How the Original Nosferatu Was Nearly Destroyed From Existence
ComicBook.comStory by Patrick Cavanaugh
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How a pioneering silent horror film, Nosferatu, narrowly escaped total destruction after its illegal Dracula adaptation sparked a legal battle.
beat sheet
- The film's director, F.W. Murnau, knowingly adapted Bram Stoker's Dracula without permission, leading Stoker's widow to demand all copies be destroyed - a request the courts upheld.
- Despite the legal efforts, a few prints of the influential German Expressionist masterpiece survived, allowing its iconic influence on vampire lore and the horror genre to live on for generations.
call sheet
F.W. Murnau, Bram Stoker, Florence Stoker, Robert Eggers, Bela Lugosi, Max Schreck, Prana Film, Universal Pictures, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, Nosferatu (2024), Dracula