The Most Dangerous Game

I was inspired to watch The Most Dangerous Game, a film from 1932 by the makers of King Kong, because of the controversy over the killing of Cecil, the lion in Zimbabwe, by American dentist Walter Palmer. Big game trophy hunting, to many people, is an antiquated and horrifying "sport," but even when it was much more popular, there were those who saw it as it was--a way for men to compensate for things lacking in their character.

Based on a short story, The Most Dangerous Game was directed by Ernest Schoedsack and and Irving Pichel, produced by Schoedsack and Merian Cooper, the directors of King Kong. It's a story that has been intertwined in pop culture ever since--the notion that man is the toughest animal to hunt. I distinctly remember a Gilligan's Island episode when a big game hunter tries to track down Gilligan.

In this version, a yacht is shipwrecked off the coast of a mysterious island. The only survivor is a celebrated big game hunter, Joel McRea. In the beginning of the film he suggests that the animals he hunts, such as tigers, are in on the thrill of it all, and may enjoy it just as he does.

He washes ashore on the island and finds a big creepy mansion. It is owned by Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks), a Russian who's great passion is hunting. He tells his guests, which include siblings Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong, that he has become bored with hunting, but has now been energized by a new animal, which he calls "the most dangerous game." He won't show them his trophy room.

The film ends with an exciting chase through the jungle as Banks, playing what he calls "outdoor chess," hunts down McRae and Wray. They try setting traps for him, but he's too smart to fall for them. Of course, he will get his, and McRae sees what it's like to be hunted--"Now I know how the animals I hunt feel."

I'm not one to suggest films be remade, but this one is a prime candidate. Peter Jackson would have done well to remake this instead of King Kong, which didn't need improvement. The Most Dangerous Game had a limited budget and is only 63 minutes long. The first person hunted is the drunken Armstong, which happens entirely off-screen. To see this now, with a big budget, would be thrilling, and timely as well. Maybe Ted Nugent could play the guy being hunted.