Hollywood Rivals Bela Lugosi Vs. Boris Karloff
Bela Lugosi was the son of a baker-turned-banker, and a classically trained actor from Budapest. Arriving in America via Germany, he played Dracula for three years on the stage before reprising the role in Hollywood.
Boris Karloff appeared in Frankenstein in 1931, the same year Dracula was released. Director James Whale cast him after spotting him eating in the same restaurant as Bela Lugosi, who had just refused the role. His beautiful trained voice lent a compassion and innocence to the monster of Frankenstein, which Bela Lugosi could never aspire to.
