The Most Dangerous Game (1932)

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 (screen play), Richard Connell (from the O.Henry prize winning collection story by)

Stars:

Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks

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)
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian	...	Tartar Servant (as Dutch Hendrian)

Storyline

After their luxury cabin cruiser crashes on a reef, Bob Rainsford 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 Rainsford soon learns why. Zaroff releases them into his jungle island and then hunts them down in his grisly "outdoor chess" game! Then after Martin disappears, Bob realizes that he and Eve are to be the next "pawns" in Zaroff's deadly game.

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Plot Keywords:

island | hunter | shipwreck | reef | hunting | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

16 September 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

A legveszélyesebb játék

Filming Locations:

RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$218,869 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures, Radio Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min 78 min (preview)

Sound Mix:

Mono (recorded by) (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film did well at the box office, earning RKO a profit $70,000 ($1,235,000 in 2016) according to studio records.

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Goofs

When Rainsford and Zaroff are exiting the bedroom in a scene 14 minutes into the movie, Rainsford is quite clearly entering the door first. When we cut to the hallway, it is Zaroff who is leading the way.

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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 on Yacht: 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 on Yacht: 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 Mean Guns (1997)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

The Grandfather of them all!

The second most used plot device (boy meets girl is the first) happens to be one of my favorites, Man Vs. Man. The Most Dangerous Game (based upon a short story) is about an eccentric hunter who has hunted every single animal there is to hunt except one. Man. On his tropical island surrounded by dangerous coral reefs he seeks out prey so he can add them to his trophy case. That is until the day he happens to meet the world's most famous big game hunter. This excellent film was shot by the same crew that was shooting King Kong (both films nearly have the same cast) Between takes they would shoot this one. If you want to see where it all started, then this is it!!

Highly recommended.

A+