For reference purposes re Lugosi's claims he was fleeing the Nazis in a 1940s interview:
- sjc I might be wrong about the fact that Bela Lugosi left AS the Naxis were invading, but I know he did fear the Nazi presence in Europe. He spoke of this in an interview he gave in the 1940s. He mentioned this as one of the reasons he wanted to leave Europe, before things got worse. My husband owns all of his movies and is so into Bela it is scary! (Scarier than Bela's movies I'm afraid, LOL!) I will check my facts again since it has been a while since I viewed the interview. (Yes, we own this too!) Luckymama
- I read this interview too. I always discounted the "scared of the Nazis" premise on a number of grounds, mainly that he was a bit of a careerist. I would take 99% of what Lugosi says with more than an ample pinch of salt. He had settled and appeared in his first American film in 1923, long before even the first Munich putsch. user:sjc
- Truth. Bela was a actor through and through and very much the showman. I will conceed this one. I always wondered about this statement because the dates didn't make much sense. I know that some in the European intellectual community (ie: scientists, university personel, the artistic communities) seemed to get wind of what was happening in Germany with the Nazi movement long before they posed a real threat to the whole of Europe, and left. I guess I just took Bela's statements on the subject as one of those who saw it coming and fled before it really started. You are probably correct in your assessment of Bela's bravado, though. He did do these interviews during WWII so I can see him wanting to enhance his stature by claiming he saw it coming too.Luckymama
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