1922's Nosferatu is today regarded as a classic of the horror genre, and of silent film, but it was almost lost forever thanks to a lawsuit. When it comes to the first major vampire film, many people would likely immediately think of 1931's Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi. That's understandable, as Lugosi's Dracula is definitely the most famous bloodsucker in pop culture history. However, Nosferatu predated that film by almost a full decade, and some would argue is just as good.
Nosferatu stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire seeking a new place to live who ends up with his sights set on the wife of his real estate agent. Anyone watching Nosferatu for the first time will likely be struck at just how similar it is to Dracula, and as it happens, that's no accident. Nosferatu was designed to be an unlicensed German expressionist adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, but ended up changing some names, locations, and circumstances to try and avoid legal issues.
Yet, even in the 1920s, copyright law was still very much a thing, and Nosferatu ended up running afoul of it. The legal battle that ensued ended up almost destroying the film completely, but thankfully, there will always be people who don't do what they're told.
Nosferatu: Why the Silent Vampire Classic Was Almost Lost Forever
As it turns out, Nosferatu producer Albin Grau did at least ask Bram Stoker's widow Florence if he could purchase the rights to adapt Dracula, but she refused. Grau wouldn't take no for an answer, even though under the terms of German copyright law the book wouldn't become public domain until the 1960s. Grau may have been spared the wrath of Stoker's widow, had some early prints of the film and posters not directly referred to Dracula. Florence Stoker sued Grau, and won, with a judge ruling that all copies of Nosferatu be destroyed.
While that seems harsh, it's important to remember that Grau knew from the beginning that he was breaking the law, yet pressed forward with adapting Dracula in all but a few elements anyway. Clearly he thought he could get away with it, but that wasn't the case. Thankfully for film buffs, the judge's order went unheeded by some, and a single print survived. That print of Nosferatu eventually found its way to the U.S. in 1929, where the law already said Dracula was public domain, and further prints were made from there. When Dracula's public domain status became universal in 1962, Nosferatu's fight for survival was officially over, one assumes to the chagrin of the Stoker estate. Still, losing Nosferatu to time would've been a huge loss to horror history, and regardless of its questionable origins, the film remains a treasure.