The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

Irving Pichel
Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writers:

James Ashmore Creelman (screenplay)
Richard Connell (story)

Release Date:

16 September 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Thriller | Horror | Mystery

Plot:

An insane hunter arranges for a ship to be wrecked on an island where he can indulge in some sort of hunting and killing of the passengers.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Hunter | Hunting | Reef | Most Dangerous Game

Cast

Joel McCrea	...	Bob Rainsford
Fay Wray	...	Eve Trowbridge
Leslie Banks	...	Count Zaroff
Robert Armstrong	...	Martin Trowbridge
Noble Johnson	...	Ivan
Steve Clemente	...	Tartar Servant (as Steve Clemento)
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian	...	Tarter Servant (as Dutch Hendrian)
William B. Davidson	...	Captain (as William Davidson)

Runtime:

63 min | USA:78 min (preview version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 (1987) | South Korea:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #1348-R: 29 August 1935 for re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1934) | UK:12 (re-rating) | UK:A (cut) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | USA:PG (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Jungle sets were also used for simultaneous filming of jungle scenes in King Kong (1933).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Count Zaroff is first giving the knife to Rainsford, he is pointing the blade at him. There is a cut to a closer shot, and the blade is now facing away.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Captain: The channel's here on the chart, all right, and so are the marking lights.
First mate: Then what's wrong with them?
Captain: Those lights don't seem to be in just the right place. They're both a bit out of position according to this.
First mate: Two light buoys means a safe channel between the world over!
Captain: "Safe between the world over" doesn't go in these waters.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Zodiac (2005)

Soundtrack:

A Moment in the Dark

One of my fave (really old) movies

This is one of the best movies ever made. Even by today's standards this movie totally rocks. The editing, plot, lighting, photography and music are all top notch and together they create an authentic and original film that is way better than any of it's numerous remakes.

The plot (I won't ruin it) has big game hunter Robert Rainsford (Joel MacRea) shipwrecked on an exotic Island off the coast of America where a Russian Count (Leslie Banks) offers him a place to stay in his castle while he recovers.

There he meets a brother and sister who have also been shipwrecked and suspicions arise. That's all I'm going to tell you.

Originally this movie was supposed to be over 85 minutes long but budget cuts resulted in the loss of many scenes and the film now runs at only 63 minutes but that doesn't mean it isn't worth your time. In fact it's the exact opposite. When you watch this movie you'll realise there was a time when movies meant art in Hollywood and not opportunities by studios to rake in cash.

A definite 10/10.