You guy's are going to kill me for this

[BoyScoutKevin]

This is what I heard. The film is not based so much on the book by Bram Stoker, but the stage play, which was playing in New York City at that time, which just happened to star Bela Lugosi, which was why he got the part. Actually, the part of Dracula was supposed to be played by Lon Chaney, sr. but he died before the film got started. Universal wanted to do a version of "Dracula" based upon the book by Bram Stoker, but something called the Depression came along, and made a version based upon the book to expensive to do, so Universal had to find a cheaper way to do it. Thus, the version based upon the stage play and why the film looks so much like a play. This is just what I heard.

[Criswell]

The only great part about the Universal Dracula is Lugosi.

I think Edward Van Sloan was good as Van Helsing, and I loved Dwight Frye as Renfield. The only Renfields I liked better were Tom Waits.

I also think that Peter MacNicol was the funniest thing about Dracula: Dead & Loving it with his Renfield, and I credit a lot of that with his utilization of a lot of what Frye did first.

Ugh I always forget how good Dwight Frye is in it. I guess its just Lugosi's presence overshadowing everything else.