(Hunting humans beats hunting wabbits, eh?)
CAST: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Leslie Banks, Noble Johnson.
DIRECTOR: Irving Pichel, Ernest Shoedsack.
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and surprisingly kinetic, if ancient, stunts - straight ahead….
One of the most famous short stories of all time is Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game.” It’s about a shipwreck survivor named Robert Rainsford who finds himself cast ashore on a deserted island after his yacht is torn apart on the nearby reefs. Only the island isn’t as deserted as he thought - a bizarro named Count Zaroff owns a mansion there and welcomes him with open arms.
Gradually, though, it becomes clear that Count Zaroff has more on his mind that giving Robert shelter until the next boat leaves for the mainland. Turns out our scary Count is a hunter, just like Robert, and his favorite prey is “the most dangerous game” of all. In other words: humans. Turns out he’s been doing this for awhile, and Richard is his next victim.
Oopsie…
The story was published for the first time in “Collier’s Magazine” in January 1924. Since then, it’s developed a very strong following - to say the least. How do you gauge how strong its following is? Well, for starters, “The Most Dangerous Game” has been adapted into film at least 25 times since its publication. One of the best cinematic adaptations of the short story, though, is the very first one in 1932.
Joel McCrea plays Robert Rainsford, and he’s one of four or five tools cruising on a yacht. We know they are tools because they look about as fun as a chalazion-removal operation on both eyes. As our story opens, these dudes are having some sort of semi-deep conversation about why animals who kill humans are considered “savage”, while humans who kill animals are not.
“Well,” says our hero Robert, “That’s because we’re considered hunters.” Thanks for the semantics, Bobby. Our very modest hero goes on to remind his shipmates that he is one of the best hunters in the world - and that he will never be hunted like the animals he’s killed.
If that’s not comeuppance waiting to happen, I don’t know what is. Sure enough, this little boast is immediately (as in, within seconds) followed by terrible crashing sound, and the boat lurching to one side. Turns out the yacht has slammed into a reef, and within a few minutes the following things have happened: (1) boat explodes, (2) sinks, and (3) all the survivors except Robert are attacked by a frighteningly-modern looking Tiger shark.
Robert, himself, though makes it to a nearby island. After wandering around for a few minutes, he discovers a large mansion and approaches it. The first sign that this isn’t a part of the Holiday Inn family of hotels is the rather foreboding knocker on the door: a woman in the arms of a half-man, half-bull creature with arrows in his chest. Only a serial killer would get a warm fuzzie from that particular welcome mat.
Anyhow, Robert enters and quickly finds himself face-to-face with the World’s Fugliest Butler in the form of Ivan (Noble Johnson). Ivan’s boss is the even scarier Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks), a Russian aristocrat who has walks around with terminal Eye Bulge. As in, he always looks like someone just slipped him an enema without any lube.
Count Zaroff gives Robert a warm welcome and tells him to get comfy at Chez Zaroff. Turns out that the bug-eyed Count has two other guests: (1) Eve Trowbridge (Fay Wray), a tremulous waif who looks ready go down on Robert in a heartbeat; and (2) her brother Martin, who was probably described in the early 30’s as “having a keen appreciation for fine liqueur,” but would likely be described in 2010 as “a fucking alcoholic.”
Eve and Martin’s boat was also destroyed by the reef, see. And at the little after-dinner cocktail thang that Count Zaroff invites his guests to, Robert wonders out loud why the buoy markers that were supposed to point them to the safe passage actually led right into the reef. Cut to a shot of Count Zaroff looking even more bug-eyed. If that’s possible. All those who think the Count has been tinkering with the buoys, do a shot! Everyone, that is, except you, Martin. You’re drunk enough. Lush.
At any rate, while the Count and a tottering Martin play a really bad duet on the piano, Eve worriedly tells Robert that there had been two other folks with her and Martin - but have both disappeared. In a nutshell, she’s not as bowled over by Zaroff’s hospitality as Martin and Robert are. She thinks something hinky is happening at Chez Zaroff, and that the Count might be just a couple pretzels shy of a full bag. If you know what I mean. Wonder what gave it away? I mean, it’s not like those eyes of his could be classified as “bedroom” or “googly.” More like “Stare of Death.”
And the fact that Count Zaroff goes around bragging that he likes to, ahem, hunt “the most dangerous game of all” but refuses to elaborate is another tip-off that this guy’s stay on the island has not been entirely good for his mental health.
Sure enough, Martin promptly disappears. Eve and Robert make like Nick and Norah Charles and start snooping around. Their noses lead them to Zaroff’s “Trophy Room.” There, they discover that the Count hasn’t exactly been busy at bowling or soccer. Nope, his trophies are of the, um, disgusting variety. As in… human heads mounted on the wall. And it appears a certain lush brother of Eve’s has become Zaroff’s latest bag.
And guess what inquisitive couple is next?
Will Eve and Bobby escape? Or are they going to be the next heads on the wall? How did Count Zaroff get turned on to hunting humans? Is he a better hunter than Bobby? Or will Robert mount his ass with a vengeance?
Well, you know what I mean…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Reviewing old films is tricky. You have look past some of the dated elements and, yes, occasional cheese to fairly evaluate the product in relation to the time it was released. I know a lot of people who write off Alfred Hitchcock because they think his films aren’t anything special. What they don’t realize is his films set the rules that all the later films would follow and pass of as their own.
Same goes for THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. I half-jokingly referred to it in last week’s schedule as “The Original Wilderness Survival Flick.” But it’s entirely appropriate. The film is a tense, lean, mean, and suspenseful ride. At a mere 65 or so minutes long, the movie doesn’t mess around. After the brief introductory scene with Robert and his ill-fated pals on the yacht, we quickly move into the shipwreck sequence - which is breathtaking for a film shot in 1932. The ensuing shark attack scene is similarly surprising for its “modern” feel. Just goes to show why the classic films are timeless.
Even with its short running time, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME manages to create a substantial sense of atmosphere. Count Zaroff’s mansion is surpremely eerie place, and the scene where Eve tries to tell Robert about her suspicion without tipping off Zaroff is a classic example of suspense that even Hitchcock would be proud of. Same goes for the scene where Robert and Eve investigate the “Trophy Room” and its terrible secrets.
The cast is reasonably good. Joel McCrea makes Robert into a decent hero, with 20’s “It” Girl Fay Wray turning in the best performance as Eve, a girl who is considerably sharper than the men around her. If there’s any flaw in THE MOST DANGEROUS GAMES’s players, its Leslie Banks’ decision to play Count Zaroff as such an obvious and cartoonish baddie from the outset. A more subtle interpretation that gradually grows more menacing would’ve been better. Overall, though, Zaroff delivers.
What’s remarkable about THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME is how kinetic and exciting it is for such an old film. It’s the oldest film so far that I’ve reviewed here - but it’s one of the most exciting. In other words, it’s aged just fine…
