SATURDAY SHOCK THEATRE

On this day 80 years ago, the modern monster movie was born. On February 12, 1931, the Universal Pictures film DRACULA, starring Bela Lugosi, premiered in New York City. Although it opened on this date, it has been widely (and erroneously) stated that the premiere was on Valentine's Day, February 14. It actually premiered in New York at the Roxy Theatre on the 12th and opened nationwide on the 14th. Even though films were first shown on Fridays, an advertising gimmick put to good use was that the Director of the film, Tod Browning, sent a "telegram" to the theatre with the plans for the Thursday release, because the customary play date would fall on Friday, the 13th!