Universal Studios' Dracula and Frankenstein's Entry into the Public Domain

2027 should be a big year for fans of Universal Classic Horror Films, as both Dracula and Frankenstein, both being released in 1931, should enter the public domain on January 1 of that year. But maybe Dracula's entry into to public domain may not be as soon as you might think.

Dracula the Undead, An Atari Lynx Tragedy

The Atari Lynx was a groundbreaking handheld console, as it was the first color handheld console ever made. Unfortunately it was not a great success but it was neither a footnote as 71 games were officially released during lifetime (1989-1995). One of its more unique games was Dracula the Undead, something of an adventure game retelling of the first few chapters of Bram Stoker's original novel, Dracula. Ever since I acquired a Lynx I was so entranced by the game that I felt compelled to beat it without the assistance of a walkthrough. Having accomplished that feat, I feel like this underappreciated game deserves a special review.

Nonsense and Other Observations about Dracula/Horror of Dracula

As much as I love Dracula (1958)/Horror of Dracula, I find it has a lot of plot holes, ideas that don't make a lot of sense and other weirdness.  I started to write down certain observations as I was watching the film and eventually they became so long that I thought them worth putting them up in a blog post.  These observations as I have put them to type have been as timestamped to the times (roughly) in the film to which they most apply.  I am using the 2012 Hammer Restoration found on the 2013 Region B/2 Blu-ray/DVD from Lionsgate with altered color timing by a fan (which eliminates the overly-blue tint found on that disc).  Any DVD or Blu-ray release should be able to follow along without too much difficulty.

Nosferatu and the Public Domain

I.  Rights in Nosferatu

Abraham "Bram" Stoker died on April 20, 1912.  When he died, his estate consisted mainly of his literary work.  To support his wife Florence Stoker, the only work with any continuing market value was his most famous novel, Dracula.  Unfortunately, that revenue was not particularly impressive at the time.

In 1921, Albin Grau had co-founded a studio called Prana Films and decided to make a loose adaptation of Dracula.  This film was finished in late 1921 and released in 1922 and called Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens.  It has become a classic film of the German Silent Expressionist movement.  It has widely been considered to be in the public domain, but as I will show here, that may not necessarily be the case.