Dracula (1931)

This geocache is NOT at the above coordinates. You must obtain the coordinates to the location of the container by watching the film in the title and finding the answers to the eight questions below. This is one of eight Classic Monsters geocaches, each of which can be solved and found independent of each other. There is also a final multi-cache that can be found by writing down the puzzle clue that is in each of the eight movie geocaches.

This series is meant to ease the burden of the stay-at-home orders in place to some extent; watch a movie you may not have seen ever before or recently, and work on finding a new geocache as well.

This cache was placed while following all Colorado guidelines and rules during the Coronavirus outbreak. As these conditions change frequently, please ensure that you follow all current guidelines while searching for this series of geocaches.

"I bid you, welcome!" as Count Dracula said to Renfield upon first arrival at his castle. These are Classic Monster movies, not classic horror movies; when they were made, they may have shocked the audiences but by today's standards, they are not very scary at all.

This Classic Monsters series is named after 8 films, all produced by the same Hollywood film company, from 1931-1945. Seven of the eight are in black and white, also known as "monochrome", with Phantom of the Opera being produced in Technicolor. As such, a few of the Phantom questions are about colors seen in the film. There will also be a final cache, which you can get the coordinates for by keeping track of the puzzle clues that will be in each of the eight movie caches. These movies are not lengthy -- 7 of the 8 range from 70 to 79 minutes long, and Phantom of the Opera is 92 minutes. You DO NOT have to purchase anything to solve the puzzles to learn where the geocaches are -- they are available on several streaming and download services, as well as at many libraries.

So -- let's get started !

BE SURE TO WRITE DOWN THE LETTER CODE IN THE FRONT OF THE LOGBOOK WHICH IS USED IN THE “CLASSIC MONSTERS" FINAL CACHE which is still being worked on for now. Also, there is a Dracula (1931) trackable printed out and in the front of the logbook as well for discovery.

Here are all the geocaches in the Classic Monsters series:

1. Dracula (1931)

2. Frankenstein (1931)

3. The Mummy (1932)

4. The Invisible Man (1933)

5. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

6. The Wolf Man (1941)

7. Phantom of the Opera (1943)

8. Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)

9. Classic Monsters FINAL cache

If you are willing to watch one of Hollywood’s finest classic movies, get your movie source ready, fire up the TV, maybe pop some popcorn, and have a pen and paper ready to answer the below questions, which YES -- ARE IN THE ORDER they are presented in the film. The questions should be EASY to answer as in these difficult times, the idea here is to just ENJOY the movie and then have the opportunity to get out and find a cache while meeting the state guidelines during the Coronavirus outbreak.

The cache is located at North 38 5A.BCD West 105 1E.FGH

Latitude:

A: In the opening credits, all actors and actresses are listed on screen page titled "The Players". How many of those actors and actresses get top billing, by having their names in all capital letters?
If there is only 1, A=7; if there are 2, A=8; if there are 3, A=9

B: The stagecoach comes into a small town and goes through a wooden archway; what animals run in front of the horse drawn stagecoach?
If they are dogs, B=4; if they are geese, B=8; if they are pigs, B=0

Before getting to the next question, a bit of trivia: As the Count and Renfield ascend the stairs, howling is heard and then Dracula says: "Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make." This was voted as the #83 movie quote of all time by the American Film Institute (out of 100).

C: After going up the stairs, Dracula says "I took the liberty of having your luggage brought up." Renfield hands Dracula what three items?
If his hat, cane and overcoat, C=2; if his umbrella, overcoat and wet eyeglasses, C=7; if his hat, valise and a sealed letter, C=5

D: Dracula goes to a play and hypnotizes a young lady usher to deliver a message to people in a private box. How many people are in the box watching the play?
If there are 3, D=6; if there are 4, D=0; if there are 6, D=1

Longitude:

E: The Count passes a British "Bobby" on the street and notices a young woman (Lucy) has opened her window; she then begins reading a book. There is a clock on the nightstand -- what time is it?
If is is 11:30, E=4; if it is 3:15, E=2; if it is 6:00, E=3

F: Miss Mina has been bitten; Dracula arrives and his reflection is NOT shown in a mirror. Where is the mirror located?
If it is in a cigar box, F=7; if it is hanging above the fireplace, F=2; if it is a hand-held mirror, F=9

G: The Woman in White is in a graveyard, and then Martin (the ward attendant) is reading a newspaper; how many nurses are there?
If there is only one nurse, G=1; if there are 2 nurses, G=4; if there are 3 nurses, G=8

H: After a long scene on the patio, Mina wakes and brushes off the wolfsbane. Martin fires a gun, and then a clock is shown. What time is it?
If it is 2:15, H=0; if it is 4:40, H=8; if it is 7:00, H=5

FTF congratulations go to hartsdale !! (two exclamation points for his second FTF in this series)

Some trivia, from www.imdb.com:

A Spanish-language version, "Drácula (1931)," was filmed at night on the same set at the same time, with Spanish-speaking actors.

Dracula never once blinks his eyes, an effect that enhances the undead character's otherworldly aura, abetted by Bela Lugosi's famous, menacing stare.

In the scene where Dracula and Renfield are traveling to London by boat, the footage shown is borrowed from a "Universal" silent film called "The Storm Breaker (1925)." Silent films were projected at a different frames-per-second speed from that later adopted for sound films, accounting for the jerky movements and quicker-than-normal action of these shots.

Among the living creatures we see in Dracula's castle in Transylvania are Opussums, Armadillos, and an insect known as a Jerusalem Cricket (Stenopalmatus Fuscus). This insect was common in Southern California, which may explain its cameo in the film. The inclusion of armadillos was due to the fact that armadillos had occasionally been seen digging in graveyards, which led to the mistaken belief that they would dig their way into coffins and eat the cadavers.

Cinematographer Karl Freund achieved the effect of Dracula's hypnotic stare by aiming two pencil-spot-lights into actor Bela Lugosi's eyes.

In the first scene, the young woman reading from the tourist book was played by Carla Laemmle, niece of Carl Laemmle, founder and head of Universal Pictures.

Dwight Frye who portrays Renfield, also appeared in the horror classic Frankenstein (1931). They are the only 2 actors to have appeared in both films.

Several folkloric elements often associated with Dracula are not visible in this film. At no point does Dracula display fangs. Also, the famous vampire bite mark on the neck is never shown either, although, twice, characters examining victims' necks do talk about bite marks.

The peasants inside the inn are praying The Lord's Prayer in Hungarian.

When he passed away, Bela Lugosi and his family were so poor that they could not pay for his burial; upon learning of this, his long time friend Frank Sinatra paid for the entire service, but did not want it to be known that he had done so. Mr. Lugosi is buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, final resting place of many of Hollywood's greatest film industry celebrities.

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