6/2/14 MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932). While this movie had a B-film budget -- and was filmed on leftover sets from King Kong -- it nevertheless proved to be, in my opinion, a very influential movie in the long run. Crazy animal hunter Count Zaroff lives on a remote island, where he indulges, with no restrictions, in his obsession with hunting. Only lately the crazy Count has upped his game by hunting human beings!!! He causes ships at sea to sink, then, when the survivors arrive at his island, he befriends them and then sets them free in the jungle where he hunts them down and keeps their preserved heads in his trophy room. Leslie Banks stars as Zaroff, with Fay Wray and Robert Livingston (who gives the only lousy performance) , both fresh from King Kong, as prisoners of the Count. But when fellow big-game hunter Joel McCrea arrives on the island . . . well, just maybe . . . the old Count has met his match. Variations of this plot have been made into many, many films over the years, including The Naked Prey, The Pest (a comedy version), and even Jean-Claude Van Dammes Hard Target. There will be more too, trust me. This version is a fairly exciting 63 minutes, with some good old corny acting by Banks (trying for a Bela Lugosi-foreigner persona), and interesting camera-work by directors Irving Pichel and Ernest Schoedsack. The film is pretty daring for its time, with a threatened rape and lines such as Zaroffs declaring that love is better AFTER the kill. The shipwreck was filmed with an obvious miniature toy boat, but such humble 1930s special effects just make this film more endearing. A classic of its kind, its worth seeing as a real timepiece. (Below: movie poster; Leslie Banks as Count Zaroff; Fay Wray and Joel McCrea on the run.)
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 00:10:37 +0000
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