I've dedicated this month to monster movies over in the October movie page, but there are still so many from the Hollywood golden age, that I'm also deeming this week the celebration of classic movie monsters in general. So we start with the 1931 Bela Lugosi Dracula- a movie that to be quite honest, isn't as good as Frankenstein, but still an essential, for Lugosi's "Children of the Night" speech alone. Lugosi was considered the Master of Horror, and this was the first time he played the vampire, as a seductive, charming, gentleman of the night basically, who can't see his reflection, turns into a vampire bat and ensnares young women with the taste of his blood- this was the beginning of the "vampire as alluring sexual predator" metaphor that continues to this day, since the silent Nosferatu couldn't exactly play on the attractiveness of the freaky Max Schreck's features. This one is so iconic that even the slight staginess of the production from the early sound era shouldn't hinder you from checking it out.
Original 1931 Trailer: