Hounds of Zaroff (1932)
"The Most Dangerous Game" (original title)

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.

Directors:

Irving Pichel, Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writers:

James Ashmore Creelman (screenplay), Richard Connell (story)

Stars:

Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joel McCrea	...	Bob
Fay Wray	...	Eve
Robert Armstrong	...	Martin
Leslie Banks	...	Zaroff
Noble Johnson	...	Ivan
Steve Clemente	...	Tartar (as Steve Clemento)
William B. Davidson	...	Captain (as William Davidson)

Storyline

After their luxury cabin cruiser crashes on a reef, Bob Rainesford finds himself washed ashore on a remote island. He finds a fortress-like house and the owner, Count Zaroff, seems to be quite welcoming. Apart from Zaroff's servant Ivan, the only other people present are Eve Trowbridge and her brother Martin, also survivors of their own shipwreck. Other survivors are missing however and Bob soon learns why: Zaroff releases them onto his jungle island and them hunts them down and kills them.

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Plot Keywords:

island | hunter | reef | hunting | shipwreck | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

16 September 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

A legveszélyesebb játék

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$218,869 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min 78 min (preview)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second of three film collaborations involving Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper, and Fay Wray.

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Goofs

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.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in The Pest (1997)

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Soundtracks

"A Moment in the Dark"
(uncredited)
Music by Carmen Lombardo

User Reviews

The Hounds of Zaroff

I must have been about 5 years old when I saw this film just before the WAR, in a flea-ridden "picture-house" in Dublin, Ireland, where I was born and brought up. It made such an impression on me that I remembered it all my life, but never remembered the name or any of the cast. I tried without success, and as time passed I began to believe that the Island owner was, perhaps, Conrad Veidt, this was the sort of persona he portrayed to me. I remembered that there were people on a luxury yacht, suddenly wrecked, and that a man and woman were washed up on an island, and after having been given hospitality by a recluse in a large house, were set loose to be hunted. The young man was a famous big game hunter, and he had only a knife with which he devised traps to catch their pursuer who hunted them with a bow and arrows. One trap, I remember was an old log which was triggered somhow to fall and kill whoever who set it off. This film always stayed in the forefront of my mind, and, when, at age about 70, I met a compatriot, a little older, I began to tell him about this film, asking him if he'd ever seen it or knew anything about it. He interrupted me to tell me that it was a story, and gave me the name of the writer, Richard Connell. How did he know this immediately, having barely heard the beginning of my story?? He was a retired English teacher who admired this story so much that,year after year, he always set it for his classes. So then I was able to look it up on the internet and not at all to my surprise found the close connection of the cast and scenery to KING KONG. You see, KING KONG has been my all-time favourite film. I think I've seen it at least 25-30 times and have several video copies of it.