Changes: Bela Lugosi

Revision as of 18:45, 22 February 2020

Bela Lugosi (1882 - 1956)

The Veiled Woman (1929) [Suitor]: I haven't seen this movie, but the Internet identifies his role as "Murdered Suitor".

Dracula (1931) [Count Dracula]: Stabbed in the chest (off-camera) with a wooden stake by Edward Van Sloan. We see Edward open the coffin, hear Bela slightly yell as Helen Chandler reacts to his curse being undone. (Note: Although the character Dracula was brought back to life in many subsequent sequels (played by different actors), I'm listing this death scene for historical significance as Bela's first portrayal of Dracula.)

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) [Dr. Mirakle]: Neck snapped by his trained gorilla (Charles Gemora in an ape suit); we only see their shadows on the wall during the struggle. His body is shown afterwards when the police discover him, then again later on covered by a sheet in the morgue.

Chandu The Magician (1932) [Roxor]: Killed when Edmund Lowe uses his powers to destroy Bela's laboratory.

Island Of Lost Souls (1932 [Sayer Of The Law]: Presumably destroyed in a fire, along with the rest of Charles Laughton's creations.

The Black Cat (1934) [Dr. Vitus Werdegast]: Killed in an explosion when he blows up Boris Karloff's headquarters after skinning Boris in revenge for killing Bela's daughter (Lucille Lund), after David Manners shoots him in the back; we see Bela activate the bomb, followed by an exterior of the house exploding.

The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934) [Mr Fu Wong a.k.a. Lysee]: Shot to death by Robert Emmett O'Connor while Bela is trying to escape.

The Raven (1935) [Dr. Richard Vollin]: Crushed to death when the walls of his own death-trap room close in on him, after the mortally-wounded Boris Karloff throws him in. we see Bela screaming inside the room, then see the movie cuts away to the next room.

Phantom Ship (The Mystery of the Mary Celeste) (1935) [Anton Lorenzen]: Commits suicide by drowning himself while throwing of the boat.

Murder by Television (1935) [Arthur Perry]: Killed by Huntly Gordon (I vaguely remember the details).

The Invisible Ray (1936) [Dr. Felix Benet]: Killed by Boris Karloff's death-touch after Bela tries to shoot Boris.
Shadow of Chinatown (1936) [Victor Poten]: Fakes his death by driving his car into the sea; he is later arrested by Herman Brix and possibly executed for various murders, including Luana Walters.
S.O.S. Coast Guard (1937) [Boroff]: Disintegrated, along with Richard Alexander when Richard smashes one of Bela's disintegration bombs on the deck of the boat. (this 1937 serial was re-edited and condensed into the 1942 feature film S.O.S. Coast Guard).

The Phantom Creeps (1939) [Dr. Alex Zorka]: Killed in a plane crash, along with Jack C. Smith, when their plane crashes into the water.

Son of Frankenstein (1939) [Igor]: Shot in the stomach by Basil Rathbone during a fight in Basil's Laboratory. His body is shown later when Boris Karloff discovers him. (The 1942 sequel Son of Frankenstein revealed that Bela had survived the shooting but it's clear this was originally intended as a death scene).

Black Friday (1940) [Eric Marnay]: Suffocated (off-screen) after Stanley Ridges locks him in a closet; we last hear him pleading for mercy behind the door, and his death is confirmed in a newspaper headline.

The Devil Bat (1940) [Dr. Paul Carruthers]: Killed by his own monster bat while walking along a garden path with Suzanne Kaaren.

The Human Monster (1940) [Dr. Feodor Orloff/ Prof. John Dearborn]: Drowned in the muddy water after being pushed through a window (Thanks to Portsguy).

You'll Find Out (1940) [Prince Saliano]: Killed in an explosion, along with Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre when a dog retrieves the dynamite that Peter had thrown at Kay Kiser and Kay's band (Played for comic effect).

The Black Cat (1941) [Eduardo]: Shot in the chest by Gladys Cooper when he enters the room.

The Wolf Man (1941) [Bela (the Gypsy)]: Beaten to death (while in his wolf form) with a silver-handled cane by Lon Chaney Jr. in the woods. His body is shown afterwards, (after changing back into his human form, lying face down in the woods when Ralph Bellamy and the rest of the police investigate.

Bowery at Midnight (1942) [ Professor Brenner a.k.a. Karl Wagner]: Killed by the reanimated corpses when it comes down to the basement.

Black Dragons (1942) [Dr. Melcher]: Shot in the back by Robert Frazer. He dies shortly after listening to George Pembroke's story.

The Corpse Vanishes (1942) [Dr. Lorenz]: Stabbed by Minerva Urecal; he dies shortly after killing Minerva in turn.

The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) [Ygor]: His body dies (off-screen) when Lionel Atwill surgically removes Bela's brain, which is transplanted into Lon Chaney Jr.'s Body. Lon's body (with Bela's brain) seemingly is burned to death after the castle catches fire. (but the creature returned (it was then played by Bela himself) in the 1943 sequel Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man).

The Ape Man (1943) [Dr. James Brewster]: Mauled to death by his gorilla in his Laboratory; his body is shown afterwards when his sister (Minerva Urecal) discovers him.

Return of the Ape Man (1944) [Prof. Dexter]: Killed in a struggle with Frank Moran. He dies shortly after talking to Tod Andrews.

The Return of the Vampire (1944) [Armand Tesla a.k.a. Dr. Hugo Bruckner]: Stabbed in the chest with a wooden stake by Matt Willis.

Voodoo Man (1944) [Dr. Richard Marlowe]: Shot to death by Henry Hall when Bela was about to throw a machete. He dies shortly after speaking to his wife (Ellen Hall).

The Body Snatcher (1945) [Joseph]: Suffocated when Boris Karloff puts his hands over Bela's face in Boris' shack. Bela's body is shown again later on when Henry Daniell discovers it in a vat of water in Henry's laboratory.

Zombies On Broadway (1945) [Dr. Paul Renault]: Killed by one of his zombie servants.

Genius at Work (1946) [Stone]: Shot by police, then falls to his death from the rooftop, just as Bela is about to shoot Wally Brown and Alan Carney.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Abbott and Costello Meet the Ghosts; The Brain of Frankenstein) (1948) [Count Dracula]: Killed by Lon Chaney Jr. while Lon is in his wolf-man form. (as Bela transforms into his bat-form, but is grabbed before he can take off). However in the novel: Return of the Wolfman, its revealed they survived the fall. (Thanks to DLS)

Bride of the Monster (Bride of the Atom) (1955) [Dr. Eric Vornoff]: Killed in a nuclear explosion after he falls into the clutches of the monster octopus in the lake.

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) [Ghoul Man]: Run over by a car (off-camera); we hear the crash after Bela walks out of the frame. He is later brought back to life by the aliens' ray, but dies once again (transforming into a skeleton) when the alien "deactivate" him as a demonstration of their power. (Note: Since most of this movie was filmed after Bela's actual death, the "resurrected" Bela was played by Tom Mason (Ed Wood's chiropractor), holding his cape over his face.)

Suspense: A Cask of Amontillado (1949) [General Fortunato]: Suffocates after Romney Brent seals him inside an alcove.

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 [[Category:Actors who died in Robert Wise Movies]]
 [[Category:Original intended death scenes]]
+[[Category:Death scenes by brain removal]]