Turkish Drac-Lite
The Turks continue to beat the West at everything
In my last blog, I drooled over the fascinating and seldom-discussed fact that the Turks were ahead of the curve when it came to pairing the fictional Dracula with the real-life Vlad the Impaler.
TL;DR — the 1928 book Kazikli Voyvoda, or “The Noble Impaler” is a loose translation of Dracula (“translation” is a generous word here), and in it, Dracula is undoubtedly, no bones about it, no further questions, I yield the remainder of my time, Vlad The Impaler.
Not only did the Turks make this connection in the form of literature, they had a reprint and a movie adaptation out before the first Western scholar started to suppose that gee, maybe, I wonder, do you think there might be a link between Drac and Vlad?
(And just to summarize a key axiom for those not reading the previous blog: whether Bram Stoker intended his Dracula to be based on Vlad the Impaler is immaterial for this discussion.)
Anyway
When Turkey’s film industry matured, one of it’s first major films was an adaptation of Kazikli Voyvoda, called Drakula İstanbul’da or Dracula In Istanbul. The film may be better known than the book, but it’s still pretty obscure, even amongst horror enthusiasts. In fact, I’ve not heard of a film print circulating, though somehow a couple low-res versions have surfaced on youtube, sometimes with highly questionable translations.
It shouldn’t be so obscure, because even though David Niven often gets credit for playing the first Dracula-as-Vlad-the-Impaler in Old Dracula (also called Vampira in some quarters), it was Atif Kaptan in Dracula in Istanbul who was truly the first to portray the vampire as one and the same as Vlad.
And here’s where I’ll go you one better:
Sir Christopher Lee and Hammer Films are usually credited as the first Dracula with fangs. BUT WRONG AGAIN.
Atif Kaptan In Dracula In Istanbul Bared Fangs In 1952!
Let’s just summarize a few key things the Turks did before the West:
-Astronomy
-Coffee
-Santa Claus
-Flushing toilets
-Fangs on cinematic Draculas
So let’s be clear. Bela Lugosi did not have fangs when he played Dracula in 1931. Christopher Lee was not the first Dracula to have fangs when he played the role in 1958. Atif Kaptan was the first Dracula to wear the long teeth.
AAAAAAAAND just in case I’ve buried the lede in native soil, he was also the first Dracula to also play the role as Vlad the Impaler. How’s that for firsties?
Since we’re done early, a disclaimer: other cinema vampires wore fangs before Atif Kaptan bore them in Drakula İstanbul’da. I mean, Count Orlok in Nosferatu, anyone? The stills from the lost silent film London After Midnight suggest Lon Chaney had sharpened teeth as well. But we’re only talking about characters named “Dracula” here. Did I cover my ass or did I leave enough bare for you to kiss it?
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Images Sources: Neon Harbor Entertainment, And Film,
