In 1932, a luxury yacht is sailing through a channel off the western coast of South America. Among the passengers is big game hunter and author Bob Rainsford. In discussing the sport with other passengers, Bob is asked if he would exchange places with the animals he hunts. After the yacht's owner disregards the captain's concerns about the channel lights not matching the charts, the ship runs aground, takes on water and explodes. Ultimately, Bob is the lone survivor, swimming to a small island. He sees the channel lights off the shoreline change, and suspects the ship was deliberately led off course to its doom. Bob stumbles across a chateau where he becomes the guest of the expatriate Russian Count Zaroff, a fellow hunting enthusiast, who is familiar with Bob and his writings. Zaroff says four other shipwrecked survivors are also guests: Eve Trowbridge, her brother Martin, and two sailors. Later, Zaroff introduces Bob to the Trowbridges, and tells them his obsession with hunting became boring until he discovered "the most dangerous game" on the island. Bob doesn't understand Zaroff, who fails to explain further. Eve is suspicious of Zaroff and tells Bob the two sailors that survived with them have not been seen since each visited Zaroff's trophy room. During the night, when Martin also vanishes, Eve and Bob go to the trophy room where they find the "trophies" are men's heads. Zaroff appears with Martin's body. Now realizing what prey Zaroff hunts, Bob calls him a madman and is restrained. Bob refuses Zaroff's offer to join him in hunting humans, and Zaroff tells Bob he must be the next prey. Like those before him, Bob will be turned loose at dawn, given a hunting knife and some provisions and allowed the entire day to roam the island until midnight, when Zaroff will begin his hunt. If Bob survives until 4 a.m., then Bob "wins" the game and Zaroff will give him keys to his boathouse so he can leave the island. Zaroff then says he has never lost what he terms "outdoor chess." Eve decides to go with Bob, and Zaroff tells Eve he will not hunt her since she is a female; but, if Bob loses, she must return with him. The pair spend most of the day setting a trap for Zaroff. But, when the hunt begins, Zaroff finds the trap and begins a cat and mouse pursuit of Bob. Eventually, Bob and Eve are trapped by a waterfall. When Bob is attacked by a hunting dog, Zaroff shoots and both Bob and the dog fall into the water. Presuming Bob dead, Zaroff takes Eve back to his fortress to enjoy his prize. However, Bob returns to the chalet to Zaroff's surprise. It seems the dog, not Bob, was shot. Zaroff admits defeat and presents the key to the boathouse, but Bob discovers him holding a gun behind his back. Bob first fights Zaroff, then his henchmen, killing the henchmen and mortally wounding Zaroff. As Bob and Eve speed away in a motor boat, the dying Zaroff tries to shoot them with his bow. Unsuccessful, he succumbs to his wounds, and falls out of a window into the pack of his frenzied hunting dogs, which it is implied "prey" upon him.
The Most Dangerous Game was filmed at night on the same sets used in King Kong with four of the same actors, Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, James Flavin and Noble Johnson.
Reception
Box office
The film made a profit of $70,000 during its first year of release.
Critical reception
The Most Dangerous Game received mostly positive reviews from critics upon its release. Decades later, author and film criticLeonard Maltin gave the film three out of four stars, calling it " Vivid telling of Richard Connell's oft-filmed story"; and British magazine Time Out gave the film a positive review, praising the film's acting, and suspense, calling it "one of the best and most literate movies from the great days of horror". On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on, with a weighted average rating of 7.7/10.
Home media and colorization
The Most Dangerous Game lapsed into the public domain in 1960 and has since seen a plethora of budget releases. The first high-quality edition was via a 1995 LaserDisc from the ROAN Group. In 1999, Criterion released a restored DVD featuring an audio commentary by film historian Bruce Eder. The film was initially colorized in 1992 and again, using improved technology, in 2008 by Legend Films, who subsequently released their version on DVD alongside the B&W version. In 2012, Flicker Alley released the film on a region-free Blu-ray; this version was restored from the original 35mm studio fine grain master by film preservationistDavid Shepard. The Blu-ray also included Gow the Headhunter a.k.a. Cannibal Island, an audio commentary for each film and an audio interview with Merian C. Cooper, conducted by film historian Kevin Brownlow.
Influence
The 1932 film was referenced in the plot of the David Fincher movie Zodiac. Jake Gyllenhaal's character recognizes quotes from the film in letters from the Zodiac Killer sent to the newspaper office where he works.
