In 1931, Bela Lugosi agreed to do a screen test for the role of Frankenstein’s monster. According to “Frankenstein: A Cultural History,” an argument immediately ensued between Lugosi and the movie’s makeup artist over what the monster should look like. Due to the heavy makeup that would render him unrecognizable, along with the few substantial lines given to the monster, Lugosi turned down the role, calling it fit for “a half-wit extra,” per Gregory William Mank’s “The Very Witching Time of Night: Dark Alleys of Classic Horror Cinema.” According to Hitchcock, Lugosi shouted, “I was a star in my country, and I will not be a scarecrow over here!”

Still, Lugosi went on to play the role of Frankenstein’s monster a decade later in the cult-classic movie “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” (1943). According to Mank, Lugosi only took the role for the money, and he hated performing the monster’s guttural scream. “That yell is the worst thing about the part,” he reportedly said. “You feel like a big jerk every time you do it!”

Although the film was a commercial success, Universal Studios execs reportedly disliked Lugosi’s performance and cut his role down significantly, according to Mank. They went on to cast other actors in their subsequent horror films “Son of Dracula” (1943), “House of Frankenstein” (1944), and “House of Dracula” (1945).