Session: Bring Your Own Movie Month, week 2
Movie: The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Directed by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL
Plot:
Shipwrecked, Joel and Eve are lucky to find a castle and a welcoming host. But he wants to go hunting. Them. Hilarity ensues.
Background:
I'd never heard of this film before -- though apparently it's a well-regarded classic, based on a 1924 short story. When Joe explained the premise, I immediately recognized it from an adaptation from Fantasy Island. And then I remembered that it was the premise of an episode of Gilligan's Island. And in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. And many other shows. But more on that later.
This was Joe's pick, and he indicated that, part of why he showed it was that he knew Ethan would find it interesting. Joe also noted that, in addition to the many TV and radio adaptations, there have been several motion picture remakes. But this was apparently the definitive version.
Reaction:
Leslie Banks was incredible as Count Zaroff, the crazy hunter. Joe had explained that Banks had been injured in World War I, resulting in paralysis on one side of his face. Instead of interfering with the performance, though, the injury seemed to enhance it; the asymmetry made him look that much more haunting. Since the movie was filmed for RKO at the same time and location as King Kong, there were places -- and Joe pointed this out -- where the sets were recognizable from that better-known classic.
This is a movie that holds up remarkably well, given how old it is. What a gem!
I feel bad about this, but I seem to have lost the sheet of paper on which I wrote the ratings. Suffice to say everyone gave high grades -- to both this and the entire presentation.
The Most Dangerous Game fails the Bechdel Test. I mean, seriously, there was only one female character.
Bonus:
As in prior years, Joe took pride in going beyond just showing us a movie. He curated a full presentation of a theme. In addition to showing us this movie -- which, just over an hour long, is short by today's standards -- he added three more items that come from his wheelhouse and fit the theme.
The first extra piece was "Hunter's Moon," a third-season episode of Lost in Space. In this, Professor Robinson is hunted by an alien who needs to prove his valor in order to become ruler of his world. Or some shit like that. I have to preface my comments here by noting that I'm not a fan of LiS. I never have been. But I can enjoy an episode here or there with the right people. I would never watch this at home by myself for entertainment. But with this cinema class, as part of a larger presentation, it was perfect. Which is not to say that it wasn't stupid.
Next came "Island of the Darned," which was a second-season episode of Get Smart. Now, we're talking about a show that's near and dear to my heart, although I admit it had been quite a while since I'd watched it. There was plenty of the usual schtick, though I think Don Adams went to the well one time too many in his "would you believe..." routine. And it was clear that the show could not be made today without some major differences in characterization and dialogue. But, I loved watching it. Too bad Ethan -- who had never seen the show before -- wasn't swayed.
Finally, we had "Rabbit Fire," a cartoon short in which Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck try to avoid Elmer Fudd's aim. This is a classic, which I remembered quite well from many Saturday mornings when I should have been in shul. I even remember referencing it in a letter of mine that was published by The Ann Arbor News decades ago. I don't remember the setup, but I do recall the punchline -- that it was Elmer season.
Anyway, Major Kudos to Joe for once again going outside the box. Here, with Joe's permission, are his prepared remarks.
I’d wager it’s a safe bet that none of us in this room are hunters… unless our quarry is good pizza, shortcuts with no traffic, or great movies.
But, tonight, prepare to experience the thrill of the hunt (at least for that movie option) as we present “The Most Dangerous Game”, followed by not one but two TV tributes to this great film – done by two iconic TV series directly from my Sixties Wheelhouse, of course – and ending with one short cartoon, as we often do. No one can say I don’t give you lots of (rifle) bang for your buck!
“The Most Dangerous Game”, an RKO Pre-Code film from 1932 with a running time of only one hour and two minutes, is, as I’m sure most people know, an adventure / horror film about a madman who hunts human beings for sport, on his mysterious island. Apologies if I spoiled this for anyone, but it would become quickly apparent, even if I hadn’t.
But, there are many other interesting aspects to this film beyond its plot. Who can name another, and far more famous, RKO film from that period?
Hint: We’ve seen it in this class, though that doesn’t help Sean…
Yes, “The Most Dangerous Game” was the product of “King Kong’s” producers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. And, it was made CONCURRENTLY with “King Kong” – using many of “Kong’s” jungle sets (you’ll recognize them) – and even its two human stars, Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong!
You’ll recognize them, too! Wray and Armstrong are said to have worked on both films simultaneously – alternatingly filming one, while set-ups and effects were being prepared for the other.
And, after “King Kong”, “Son of Kong”, and “Mighty Joe Young”, it’s almost uncharacteristic to see Robert Armstrong in a film without a gorilla!
“The Most Dangerous Game” starred Joel McCrea as our hero Robert Rainsford, perhaps best known for starring in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Foreign Correspondent”, and the amazing Leslie Banks as the hunter Count Zaroff.
A true movie madman, Banks’ Zaroff is made all the more convincing by a trademark forehead scar (the product of make-up) and a real-life paralysis of the left side of his face as a result of injuries suffered in World War I. Look for it.
A charming, yet sinister figure, Leslie Banks also later worked with Hitchcock in his 1934 version of “The Man Who Knew Too Much” – the Peter Lorre version (in a non-sinister role) and 1939’s “Jamaica Inn” – as the rough and tumble pirate leader “Joss”. Great as he was, Banks was very much upstaged by Charles Laughton in that film – which, according to its credits, “introduced” John Wayne’s frequent leading lady, Maureen O’Hara.
Banks continued in fiendish form, starring in 1940’s “Chamber of Horrors”, based on a story by Edgar Wallace. …And there’s lots more, but that’s just the stuff I know!
There’s also another “King Kong” alum on Count Zaroff’s island… Noble Johnson, who was Chief of “Kong’s” Skull Islanders (and also in Universal’s original “The Mummy” and “Murders in the Rue Morgue”) – now as Zaroff’s Cossack servant… oddly in whiteface!
As for those Pre-Code delights – beyond the occasional act of violence (seen or implied), note Robert Armstrong’s character’s overt and unrepentant drunkenness – a no-no during the time of Prohibition and the Production Codes to follow, and the film’s pervasive undercurrent of twisted sexuality that would never have flown shortly thereafter.
SHOW “THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME”…
How ‘bout that gruesome Trophy Room, folks? The original cut of “The Most Dangerous Game” was close to ten minutes longer – but a greater and more explicit look into the Trophy Room (among other aspects), caused preview audiences to become SO UPSET that they walked out!
So impactful was “The Most Dangerous Game” that it spawned its share of cinematic remakes – the most significant being 1945’s “A Game of Death”, also produced by RKO and directed by Robert Wise.
“A Game of Death” had a lesser known cast and the notable difference of Russian Count Zaroff now becoming German Erich Krieger. I guess that, in 1945, Germans made more frightening villains than Russians. …Though, according to today’s news, that’s reversed itself once again!
I’ve watched these back-to-back and, in many cases, dialogue is often duplicated almost line-for-line, taking into consideration the restrictions of the now-in-force Production Codes. For instance, the drunk is ONLY PRETENDING so that Krieger will underestimate him. It doesn’t work. He gets killed anyway.
Another, more amazing aspect of this remake is that Noble Johnson appears in BOTH films – this time as Krieger’s Caribbean servant. And, much footage from “The Most Dangerous Game” is edited into “A Game of Death”! The shipwreck, any scenes involving the vicious dogs, and more. Johnson actually appears as TWO characters in “A Game of Death”, as stock footage of his 1932 character handling the dogs – and getting impaled – is repeated here, as well as occasional long shots of Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, and what is clearly Leslie Banks and not the beardless actor playing Krieger! …Anyone thinking of my presentation of “The Lost World”, and its footage reuse in VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, about now?
One more remake of quick note would be “Bloodlust”, filmed in 1959 but released in 1961. Giving credit where it’s definitely due, I’d never heard of this film but, some time ago, Keith put me wise to it as a result of a casual discussion of the similarities between “The Most Dangerous Game” and “A Game of Death”.
To make a long story short, I call it “The Scooby-Doo Version of The Most Dangerous Game”, in that prototypes for the four “meddling kids” (minus the dog) visit the mysterious island… and, well, you know…
Robert Reed, of THE BRADY BUNCH (looking just a tad too old to convincingly play a “meddling kid”), takes the “Freddy” role, and the corresponding “Shaggy” role is more of a brainy, bespectacled nerd (rather than a “hippie stoner with a terminal case of the munchies”), likely because a ‘50s beatnik type wouldn’t have been much good in a life-and-death situation. Poetry and bongo-drums just don’t cut it in the jungle, man!
Though the hunt itself isn’t nearly as fast-paced and exciting as in “The Most Dangerous Game” or “A Game of Death”, this version has a better “trophy room sequence”, and a slightly different ending – both of which exhibit more violence than I would expect from a black and white, late-fifties / early-sixties era, drive-in type movie.
Speaking of my sainted sixties, let’s now take a look at two television interpretations of “The Most Dangerous Game” as seen through the “In-Color” lens of my 1960s Wheelhouse…
The core concept of “The Most Dangerous Game” became universal. “Universal”, in so literal a sense, that it was transported to ANOTHER PLANET for the 1967 LOST IN SPACE episode “Hunter’s Moon”.
Our “Guest Hunter” was played by Vincent Beck, who made the typical rounds of ‘60s TV with appearances on MR. ED, GILLIGAN’S ISLAND, GET SMART, GUNSMOKE, BONANZA, HONEY WEST, MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E., DANIEL BOONE, THE WILD WILD WEST, THE TIME TUNNEL, and THE MONKEES. Oh, and “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”!
For a series with the overt sense of humor that LOST IN SPACE routinely displayed (you all remember the “space-a-delic go-go dancing”, much less the talking carrot and other bizarre moments), “Hunter’s Moon” is played fairly straight by comparison – perhaps in response to the gravitas of “The Most Dangerous Game” model.
SHOW “HUNTER’S MOON”…
Now, the hunt returns to Earth, leaving me with a difficult choice. Originally, I thought to go with the GILLIGAN’S ISLAND take on “The Most Dangerous Game”, which has a better guest cast than what we are about to see – Rory Calhoun as the hunter with Harold Sakata, the guy who played “Odd Job” in James Bond, as his assistant. …Maybe I’ll do a follow-up “home session” that will have “A Game of Death”, “Bloodlust”, and the GILLIGAN’S ISLAND version. …Anyone interested?
In the end I HAD to go with GET SMART’s “Island of the Darned” (1966) – and you’ll see why! For a zany pop-sixties sit-com, it hews REMARKABLY CLOSE to “The Most Dangerous Game” in its story – and there is something of a sense of danger that is uncharacteristic of typical GET SMART episodes. I guess there’s just something about “The Most Dangerous Game” concept that brings this out.
Our “Guest Hunter” is Harold Gould, whose credits begin in the fifties and consistently continue, literally until his death in 2010.
SHOW “ISLAND OF THE DARNED”…
Okay, hunters… How many of you can do SEVEN MINUTES MORE?
I always like to end with a CARTOON and, when you see how this one ends, you’ll know why I picked it to conclude the hunt!
SHOW “RABBIT FIRE”…
…And so we end with Bugs and Daffy playing… “The Most Dangerous Game”!
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