365 Films in 2017 #3: The Most Dangerous Game (RKO, 1932)

The Most Dangerous Game, directed by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack is a fast-paced adaptation of Richard Connell's short story in which a big game hunter and author Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) is shipwrecked on an island and ends up as the prey of Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks) after he refuses to hunt with him. Rainsford and Eve Towbridge (Fay Wray) are let loose and must fight against the Count to escape the island. Rainsford is adept at fighting the count through cunning as well as fisticuffs, and beats him at his own game. The acting is superb and the action never lets up after the first half hour, which introduces the characters. The mock drunken performance of Martin Towbridge (Robert Armstrong) is undoubtedly the low point, yet is easy to forget once the hunt begins. Leslie Banks instills fear as the count and Wray is charming as Rainford's companion. The film was also shot on the same set as RKO's King Kong.

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