News about Bela Lugosi

With Olivia Rodrigo's "Vampire" dominating the charts, a "Twilight" TV revival in the works, and "What We Do in the Shadows" earning near-perfect critic approval ratings, you might say we're in the middle of a vampire revival. It's true that vampires are back in the sun (metaphorically, of course), and their reign continues to shine in the beauty industry, and they aren't about to stop anytime soon. There are cues missing from the undead to go around, from the blood-infused "vampire facial" to its body-lifting counterpart the "vampire breast lift." And real-life enthusiasts have joined the discussion.

Dracula's first film film adaptation appeared in 1922 with the German silent film Nosferatu (left), which was directed by F.W. Murnau is a fictional character. Lead character Count Orlock, played by Max Schreck, was seen writhing over his wife's estate agent in what was a loose adapation of Stoker's novel. Nosferatu's bald head, pointed ears, hooked nose, and hunched shoulders - a figure portrayed by one reviewer as the'strangest and most hideous leading man of all cinema' - is immediately recognisable. Bela Lugosi was the Count in the 1931 American version (centre), the newest Dracula adaption to stand the test of time. Even though his appearance differed sharply from the cadaverous white-haired old man of Stoker's book, his result - complete with black slicked back hair and sinister cape - is still regarded as the best by many analysts. Dracula was depicted in ten separate films by Christopher Lee. Dracula AD 1972 (right), his penultimate outing, was mocked by critics as the bloodsucker came to 1970s London, but fans have a long love for him. In 1979 film Nosferatu the Vampyre (inset bottom left), directed by celebrated German filmmaker Werner Herzog, Nosferatu made his own comeback. Both critics and viewers were raving over the film's popularity. This month, viewers were treated to Nicolas Cage's more light-hearted depiction of Dracula (inset bottom right) with the release of Renfield, which focuses on his servant, played by Nicholas Hoult

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: One of the gurus on Interior Design Masters (BBC1) swanned into a lakeside holiday lodge built from pine beams and declared, 'This is where the early 1990s went to die!' Evidently, the only alternative is to slap a few coats of grey paint over the wood. That will give visitors the feeling of being stranded in the midst of a warship. The four remaining contestants in this reality competition were finding it impossible.

In a new teaser for Renfield, Nicholas Cage put his own kooky and unique spin on the normally frightening Dracula. In the aftermath of sucking blood from the necks of unsuspecting young virgins, blood was sipped from a martini glass while still channeling the main characteristics of the bloodthirsty undead, centuries-old vampire. Exposure to sunlight led him to fire, but not before he could deliver a zingy one-liner to his long-suffering servant R. M. Renfield, played by Nicholas Holt.