As soon as the film’s lead, red-blooded American big-game hunter Bob Rainsford, confidently states that “the world’s divided into two kinds of people: the hunter and the hunted… I’m the hunter, nothing can change that”, you already know that he’s going to find himself on the other end of the rifle sooner or later. Portrayed by veteran Hollywood actor Joel McCrea, star of over 90 films throughout his illustrious career, Rainsford is almost instantly shipwrecked and stranded in a wild tropical island paradise. Taken in by the isle’s wealthy owner, the sinister Count Zaroff (portrayed by English theatre actor Leslie Banks), he learns that his host shares his enthusiasm for blood sport – except Zaroff’s preferred quarry is his fellow man.
It’s a classic story of the hunter becoming the hunted – the original, in fact, being the first cinematic adaptation of author Richard Connell’s popular pulp novel “The Hounds of Zaroff”. Filmed at the same time as the world-famous King Kong (1933), RKO’s Most Dangerous Game shares almost everything with that giant of a monster movie – from cast to crew, to even the same jungle sets. Kong’s Ernest B. Schoedsack is also on directing duty here (alongside fellow RKO filmmaking veteran Irving Pichel) with his co-director on that aforementioned classic, Merian C. Cooper, behind this film’s screenplay. Perhaps even more notable is the appearance of Fay Wray, horror’s original “scream queen”, in a prominent supporting role as Rainsford’s love interest Eve Trowbridge.
I’m fully aware that I’m projecting 2020s values onto a ‘30s adventure movie based on a ‘20s pulp novel, but if anything that makes the film even riper for critical re-evaluation… not to mention rediscovery and celebration for the elements which still entertain and captivate.
The film is, admittedly, not one of the biggest triumphs of the pre-Hays code era of horror, largely feeling more Boy’s Own than E.C. Comics in tone. With the film having turned 90 this past September at the time of writing, it’s important to remember that the film’s ‘30s values might not always appeal to what a modern viewer (such as myself) might want from this kind of tale. The story’s anti-hunting message would probably land its mark more effectively if the movie’s priorities weren’t first and foremost to make Rainsford a true Hollywood hero; the film questions rather explicitly whether Zaroff’s game of death is any different to Rainsford’s but seems to lose any conviction in questioning our hero’s moral fibre once the film fully enters its jungle adventure portion. Even Zaroff’s blood-curdlingly perverse treatment of Wray’s female lead, suggesting a direct connection between his violent lust and his lust for violence, loses some of its potency when the film fails to address how Rainsford’s hunt is also informed by his masculine desires for power, control and selfish pleasure. Rainsford and Zaroff are not quite so dissimilar; it’s just that Zaroff is willing to admit that fact.
Nonetheless, The Most Dangerous Game is still a deeply watchable romp, and at a brisk runtime of 63 minutes, it by no means outstays its welcome. There are some light thrills to be found in the sequences of Zaroff and his hounds pursuing our leads through the gorgeous natural scenery of his private island, and the reveal of the grisly contents of the Count’s trophy room is a wonderful moment of gruesome pre-code nastiness, the likes of which all shock-horror films should aspire to. Banks gives a commendable performance as the film’s borderline moustache-twirling villain, and McCrea does a fine job as the film’s somewhat bland macho-man protagonist. Wray is on good form here, although her performance does feel a little wasted, and the way in which she becomes merely a prize in Zaroff and Rainsford’s battle of wits in the finale might not sit well from a modern-day feminist perspective. I’m fully aware that I’m projecting 2020s values onto a ‘30s adventure movie based on a ‘20s pulp novel, but if anything that makes the film even riper for critical re-evaluation… not to mention rediscovery and celebration for the elements which still entertain and captivate.
Making its U.K. Blu-Ray debut from Eureka Video, digitally restored in 2K, The Most Dangerous Game’s jungle backdrops and intricate matte paintings dazzle in clear HD video quality, not to mention the crisp remastered audio tracks – which is par for the course when it comes to the standard of the label’s past releases. The latest addition to Eureka’s celebrated “Masters of Cinema” collection, the film is accompanied by an impressive roster of extras – including three separate radio adaptations of Connell’s story. The highlight of the disc’s special features is an extended talk by genre scholar and author Kim Newman on an in-depth history of The Most Dangerous Game’s story and production, as well as later adaptations and the “hunted human” sub-genre as a whole; it’s essential viewing for fans of the genre, and worth purchasing the release for in itself.
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The Most Dangerous Game
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