Mariposa's Musings

Eager beaver insurance salesman, Albert Tuttle, thinks he’s landed a dream appointment with eccentric millionaire, Cyrus Rutherford.  He arrives at the Rutherford estate only to find his hot prospect is stone cold dead with a house full of conniving relatives, suspicious servants and a slippery lawyer.  As stipulated in Rutherford’s will, none of the potential heirs may leave the premises until the next morning.  It could be the opportunity of a lifetime for Tuttle…if he lives through the night. One Body Too Many is the typical creepy mansion flick complete with secret rooms and hidden passages as well as a comic twist.  While likeable Tuttle is hardly the typical stoic, square-jawed hero he stammers, stumbles and scrambles from one situation to the next.  Though the large cast makes it tough to distinguish the cut-throat relatives from one another, the flick is well-worth a watch. Fun facts: Director Frank McDonald worked on the railroad prior t...

“Listen to them, children of the night. What music they make.” Bela Lugosi as Dracula (1931) Long before Robert Pattinson appeared in Twilight, audiences were captivated by Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of Dracula. Known for his versatility as an actor, Lugosi toured with the National Theater of Budapest until political unrest forced him to flee the country in 1919. Learning his lines phonetically, the Hungarian actor honed his characterization of the legendary count during 500 performances in the 1927 Broadway production of Dracula. Due to the death of Lon Chaney, Lugosi was selected for the role of Dracula. Lugosi did his own make-up for the 1931 film. Audiences were entranced by Lugosi’s European accent and aristocratic presence. At one point, he reportedly received as much fan mail from the ladies as Clark Gable. Lugosi would appear in more than 100 films primarily in the roles of vampires, werewolves, ghouls and mad scientists. He was one of the cha...

Today I'm talking about the original monster leading men (Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr.) at Rachel Brimble's blog http://rachelbrimble.blogspot.com . Stop by and find out how their performances shaped an emerging genre.