An original movie poster has sold for a record $525,800 at auction. The poster was for the original 1930s Dracula movie starring Bela Lugosi, and went for the impressive sum at the Heritage Auctions’ Movie Posters Auction in Dallas, Texas. You can check out the original Dracula movie poster below.
Original Dracula movie poster sells for record half a million dollars
“The Dracula poster is a rare, important poster that sparked intense bidding among some of our elite collectors,” Heritage Auctions Vintage Posters Director Grey Smith via a press release. “Considering the sheer beauty of the poster and the timeless popularity of the film, it’s not a surprise that the demand was so high.”
Related: Dracula 3D Review
“It is a matter of opinion, but this poster probably is the most beautiful of all of the styles,” Smith added. “And one of only two styles that pictures Bela Lugosi in realistic terms or a faithful rendering – the other is a photographic image.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the original Dracula movie poster in question, here it is in its beaming entirety below.
Prior to the auction, the poster was located in the family of Lt. Col. George J. Mitchell, Jr., an Associate Member of the American Society of Cinematographers.
As you can see, the poster is a genuine work of art, but still, half a million dollars is a huge amount.
The Dracula movie was released in 1931. Here’s the official synopsis and trailer (if you’re unfamiliar with the story).
The dashing, mysterious Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), after hypnotizing a British soldier, Renfield (Dwight Frye), into his mindless slave, travels to London and takes up residence in an old castle. Soon Dracula begins to wreak havoc, sucking the blood of young women and turning them into vampires. When he sets his sights on Mina (Helen Chandler), the daughter of a prominent doctor, vampire-hunter Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) is enlisted to put a stop to the count’s never-ending bloodlust.
