THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932) Joel McCrea, Fay Wray & Leslie Banks | Action, Horror | B&W

The Most Dangerous Game is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel, starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray and Leslie Banks.

The movie is an adaptation of the 1924 short story of the same name by Richard Connell;[2] 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.

SYNOPSIS
A psychotic big game hunter deliberately strands a luxury yacht on a remote island, where he begins to hunt its passengers for sport.

In 1932, a luxury yacht is sailing through a channel off the north-eastern coast of South America. Among the passengers is big game hunter and author Robert "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.

Theatrical release poster for The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Ultimately, Bob is the lone survivor, able to swim ashore to a small island nearby. He notices 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 earlier shipwrecked survivors are also his guests: Eve Trowbridge, her alcoholic brother Martin, and two sailors.

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 discovers 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 fires a shot with his rifle; both Bob and the dog fall off the cliff into the water below. Presuming Bob is dead, Zaroff takes Eve back to his fortress to enjoy his prize. However, to Zaroff's surprise, Bob returns to the chalet, explaining that the dog was shot, not he. 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 the motor boat, the dying Zaroff tries to shoot them from a window with his bow. Unsuccessful, he succumbs to his wounds and falls into the pack of his frenzied hunting dogs below, implying that he has now become their “prey”.

CAST & CREW
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

Directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, Irving Pichel
Screenplay by James Ashmore Creelman
Based on "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
Produced by Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Cinematography Henry W. Gerrard
Edited by Archie Marshek
Music by Max Steiner
Production company RKO Radio Pictures
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Release date September 16, 1932
Running time 62 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $219,869
Box office $443,000

NOTES
The Most Dangerous Game received mostly positive reviews from critics upon its release.

Decades later, author and film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film three out of four stars, calling it "[a v]ivid telling of Richard Connell's oft-filmed story", while British critic and encyclopaedist Leslie Halliwell likewise awarded three stars, deeming the film a "[d]ated but splendidly shivery melodrama with moments of horror and humor and mystery, and a splendidly photographed chase sequence". In addition, British magazine Time Out gave the film a positive review, praising the film's acting, and suspense, calling it "one of the best and most literate movies from the great days of horror".

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 19 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 7.7/10.

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