Editing Bela Lugosi (section)

=== Career decline ===
Lugosi developed severe, chronic [[sciatica]], ostensibly aggravated by injuries received during his military service. Though at first he was treated with benign pain remedies such as [[asparagus]] juice, doctors increased the medication to [[opiate]]s. The growth of his dependence on opiates, particularly [[morphine]] and (after 1947, when it became available in America) [[methadone]], was directly proportional to the dwindling of Lugosi's screen offers. The problem first manifested itself in 1937, when Lugosi was forced to withdraw from a leading role in a serial production, ''[[The Secret of Treasure Island]]'',<ref>''Hollywood Reporter'', "[[Walter Miller (actor)|[Walter] Miller]] Goes In Lugosi Part In Columbia 'Island'", Jan. 29, 1938, p. 5.</ref> due to constant back pain.

Historian John McElwee reports, in his 2013 book ''Showmen, Sell It Hot!'', that Bela Lugosi's popularity received a much-needed boost in August 1938, when California theater owner Emil Umann revived ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein'' as a special double feature. The combination was so successful that Umann scheduled extra shows to accommodate the capacity crowds, and invited Lugosi to appear in person, which thrilled new audiences that had never seen Lugosi's classic performance. "I owe it all to that little man at the Regina Theatre," said Lugosi of exhibitor Umann. "I was dead, and he brought me back to life."<ref>John McElwee, ''Showmen, Sell It Hot!'', GoodKnight, 2013, p. 58.</ref> Universal took notice of the tremendous business and launched its own national re-release of the same two horror favorites. The studio then rehired Lugosi to star in new films, fortunately just as Lugosi's fourth wife had given birth to a son.

[[File:Son-of-frankensteinCropped.jpg|left|thumb|[[Boris Karloff]] as [[Frankenstein's monster]], [[Basil Rathbone]] as Dr. Frankenstein's son, and Lugosi as Ygor in ''[[Son of Frankenstein]]'' (1939)]]
Universal cast Lugosi in ''[[Son of Frankenstein]]'' (1939), appearing in the character role of Ygor, a mad blacksmith with a broken neck, in heavy makeup and beard. Lugosi was third-billed with his name above the title alongside [[Basil Rathbone]] as Dr. Frankenstein's son and Boris Karloff reprising his role as [[Frankenstein's monster]]. Regarding ''Son of Frankenstein'', the film's director [[Rowland V. Lee]] said his crew let Lugosi "work on the characterization; the interpretation he gave us was imaginative and totally unexpected&nbsp;... when we finished shooting, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he stole the show. Karloff's monster was weak by comparison."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Son of Frankenstein|first=Phil |last=Edwards|publisher=[[Marvel UK]]|isbn=0786402571|volume=3|issue=10|magazine=[[Starburst (magazine)|Starburst]]|date=January 1997 }}</ref>

Also in 1939, Lugosi made a rare appearance in an A-list motion picture as a stern Soviet [[commissar]] in the [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] romantic comedy ''[[Ninotchka]]'', starring [[Greta Garbo]] and directed by [[Ernst Lubitsch]]. Lugosi was quite effective in this small but prestigious character part and he even received top billing among the film's supporting cast, all of whom had significantly larger roles. It might have been a turning point for the actor, but within the year he was back on Hollywood's Poverty Row, playing leads for [[Sam Katzman]] at [[Monogram Pictures]]. At Universal, Bela Lugosi was usually cast for his name value; he often received star billing for what amounted to a supporting part.

[[File:The Gorilla (1939) 1.jpg|thumb|right|Lugosi as a butler in ''The Gorilla'' (1939)]]
Lugosi went to [[20th Century-Fox]] for ''[[The Gorilla (1939 film)|The Gorilla]]'' (1939), which had him playing straight man (a butler) to [[Patsy Kelly]] and the [[Ritz Brothers]]. When Lugosi's ''[[Black Friday (1940 film)|Black Friday]]'' premiered in 1940 on a double bill with the [[Vincent Price]] film ''[[The House of the Seven Gables (film)|The House of the Seven Gables]]'', Lugosi and Price both appeared in person at the [[Chicago Theatre]] where it opened on Feb. 29, 1940 and remained for four performances.<ref>Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers. pg. 103. ISBN 0977379817 (hardcover)</ref> He was finally cast in the role of [[Frankenstein's monster]] for Universal's ''[[Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man]]'' (1943). (At the end of the previous film in the series, ''[[The Ghost of Frankenstein]]'' (1942), Lugosi's voice had been dubbed over that of [[Lon Chaney Jr.]] since Ygor's brain was now in the Monster's skull.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bela-Lugosi |title=Bela Lugosi {{!}} Hungarian-American actor|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=August 4, 2017|language=en}}</ref>) But at the last minute, Lugosi's heavily accented dialogue was edited out after the film was completed, along with the idea of the Monster being blind, leaving his performance featuring groping, outstretched arms and moving lips seeming enigmatic (and funny) to audiences.

Lugosi kept busy during the 1940s as a screen menace. In addition to his nine Monogram features, he worked in three features for [[RKO Radio Pictures|RKO]] and one for Columbia (''[[The Return of the Vampire]]'', 1943). He also accepted the lead in an experimental, economical feature, shot in the semi-professional 16mm film format and blown up to 35mm for theatrical release, ''[[Scared to Death (1947 film)|Scared to Death]]'' (completed April 1946,<ref>Edith Gwynn, ''Hollywood Reporter'', Apr. 3, 1946, p. 2.</ref> released June 1947). The feature is noteworthy as being Bela Lugosi's only color film.

Lugosi played Dracula for a second and final time on film in ''[[Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein]]'' (1948), which was his last "A" movie. For the remainder of his life, he appeared – less and less frequently – in obscure, forgettable, low-budget B features. From 1947 to 1950, he performed in [[Summer stock theatre|summer stock]], often in productions of ''Dracula'' or ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace (play)|Arsenic and Old Lace]]'', and during the rest of the year, made personal appearances in a touring "spook show", and on early commercial television.
[[File:LugosiDevilBat5.jpg|thumb|Lugosi in ''[[The Devil Bat]]'' (1940)]]
In September 1949, [[Milton Berle]] invited Lugosi to appear in a sketch on ''[[Texaco Star Theatre]]''.<ref>[http://www.tv.com/9-27-1949/episode/670241/summary.htmlTexaco Star Theater Episode Guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517224637/http://www.tv.com/shows/texaco-star-theater/9-27-1949-670241/ |date=May 17, 2020 }}, tv.com; accessed November 1, 2015.</ref> Lugosi memorized the script for the skit, but became confused on the air when Berle began to ad lib.<ref>{{cite book |last=Weaver |first=Tom |title=Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Flashbacks: Conversations with 24 Actors, Writers, Producers and Directors from the Golden Age |publisher=McFarland |year=2004 |page=160 |isbn=0786420707}}</ref> He also appeared on the anthology series ''[[Suspense (U.S. TV series)|Suspense]]'' on October 11, 1949, in a live adaptation of [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s "[[The Cask of Amontillado]]".<ref>''The Complete Actors' Television Credits, 1948–1988, James Robert Parrish and Vincent Terrace'' {{ISBN?}}{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref>

In 1951, while in [[England]] to play a six-month tour of ''Dracula'', Lugosi co-starred in a [[Low culture|lowbrow]] film comedy, ''[[Mother Riley Meets the Vampire]]'' (also known as ''Vampire Over London'' and ''My Son, the Vampire''), released the following year. Following his return to the United States, he was interviewed for television, and reflected wistfully on his typecasting in horror parts: "Now I am the [[Bogeyman|boogie man]]". In the same interview, he expressed a desire to play more comedy, as he had in the ''Mother Riley'' [[farce]]. Independent producer [[Jack Broder]] took Lugosi at his word, casting him in a jungle-themed comedy, ''[[Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla]]'' (1952), starring nightclub comedians [[Duke Mitchell]] and [[Jerry Lewis]] [[look-alike]] [[Sammy Petrillo]], whose act closely resembled that of [[Dean Martin]] and Jerry Lewis ([[Martin and Lewis]]). [[Hal B. Wallis]], Martin and Lewis's producer, unsuccessfully sued Broder.