Film Review: The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
When Richard Connell published his short story "The Most Dangerous Game" in 1924, he probably would have never guessed that its "pulpish" premise would become immensely popular among screenwriters in the next hundred years, resulting in numerous films that were, directly or indirectly, based on it. The first, and arguably the most faithful adaptation, is the 1932 film The Most Dangerous Game.
The film's plot follows the story of a big-game hunter, Sanger Rainsford (played by Joel McCrea), who became sole survivor of yacht shipwreck near tropical island. After coming ashore, he found shelter in old Portuguese fortress converted into castle by its new owner, Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks), a wealthy Russian aristocrat who escaped Revolution while maintaining life long passion for hunting. Rainsford two more of Count’s guests – Eve Trowbridge (played by Fay Wray) and her perpetually drunk brother Martin (played by Robert Armstrong) – who also survived another shipwreck only few day ago. Eve is alarmed by strange disappearance of other survivors and its soon turns out that Zaroff has developed penchant for hunting new, “most dangerous” game – humans. Together with sinister henchman Ivan (played by Noble Williams), he forces Rainsford to become prey.
The Most Dangerous Game was produced by RKO Pictures during the lull in the complicated production of its future classic hit, King Kong. The two films share many sets, visual and sound effects, as well as screenwriters, composer Max Steiner, and part of the cast, most notably Fay Wray, who appears as a brunette instead of her iconic blonde look from "King Kong." The film was made with a significantly lesser budget than King Kong, but the directors Ernest B. Shoedsack and Irving Pichel showed great skill in cutting corners and delivering a satisfying film experience for the standards of its age. This economical approach is evident in the extremely short running time of barely an hour.
However, The Most Dangerous Game is far from a classic. Apart from some technical issues, most notably in the shipwreck scene at the beginning, which doesn't look that impressive, the film suffers from too much talking and a slow pace in the first half. This is only improved when the actual action starts in the second half, with even some truly thrilling finale and a semi-ironic conclusion.
The cast is capable, but not outstanding. Leslie Banks is effective as the moustache-twirling villain, putting his real-life scar and disfigurement from the First World War to good use. Joel McCrea, as the tall and strong Rainsford, more looks the part than plays it. Robert Armstrong is annoying as the unfortunate drunkard, and Fay Wray, like almost anyone else, mainly does a test run for her character in King Kong. An interesting detail, often overlooked by historians, is that Ivan the Cossack, the villain's sinister henchman, is played by Noble Williams, an African American man under makeup, making this probably one of the first films featuring "whiteface" or an instance of a black man playing a white character.
The most fortunate thing about the film was that it had been made two years before the enforcement of the infamous MPAA Production Code, resulting in some material that couldn't have been produced in later years. These scenes include pictures of human heads used as trophies or Fay Wray having her character's clothes conveniently damaged during her escape to the jungle, making her appearance somewhat risque for 1930s standards.
With all of its limitations, The Most Dangerous Game is a good film and easily digestible even to modern viewers not that interested in cinema history. However, its shortcomings have understandably led so many filmmakers to try creating more modern and "hip" adaptations, such as the 2022 film The Most Dangerous Game starring reality star Chris Tamburrello.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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