When a VHS cover proclaims a film to have come from the makers of the 1933 masterpiece 'King Kong,' it's difficult to pass it without showing any interest. A year before they brought Carl Denham, Jack Driscoll and Ann Darrow to the magnificence and horror of Skull Island, director Ernest B. Schoedsack and associate producer Merian C. Cooper exercised their skills with another gripping island adventure film, an adaptation of Richard Connell's well-known 1924 short story, 'The Most Dangerous Game.' Directed by Schoedsack and Irving Pichel, and working from a screenplay by James Ashmore Creelman, the film is extremely short, concise and suspenseful. No time is wasted on cumbersome sub-plots that would only drag down the excitement, and, though the result doesn't exactly present itself as being intelligent, the film certainly keeps you on the edge of your seat, and that's all I would ever have asked of it.
Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) is a world-famous American game-hunter, who has spent his life travelling the world and having adventures. He is the typical cinematic hero young, handsome and just a bit cocky and his love of hunting sits above all else. He has a great respect for the animals he shoots, confidently asserting that this feeling is mutual between himself and his prey. Had he been in the place of the leopard, for example, Rainsford would feel absolutely no different or, at least, that's what he likes to tell himself. After a disastrous shipwreck off the coast of an isolated island (via the accomplished use of scaled models, lifted from the test footage for Willis H. O'Brien's abandoned 1931 film, 'Creation'), Rainsford finds himself the only survivor. He is surprised to discover the luxurious fortress of Count Zaroff (a freaky Leslie Banks), as well as two recently-acquired guests, Eve Trowbridge (a radiant Fay Wray, before Ann Darrow gave her legendary status) and her drunken brother Martin (Robert Armstrong, who, of course, went on to play Carl Denham).
The film, at a quaint running time of just 63 minutes, never fails to hold our attention. Though the first half seems to be simply going through the motions, working towards the thrilling climax, it does this adequately enough. The dialogue is a bit stagnant and predictable, and the characters seems a lot stupider than they should be (how many mounted human heads do you need to see before you realise which species is "the most dangerous game?"), but that is almost irrelevant once you come to the nail-gripping chase through the perilous jungle. Banks, of course, steals the show, making good use of scary facial expressions to translate his character's derangement onto the screen. McCrea plays a noble hero with great charisma and bravado, whilst Armstrong is downright annoying (in a good way!) as the drunken brother. Though it was 'King Kong' that brought her unending recognition, I really thought Fay Wray was better in this film. Unlike Ann Darrow (who, to be honest, had little to do but scream at the top of her lungs), Eve Trowbridge has a quiet sense of pride and courage about her, and you really get to recognise what a beautiful woman she was.
The film's final half an hour is nothing short of brilliant, and no small thanks to composer Max Steiner, whose thrilling score alone is enough to double your pulse-rate. The very final shot of 'The Most Dangerous Game' shows the directors' keen eye for a good shot; Bob and Eve are escaping in the small boat, just as, in the foreground, a fatally-wounded Count Zaroff tumbles from the window to be devoured by his loyal pack of hunting dogs. If you didn't think that early thrillers could still be thrilling, you haven't seen this one.
Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) is a world-famous American game-hunter, who has spent his life travelling the world and having adventures. He is the typical cinematic hero young, handsome and just a bit cocky and his love of hunting sits above all else. He has a great respect for the animals he shoots, confidently asserting that this feeling is mutual between himself and his prey. Had he been in the place of the leopard, for example, Rainsford would feel absolutely no different or, at least, that's what he likes to tell himself. After a disastrous shipwreck off the coast of an isolated island (via the accomplished use of scaled models, lifted from the test footage for Willis H. O'Brien's abandoned 1931 film, 'Creation'), Rainsford finds himself the only survivor. He is surprised to discover the luxurious fortress of Count Zaroff (a freaky Leslie Banks), as well as two recently-acquired guests, Eve Trowbridge (a radiant Fay Wray, before Ann Darrow gave her legendary status) and her drunken brother Martin (Robert Armstrong, who, of course, went on to play Carl Denham).
The film, at a quaint running time of just 63 minutes, never fails to hold our attention. Though the first half seems to be simply going through the motions, working towards the thrilling climax, it does this adequately enough. The dialogue is a bit stagnant and predictable, and the characters seems a lot stupider than they should be (how many mounted human heads do you need to see before you realise which species is "the most dangerous game?"), but that is almost irrelevant once you come to the nail-gripping chase through the perilous jungle. Banks, of course, steals the show, making good use of scary facial expressions to translate his character's derangement onto the screen. McCrea plays a noble hero with great charisma and bravado, whilst Armstrong is downright annoying (in a good way!) as the drunken brother. Though it was 'King Kong' that brought her unending recognition, I really thought Fay Wray was better in this film. Unlike Ann Darrow (who, to be honest, had little to do but scream at the top of her lungs), Eve Trowbridge has a quiet sense of pride and courage about her, and you really get to recognise what a beautiful woman she was.
The film's final half an hour is nothing short of brilliant, and no small thanks to composer Max Steiner, whose thrilling score alone is enough to double your pulse-rate. The very final shot of 'The Most Dangerous Game' shows the directors' keen eye for a good shot; Bob and Eve are escaping in the small boat, just as, in the foreground, a fatally-wounded Count Zaroff tumbles from the window to be devoured by his loyal pack of hunting dogs. If you didn't think that early thrillers could still be thrilling, you haven't seen this one.