Simply Perfect

Good concept, poorly executed.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The two most significant things this movie portrays is what some may say is animal cruelty, and the second being (though much less pronounced) is the dangers of alcohol. At one point in the movie, while being hunted, the character of Bob who is a hunter himself says he now understands how the animals he hunts feels. At this point he had been shot at with a rifle, arrows, and was chased up a tree by dogs. We as humans see hunting as a sport though the animals we kill see it as playing with their lives. The second significance is the dangers of alcohol, with prohibition still being in full effect in America it isn't surprising that alcohol is seen as a negative influence. Bobs friends make a stupid decision at the beginning of the movie that costs them their lives. We see alcohol as a danger to these characters for a second time when Armstrong becomes drunk, annoying, and the Count chooses him to become his next victim, whereas the sober Bob is able to survive his trials even though the Count tried to offer him a drink on numerous occasions.

Speaking for myself I remember Leslie Banks mostly as Chorus in the 1945 film version of Henry V, a role that is light years away from his barking host in this remake of the 1916 silent Hounds of Zaroff. If you're anything like a regular movie-goer chances are you've seen one of the several versions of this off-the-wall thriller which features 1) a remote island covered in jungle, 2) an improbably imposing 'castle' which lacks for nothing in respect of food, wine, clothing and even runs to a grand piano, all of which defy the logistics of actually getting them there, 3) a suitably looney-tune running the place, a slightly unbalanced Russian Count, Zaroff by name whose idea of after-dinner charades is to turn his guests loose with a 12- hour start and then hunt them down literally, with bow and arrow, high-powered hunting rifle and, if all else fails, a pack of hounds. Leslie Sands chews up everything in sight as Zaroff while Joel McCrea and Fay Wray are intrepid as his latest prey. At getting on for 85 years old this still grips.

This influential film has a quick pace and so much action that it hasn't dated at all in the past seventy years. While most films of the period were slow and stately, this wastes little time in setting up the characters, instead preferring to cut right to the chase. The short running time means that the plot is constantly furthered and there is no time for hanging about. The simple idea of a human using other humans for sport is one with limitless possibilities and one which has been used countless times since in the likes of GAME OF DEATH and HARD TARGET. It also probably influenced the man vs. man cat-and-mouse antics of DIE HARD and all the films which followed but here you see it for the first time.The acting is pretty good, with Joel McCrea as a talented and likable hero who does everything that an action man should. The unbeatable Fay Wray (from KING KONG, of course) lends her vocal chords to a glamorous woman-in-peril role, just a year before she'd appear in the same sets being chased by a gigantic ape. Leslie Banks puts in a camp performance as the sinister Count Zaroff and seems to be trying to ape Bela Lugosi's acting style. The fact that half his face was paralysed as a result of injuries sustained during the First World War makes him all the more eerie. Noble Johnson, a black actor used to playing slaves, zombies or man servants, is unusually cast as a Cossack and dons 'white face' makeup throughout.The plot is kept nicely simple and doesn't need to be complicated - there are no unnecessary characters, everybody has their own purpose. The only flaw I can think of with the film is a blatantly unrealistic shipwreck scene which looks just like a model - other than this, everything about the film is flawless. Obviously the best part of the film is the 20-minute chase at the conclusion, which has plenty of danger and excitement to please any fan. Traps are set up, arrows and bullets fly everywhere, and a pack of vicious, evil-looking stinking dogs run about and savage people. Remember how in Dracula the camera shied away from all the violence and left it off screen? Not so here. If you ever thought that all '30s films were prudish when it came to violence then think again. This film has it all - people being killed on screen, severed heads on plaques and in tanks, stabbings, and even a gruesome spine-breaking which comes out of nowhere. Apparently the film was even more gruesome, but after the adverse reaction of a test audience the gory shots had to be significantly reduced and the footage is now lost, which is a shame. Still, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME is nevertheless a supremely entertaining thrill-ride of a film that stands up to repeat viewing and should be a staple for all fans of classic cinema.

Leslie Banks stars as Count Zaroff, who is a mad hunter living on an isolated island. He likes to hunt any human being unfortunate enough to come ashore, and even has a trophy room where he displays his gruesome kills. A new quarry comes ashore when luxury cruise ship survivor Bob Rainesford(played by Joel McCrea) is at first welcomed, where he meets fellow castaways Eve(played by Fay Wray) and her brother Martin(played by Robert Armstrong), but will soon be shocked to find themselves in a life and death struggle with Zaroff in his jungle lair. Surprisingly potent film holds up well today. Plot may be obvious but acting and direction is solid, making this an effective, thought-provoking adventure.