The Most Dangerous Game (film)  

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The Most Dangerous Game is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film directed by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray and Leslie Banks. An adaptation of the 1924 short story of the same name by Richard Connell, it is the first film version of the story. The plot concerns a big game hunter who deliberately strands a group of luxury yacht passengers on a remote island where he can hunt them for sport. Its producing team included Ernest B. Schoedsack co-directors of King Kong (1933). The film was shot at night on the King Kong jungle sets.

Plot

In 1932, a luxury yacht is sailing through a channel off the western coast of South America. Among the passengers is big game hunter and author Bob Rainsford. In discussing the sport with other passengers, Bob is asked if he would exchange places with the animals he hunts. After the yacht's owner disregards the captain's concerns about the channel lights not matching the charts, the ship runs aground, takes on water and explodes. [[File:Most Dangerous Game poster.jpg|thumb|200px|Theatrical release poster for The Most Dangerous Game (1932)]] Ultimately, Bob is the lone survivor, swimming to a small island. He sees the channel lights off the shoreline change, and suspects the ship was deliberately led off course to its doom. Bob stumbles across a chateau where he becomes the guest of the expatriate Russian Count Zaroff, a fellow hunting enthusiast, who is familiar with Bob and his writings. Zaroff says four other shipwrecked survivors are also guests: Eve Trowbridge, her brother Martin, and two sailors.

Later, Zaroff introduces Bob to the Trowbridges, and tells them his obsession with hunting became boring until he discovered "the most dangerous game" on the island. Bob doesn't understand Zaroff, who fails to explain further. Eve is suspicious of Zaroff and tells Bob the two sailors that survived with them have not been seen since each visited Zaroff's trophy room. During the night, when Martin also vanishes, Eve and Bob go to the trophy room where they find the "trophies" are men's heads. Zaroff appears with Martin's body. Now realizing what prey Zaroff hunts, Bob calls him a madman and is restrained. Bob refuses Zaroff's offer to join him in hunting humans, and Zaroff tells Bob he must be the next prey. Like those before him, Bob will be turned loose at dawn, given a hunting knife and some provisions and allowed the entire day to roam the island until midnight, when Zaroff will begin his hunt. If Bob survives until 4 a.m., then Bob "wins" the game and Zaroff will give him keys to his boathouse so he can leave the island. Zaroff then says he has never lost what he terms "outdoor chess."

Eve decides to go with Bob, and Zaroff tells Eve he will not hunt her since she is a woman; but, if Bob loses, she must return with him. The pair spend most of the day setting a trap for Zaroff. But, when the hunt begins, Zaroff finds the trap and begins a cat and mouse pursuit of Bob. Eventually, Bob and Eve are trapped by a waterfall. When Bob is attacked by a hunting dog, Zaroff shoots and both Bob and the dog fall into the water. Presuming Bob dead, Zaroff takes Eve back to his fortress to enjoy his prize. However, Bob returns to the chalet to Zaroff's surprise. It seems the dog, not Bob, was shot. Zaroff admits defeat and presents the key to the boathouse, but Bob discovers him holding a gun behind his back. Bob first fights Zaroff, then his henchmen, killing the henchmen and mortally wounding Zaroff. As Bob and Eve speed away in a motor boat, the dying Zaroff tries to shoot them with his bow. Unsuccessful, he succumbs to his wounds, and falls out of a window into the pack of his frenzied hunting dogs, which it is implied "prey" upon him.

Cast

• Joel McCrea as Robert "Bob" Rainsford
• Fay Wray as Eve Trowbridge
• Leslie Banks as Count Zaroff
• Robert Armstrong as Martin Trowbridge
• Noble Johnson as Ivan
• Steve Clemente as Tartar
• Dutch Hendrian as Servant
• William B. Davidson as Captain
• James Flavin as First Mate (uncredited)
• Hale Hamilton as Bill (uncredited)

See also

• Apocalypto, similar film, same jungle terrain, man hunted by men
• Bloodlust!, a similar film
• The Hunt, a similar film
• The Pest, a comedy with a similar plot
• Predator (film), a similar film, same jungle terrain, man as prey
• Surviving the Game, a similar film
• List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website