catÂaÂlog of Poe perÂforÂmances, if only because it’s the last of them.
HapÂpy HalÂloween!
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
New Film ExtraÂorÂdiÂnary Tales AniÂmates Edgar Poe StoÂries, with NarÂraÂtions by GuillerÂmo Del Toro, ChristoÂpher Lee & More
Iggy Pop Reads Edgar Allan Poe’s ClasÂsic HorÂror StoÂry, “The Tell-Tale Heart”
5 Hours of Edgar Allan Poe StoÂries Read by VinÂcent Price & Basil RathÂbone
Bela Lugosi DisÂcussÂes His Drug Habit as He Leaves the HosÂpiÂtal in 1955
Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From OutÂer Space: “The Worst Movie Ever Made,” “The UltiÂmate Cult Flick,” or Both?
Josh Jones is a writer and musiÂcian based in Durham, NC. FolÂlow him at @jdmagness