The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi

by Arthur Lennig

This definitive biography of the silver screen legend is “a moving, lively, witty, sad book that revives once more the long dead Count Dracula” (Kirkus Reviews).   Bela Lugosi won immediate fame for his starring role in the 1931 film Dracula—the role that would forever define his persona. After a decade of trying to broaden his range, Lugosi resigned himself to a career as the world's most recognizable vampire, often playing opposite his horror film rival Boris Karloff. When he died in 1956, Lugosi could not have known that vindication of his talent would come—his face would adorn theaters and his Hungarian accent would be instantly recognized across the globe.   In 1974, silent film expert Arthur Lennig published The Count, a highly regarded biography of the unsung actor. Now Lennig returns to his subject with a completely revised volume more than twice the length of the original.  The Immortal Count provides deeper insights into Lugosi's films and personality. Drawing upon personal interviews, studio memos, shooting scripts, research in Romania and Hungary, and his own recollections, Lennig has written the definitive account of Lugosi's tragic life.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Film, Horror

610 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Mike Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take note of the title - this is about the life and FILMS of Bela Lugosi. If you want a straightforward biography then this probably isn't for you as the author spends a lot of time detailing the plots of his movies. I wasn't particularly interested in the movies themselves and so skipped through much of the breakdowns to get back to the story of the man himself, and that's the part I enjoyed here.

Bela Lugosi was at the same time a very lucky and a very unlucky man. Lucky because he was born to play the role of Count Dracula and got the part to great acclaim on both stage and screen. Unlucky because he made such a success of it that no-one allowed him to try anything else: he was a 'horror star' and that was it. In Hungary he was a matinee idol, playing lead roles in romances and dramas, and this led to him turning down the role of the monster in James Whale's Frankenstein the year after Dracula hit the screens. He turned it down BECAUSE he didn't see himself as a horror actor and wanted to capitalize on the success of Dracula by taking on other roles in other genres and showing just what a versatile actor he was.

It didn't work though - no-one gave him the opportunity to branch out, Boris Karloff took the role he turned down (nailing it definitively) and became a much bigger star because of it, and Bela became afraid of turning down anything at all in the future. Disaster! In contrast to Bela, Boris seems to have relished his role as a horror star and seemed to really appreciate the livelihood it gave him, regardless of typecasting. Sad that only a few years later Bela was playing a distinct second (or even third) fiddle to Boris and never regained his original position.

In later life Bela comes across as almost pathetically grateful to still have fans and movie offers which is sad and touching. His private life, too, was a mess, and in the end he was an old man with a career in tatters, fearing his own impending death. Those last movies under Ed Wood, although woefully unprofessional, must have brought him some comfort - I hope they did, I think he deserved much better than he got.

[Emilie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited to read about Lugosi's life, but the author was WAY too enthralled with his subject to be objective. He's also incredibly vindictive towards any critic, writer, or individual who has ever had a bad thing to say about Lugosi, no matter how mild. It came off like a long blog post from a bitter, obsessed fanboy than a professional work. I was glad when I turned the last page.

[Robin Bailes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and informative about the life and films of Bela Lugosi, particularly interesting in his pre-Dracula years, about which I knew very little. A few quibbles - I wished that the author did not give a detailed breakdown of the plot for every single film (in fact, I ended up just skipping ahead a few pages every time he started). I did also find the tone too uncritical - Lugosi was a wonderful actor but nobody's perfect and this verged on hagiography.

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for more of a biography of Bela Lugosi. This was more about the films -- recaps of the plots, critiques of the acting and film, etc. -- and so much repetition. There were points I kept thinking "Didn't I read this part already?" I had, but it was in the previous two chapters. I made it to the last 50 pages and gave up and skimmed the rest. The last chapter has more about his personal life, but there wasn't much.

[Michael Cohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and fascinating account of a legendary actor

The Immortal Count provides a comprehensive, personal and opinionated biography and filmography of Bela Lugosi, an iconic screen star who lived a tragic life but continues to be adored by millions of fans. I grew up watching Bela’s old horror movies on TV and have many fond memories of watching them alongside my late brother on Creature Features, Chiller Theater and similar shows while avidly devouring the issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland. But despite an overall familiarity with his career, I knew little about his life, aside from Martin Landau’s Oscar-winning portrayal of him in “Ed Wood.” This book is packed with great stories about the ups and downs of Lugosi’s career, his unfair treatment in Hollywood, his drug and alcohol problems, his marriages and divorces, and so much more.

I liked the way the author, Arthur Lennig, worked hard to separate fact from fiction about Lugosi’s life and his often funny dissections of the actor’s movies, both good and frequently bad. He brings a personal perspective to the book, describing how he met the actor as a very young fan and stayed in touch as he was growing up and became one of Lugosi’s stalwart friends and supporters into his adulthood. The heartfelt and touching accounts of their meetings and interviews with other Lugosi friends and family members are also very revealing. My only quibble is that sometimes I felt he was a bit too harsh to other biographers who got the facts wrong, and other people in Lugosi’s life, including fellow actors like Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. and even Lugosi’s son. Still, he provides a very well rounded and consistently entertaining biography that is often sad and moving about a legendary star who lived a difficult and painful life, but who nevertheless maintained a career until the very end of his life and indeed beyond.

[Geff Ratcheson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is almost 2 books in 1. The first 2/3 (2 stars), & the last 1/3 (4 stars) after the author came to personally know Lugosi.

The first 2/3's is very dry; it's a fairly in depth description of almost all of Lugosi's American films & plays & a FEW of the early European ones. Lots of detail (much of which I already knew), and it's quite dry. It did not give me any feeling of Lugosi, the person.

Then we get to the period where the author (a huge Lugosi fan) meets Bela & they become friends. At that point BL becomes human & I did get somewhat of a feel of who the man was.

If you're not as familiar with BL's work as I am, you may enjoy part 1 more than I did; but truth is a lot of his films had only one thing going for them: Bela. As such if you're into b-pic horror & Noir with 1 or 2 (Karloff) great actors, I'd suggest watching as many of the films as possible before reading this; the plot descriptions may put you off enough to not watch some great performances.
Truthfully, I even consider Dracula mediocre, except for Bela's near perfect performance.

Though the author largely says the same as I did; many of these films are dreadful, but still worth watching for Lugosi's great performances.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent, highly detailed biography of Bela Lugosi, covering his origins and stage career in his native Hungary, his emigration to Germany, then the United States, the peak of his fame after the 1931 "Dracula" made him a star of horror films, to his career decline (he REALLY got screwed over by movie studios), addiction to drugs and alcohol, the break-up of his family, poverty, his days working for Ed Wood, his final marriage and death, the friction between his son and his last wife...it's a tremendous book (over 500 pages) but is written with love. The author, when he was a kid, got to meet Bela a few times when he was touring and doing stage plays, and his love and respect for Bela drives this narrative. A wonderful book!

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating background info on the man behind "Dracula", his most famous role. The early years, Broadway to Hollywood, the fateful decision, a first great photo section of Bela and his roles, Dracula, fame, the peak, the comeback, a second great photo section, the war years, the decline, the final years until to be really dead (with a great third photo section and some more great photos). Page turning biography on one of the most iconic horror actors ever. Highly recommended!

[Damon Glassmoyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tale of Bela Lugosi - fascinating and somewhat tragic - told in great detail by a film scholar and devoted fan. It's packed with detail, so it's not a quick read (the author goes deeply into each film's history as well as Lugosi's life). But, if you want to know Bela Lugosi, this is the book you must read.

[Mark Potts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have wanted to read this since it came out in 1974, but could either not find a copy or, could not justify the cost at the time. So, this year, I treated myself. A fine biography of a unique man, by a true fan, and a friend. Essential for any fan of Lugosi, old horror films or, movies in general.

[Janis M. Raster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dracula infinitesma

Incredibly detailed life story of Bela Legosi’s famous character, the lack of appreciation for his characterizations, and his sad demise. Kudos to the author for his research.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loads of info, but I'd love to get more context and a more critical perspective rather than this adoration mode.

[Eric Bauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 460+ page love letter to Lugosi from a fanboy. I learned a lot, but all of the "Lugosi was brilliant in this movie and everybody else sucked" got old quickly. I like my biographies objective.

[Patricia Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forever Bela

A little too detailed in some cases but a must read for classic horror movie fans. Gets to the
heart of the myths surrounding Bela.

[Yasmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very close to giving this four stars but as I read Gregory Mank's book first some of the information, almost verbatim, was in his book so it didn't come across as new. In many ways the book doesn't differ that much from Gregory Mank's book even in writing style. There was a bit more information and obviously less than Boris Karloff here. I didn't quite get the sense of Lugosi as a man outside of acting, however, I suppose he was one of those people were it was hard to distinguish between himself as a man and himself as an actor. Nevertheless he was a fascinating person and it is a crime that his abilities and energy was left to waste. I haven't been able to fathom why he was under used and pretty much abused by the film world. Despite what has been suggested film companies were interested in experimenting with ideas, anything that would make a profit, it was the apparent ignorance or arrogrance about his box office appeal is the most striking thing. As Lennig and Mank point out Boris Karloff had and English accent and a lisp and yet he was more successful. Was it the undercurrent of Communism even in the 30s for Lugosi? What really was the reason he was not used more? Apart from his own unfortunate business affairs there had to be more to it than that. This has not been researched into by any film historian or Lugosi fan. Indeed it may not be acknowledged by Lugosi fans, but I think it is something they should consider, not a conspiracy theory per se but there should be the decided consideration that Lugosi fell from fame by more causes than have been given. This book is worth reading even if you are not a Lugosi fan, or watched many of his movies, indeed if you are interested in early pictures or early American cinema than this is the book to read.

[Alex Severin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my enduring movie loves is Bela Lugosi. This is the man we picture when we think of a Dracula. This is the man our common psyche recognizes as the quintessential European sophisticate vampire. We do not envision the gnarly old hallitosis sufferer of Bram Stoker's novel. We envision Bela Lugosi.

This is a warts-and-all biography, which I think paints a fair, even portrait of Lugosi. The writer, Arthur Lennig is a life-long Lugosi fan but does not allow sentiment to cloud his canvas. He portrays Lugosi as a stubborn, superior, dominating, passionate, talented, bon vivant. You're left with a great sense of the man as a human being.

But here's where we differ – Edward D Wood Jr.

Lennig is scathing of Ed Wood at times. And we've all heard the endlessly spouted anecdotes about him being the worst director of all time, directing the worst movie of all time and so on. Some even say that Ed Wood's movies have sullied the legacy of Lugosi. Other things I've read about the whole Lugosi/Wood situation is that Ed Wood took a sad, broke and broken old man addicted to pain meds whose life had no meaning anymore, and put him in front of a camera again, gave him a new audience. This gave Lugosi a new lease of life because he was able to do what he did best once more – act, perform. I can't mark down Lennig's books on this point though - a lot of it is personal taste and opinion and I'm happy to just agree to disagree on this point.

But Lennig cannot be faulted on his research. His detail is meticulous, especially on the areas of his life that must have been the most difficult to reasearch – his early years in his native Hungary.

Well written, not always flattering, but always honest, this is a must read for all horror buffs and Lugosi fanatics.

I have no problem at all saying that this book is the difinitive work on the life of Bela Lugosi.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of this bio, Arthur Lennig, became a Lugosi fan as a boy. He built a Dracula shrine in his basement and, in August 1948, met his hero. They chatted and Lugosi actually visited Lennig's home after a summer stock performance of "Arsenic and Old Lace" in Sea Cliff, New York. This brief section of the book, complete with the author's snapshots of the meeting are worth checking out.



"At home Lugosi was ushered in by the beaming boy, who regretted that none of his friends happened to come by at this moment of supreme bliss. Lugosi, encountering the mother of the enthusiastic fan, came up to her rapidly and intoned, "Hello, Mother." Although adjusted to the fact that her son brought back strange things -- salamanders, frogs, snakes -- she never quite expected to meet Count Dracula himself."

[Aundrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally, I believe this to be the only biography about Bela Lugosi (Blasko), as the author did such extensive research, as any good fan would. I've been simply appalled by the newer so called 'biographies' released this decade. Until Bela Lugosi Jr. writes his fathers official Biography ( and it is unlikely he will) I hold that this is the official biography of Bela Lugosi.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could be one of the more informative biographies of tragic actor Bela (Dracula) Lugosi. However, it suffers from pages of unnecessary plot description for every single movie and play he was ever in. This isn't a bad thing, really, but it should have been replaced by greater analysis of Lugosi's roles in each production instead.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic must read.