 Bram Stoker's widow sued for plagiarism and copyright infringement, and the courts decided in her favor, essentially ordering that all prints of "Nosferatu" be destroyed.Enthusiastic young Hollywood producer Carl Laemmle, Jr. also saw the box office potential in Stoker's gothic chiller, and he legally acquired the novel's film rights.Initially, he wanted "Dracula" to be a spectacle on a scale with the lavish silent films "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923) and "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925).