Editing Bela Lugosi (section)

=== Early films ===
[[File:Bela Lugosi 1920.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Bela Lugosi in 1920]]
[[File:Bela Lugosi - Mar 1923 Shadowland.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Lugosi in Shadowland Magazine, 1923]]
Lugosi's first film appearance was in the 1917 Hungarian silent film ''[[Leoni Leo]]''.<ref name="Bela Lugosi 2007"/> When appearing in [[Cinema of Hungary|Hungarian]] silent films, he mostly used the stage name '''Arisztid Olt'''.<ref name="mank">{{Cite book |title=Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff : the expanded story of a haunting collaboration, with a complete filmography of their films together |last=Mank |first=Gregory W. |publisher=McFarland & Co., Publishers |year=2009 |isbn=978-0786434800 |location=Jefferson, N.C. |pages=22–23 |oclc=607553826}}</ref> Lugosi made at least 10 films in Hungary between 1917 and 1918 before leaving for Germany. Following the collapse of [[Béla Kun]]'s [[Hungarian Soviet Republic]] in 1919, [[political left|leftists]] and [[trade union]]ists became vulnerable, some being imprisoned or executed in public. Lugosi was proscribed from acting due to his participation in the formation of an actors' [[labor union|union]]. Exiled in [[Weimar Republic|Weimar]]-era Germany, he co-starred in at least 14 German silent films in 1920, among them ''[[Hypnose: Sklaven fremden Willens]]'' (1920), ''[[Der Januskopf]]'' (1920) and an adaptation of the [[Karl May]] novel ''[[Caravan of Death (film)|Caravan of Death]]'' (1920).

In October 1920, Lugosi left Germany for the United States and entered the country at [[New Orleans]] in December. He made his way to [[New York City|New York]] and was inspected by immigration officers at [[Ellis Island]] in March 1921.<ref>Passenger list of the S.S. ''Graf Tisza Istvan'', port of New Orleans, December 4, 1920, with later notation.</ref> He only declared his intention to become a [[Citizenship of the United States|US citizen]] in 1928; on June 26, 1931, he was [[naturalization|naturalized]].<ref>Ancestry.com. ''Selected U.S. Naturalization Records – Original Documents, 1790–1974 (World Archives Project)'' [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009.</ref>

On his arrival in America, the {{convert|6|ft|1|in|m|adj=on}},<ref name="mank" /> {{convert|180|lb|kg|adj=on}} Lugosi worked for some time as a laborer, and then entered the theater in New York City's Hungarian immigrant colony. With fellow expatriate Hungarian actors he formed a small [[repertory|stock company]] that toured Eastern cities, playing for immigrant audiences. Lugosi acted in several Hungarian language plays before starring in his first English [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] play, ''The Red Poppy'' in 1922.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Hollywood Gothic |last=Skal |first=David |publisher=Faber and Faber Inc |year=2004 |isbn=978-0571211586 |location=New York City |pages=124}}</ref> Three more parts came in 1925–26, including a five-month run in the comedy-fantasy ''The Devil in the Cheese''.<ref>[http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=50322 Bela Lugosi profile], ibdb.com; accessed November 1, 2015.</ref> In 1925, he played an Arab Sheik in ''Arabesque'' which premiered in [[Buffalo, New York]] at the Teck Theatre before moving to Broadway.<ref>[http://beladraculalugosi.wordpress.com/bela-lugosi-on-the-on-stage/ Bela Lugosi premieres in Buffalo, New York]</ref>

His first American film role was in the silent melodrama ''[[The Silent Command]]'' (1923) which was filmed in New York. Four other silent roles followed, [[villain]]s and continental types, all in productions made in the New York area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://belalugosi.com/|title=Bela Lugosi – The Official Site|language=en-US|access-date=February 4, 2020}}</ref> A rumor has circulated for decades among film historians that Lugosi played an uncredited bit part as a clown in the first film produced by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], ''[[He Who Gets Slapped (film)|He Who Gets Slapped]]'' (1924) starring [[Lon Chaney]], but this has been heavily disputed. The rumor originated from the discovery of a publicity still from this film found posthumously in Lugosi's scrapbook, which showed an unidentified clown in heavy makeup standing near [[Lon Chaney]] in one scene. It was thought to be evidence that Lugosi appeared in the film, but historians all agree that is very unlikely, since Lugosi was in both Chicago (appearing in a play called ''[[The Werewolf (play)|The Werewolf]]'') and New York at the time that film was in production in Hollywood.<ref>Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape by Robert Cremer (1976) {{ISBN|0809281376}}</ref>