The Most Dangerous Game

Co-directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel on jungle sets built for King Kong (which was being shot concurrently), 1932's The Most Dangerous Game is the first—and best—screen adaptation of the same-titled Richard Connell story about a sadistic aristocrat who stalks human prey. Joel McCrea stars as Bob, a celebrated big game hunter whose cabin cruiser founders near the island compound of the deranged Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks). Bob finds a victim of another shipwreck, Eve Trowbridge (Fay Wray), who warns him that several of her friends have disappeared, and voices her suspicion that the count is involved. Eventually they discover the awful truth that Zaroff's own passion for hunting extends to human victims—and that if Bob doesn't join in the “game,” he will be the next object of pursuit. The filmmakers deliver terrific set pieces and exotic atmosphere, resulting in one of the most lavish and best-looking B-movies ever made, with wonderfully lurid pre-Code flourishes: gruesome violence, sadism, and sexual perversity (“Kill! ... Then love,” intones Zaroff, casting an eye toward Eve). This beautifully mastered Blu-ray is superior to all of the previous disc releases and includes a bonus feature: the early South Seas documentary/travelogue/exploitation spectacle “Gow The Headhunter” (1931), photographed by Schoedsack and King Kong co-director Merian C. Cooper. Other extras include audio commentaries, an archival audio interview with Cooper, and a booklet. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)