Silent films aren't for everyone, but F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu gave the world the first image of the vampire, and it's certainly one of the scariest images for Halloween viewing! In this film, we get not only the first image of a vampire but we also get the first loose interpretation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. In fact the story was so close to Dracula that when Stoker's widow brought a suit against the film for copyright infringement she won and the court ruled that all copies should be destroyed. Of course not all copies were destroyed, otherwise we wouldn't be able to watch it today! Max Schreck's portrayal of Count Orlok is a frightening image that is the stuff of nightmares, and thankfully someone was wise enough at the time to defy the court order and saved a print that we are able to enjoy today.
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