We’re dialing it wayyyy back for a special pre-Code film* adaptation of the 1924 short story “The Most Dangerous Game”. Time for Halloween film #25…. The Most Dangerous Game.
A luxury liner wrecks off the shark-infested coast of South America. A big game hunter swims to shore… and comes across a crooked oligarch named Count Zaroff — another avid hunter who invites the shipwrecked man to play ‘outdoor chess’.
As you guessed…things go awry from there.
Wealthy boozehounds discussing moral quandaries. Sailors scalded by bursting hot steam pipes. A yachtsplosion (yacht explosion). Drowning. Speed boat getaways. A tense game of ball-free water polo. Debris grabbing. A passionate showdown. An evil Russian count. Waterfalls. The best unnerving piano playing on film prior to the Britney Spears “Everytime” cover in Spring Breakers (2012). A creepy sidekick. Guns. Gambling. Madness. Hounds are released. Heads are mounted. Henchmen.
The film whizzes by like a bullet fired. Is it perfect? No. Is it diabolical fun? Yes.
“My hand was made for the trigger.”
One of the better films of its era. The acting isn’t distracting and the writing/directing is extremely focused.
Filmed on the sets of King Kong (1933) — the actress Fay Wray (perhaps you know her best from the 1998 song “Are You Jimmy Ray?”)
The film is currently a public domain flick — so get it where you can get it.
—
Regarding Pre-Code Hollywood
*A beautiful little tutorial for the unfamiliar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Code_Hollywood) …
Anyhow… it was a brief period during a semi-repressive era where awesome movies could thrive — moral authority be damned.
—
It’s 62 minutes long. No excuses.
If you don’t know the twists and turns, guess what I’ve spoiled nothing! Go. Watch!
Definitely on Amazon Prime — please, watch it in its original black & white.
Stay away from the colorized version as Orson Welles once complained (probably in between sucking down steaks), “…Ted Turner and his damn Crayola crayons!”
Perhaps one of the earliest dollar movies? One full dollar. Obtain it.
Recommendations for further viewing: Surviving the Game (1994), Run for the Sun (1956), Hard Target (1993), The Running Man (1987)