The Most Dangerous Game

Based on the 1924 short story of the same name by Richard Connell, albeit with variations of the original plot, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932) sees big game hunter Joel McCrea getting a dose of his own medicine when, following a shipwreck, he finds himself stranded on a small island where Leslie Banks invites him to his chateau… only to reveal that he, too, is a passionate hunter - though his preferred prey are not animals…

When a luxury yacht on a trip off the western coast of South America enters a channel, the Captain (William B. Davidson) raises concerns when the channel lights don’t appear to match the charts. Meanwhile, the yacht’s passengers – among them big game hunter and author Robert Rainsford (Joel McCrea) – are too busy discussing the blood sport in order to pay much attention to the Captain’s concerns, especially when Rainsford is asked by one of his fellow passengers whether he would trade places with the animals he hunts a lively debate ensues. Minutes later, however, the debate comes to an abrupt end when the ship runs aground and explodes – with Rainsford as the sole survivor (why he was spared by hungry sharks whilst others were is never really made clear). Despite suffering from minor shock and exhaustion, Rainsford is able to swim to safety and reaches the tiny island when he notices the changing channel lights off the shoreline, which makes him suspicious that the yacht may have been deliberately led off course – but why? Making his way through the dense jungle he spots, to his utter astonishment, a gothic chateau. Knocking on its massive door, he cannot help but notice a peculiar, iron-cast door-knocker resembling the figure of a hunter holding a bow and arrow. When the door is opened, Rainsford finds himself confronted with a fearsome looking figure dressed in a peculiar outfit and who doesn’t respond to any of his questions.

Enter the eccentric Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks), a Russian expatriate who not only is the owner of the chateau but – just like Rainsford – a passionate hunter who is familiar with his guest’s books on hunting. Zaroff explains to an increasingly bewildered Rainsford that his servant, Tartar (Steve Clemente), is dumb and cannot speak before instructing Tartar to show the stranded author to his guest room and serving refreshments and clean clothes. Later that evening, host Zaroff reveals to Rainsford that he isn’t the only one stranded on the island and introduces him to the attractive Eve Trowbridge (Fay Wray) and her older brother Martin (Robert Armstrong) – a jolly chap who loves his tipple. The remaining stranded guests, two sailors, are nowhere to be seen. During the course of the evening, Rainsford and his host discuss their passion for hunting when Zaroff matter of factly remarks that he became bored with hunting until he discovered what he calls “the most dangerous game” since living on the island, although he doesn’t go into any further details. When Eve and Rainsford get better acquainted during a quiet moment, with Zaroff not listening in, the seemingly nervous young woman throws hints that the two stranded sailors haven’t been seen since they entered the Count’s so-called trophy room. That same night, Eve’s brother Martin also vanishes without a trace. When Rainsford and Eve secretly sneak into said room they discover – to their sheer horror – that the trophies in question aren’t animal heads but… human heads, including the ones of the missing sailors! Finally, it begins to dawn on Rainsford what Zaroff meant with his remark “the most dangerous game”.

That very moment, the door of the room opens and Zaroff, Tartar and other helpers carry a coffin into the room – the dead man in the coffin turns out to be Martin. As it becomes crystal clear to Rainsford that Zaroff is clearly deranged and dangerous, the Count restrains Rainsford whilst Eve, struggling and screaming, is carried away by Tartar. When Rainsford refuses to go hunting with his host for human trophies, Zaroff replies that in that case, Rainsford will be the next prey and sets out the conditions of the game. Rainsford is given until midnight (given only some provisions and a hunting knife), after that, Zaroff, his henchmen plus some particularly vicious bloodhounds will begin their ‘game’… With Eve accompanying Rainsford, the deadly cat- and mouse game commences and the two will need more than stamina and wit if they want to survive…

With a running time of just 63 minutes, the film is exactly the right length and the pace never lets up. Cinematographer Henry W. Gerrard did a sterling job in capturing the facial expressions of the deranged Zaroff and the increasingly terrified Eve with his zoom lens, whilst the impressive jungle sets for KING KONG (also starring Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong) doubled: whilst ‘King Kong’ was filmed during the day, many of the film’s cast and crew signed up for double duty and filmed ‘Most Dangerous Game’ during the night. Ernest B. Schoedsack sat in the director’s chair for both adventures while ‘Most Dangerous Game’ co-director Irving Pichel was able to bring his own expertise as an actor to the set, having featured in many movies himself including ‘Murder by the Clock’ and ‘Dracula’s Daughter’.

THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (although more a thrilling adventure than the pre-code horror film it is advertised as) is available for the first time in the UK on Blu-ray – 2K restored and with Bonus material including audio commentary, interviews with film critics, radio plays and Collector’s booklet. Furthermore, the first print-run (2000 copies) will be presented in a Limited Edition O-card slipcase.