WTF- The Most Dangerous Game (1932) 

vs. 

A Game of Death (1945) 

"A psychotic hunter engineers shipwrecks so he can stock his private island with human quarry."

While flipping through our modest 16mm film collection we realized we had not screened some titles from a lot unloaded to us by a collector many years back. We pulled out the 1932 classic The Most Dangerous Game and decided to have our friends over and pop some popcorn, etc. I loved it and had really never seen it before. All I knew about it was the story's basic premise, its literary origins, and the fact that Fay Wray was the female lead. Oh, and that it was shot on the same set as King Kong which was to be released the following year.

I was really impressed with the raw emotion of the film. Handsome hunter Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) washes ashore to a mysterious island after the ship he's traveling on wrecks in a horrific crash. There he encounters Zaroff (Leslie Banks) a self proclaimed expert hunter. Bob becomes the hunted along with Eve (Kong damsel Fay Wray) and her brother Martin (Robert Armstrong). RKO was the first to offer author Richard Connell's compelling story into  a motion picture. The Short story The Most Dangerous Game (also published as The Hounds of Zaroff first ran in Collier's Weekly, January of 1924. Connell later would receive an Academy Award nomination for his work Meet John Doe. 

In 1945 RKO remade The Most Dangerous Game with A Game of Death. In this rendition the main man of the hour is Don Rainsford (played by John Loder) who also is shipwrecked and greeted at the home of Erich Kreiger (Edgar Barrier). Rainesford becomes the hunted alongside damsel Ellen Trowbridge (Audrey Long) and her brother Robert (Russell Wade). The supporting role as the ship's captain is played by Jason Robards Sr., father of the more famous Jason Robards Jr. The film is directed by somewhat newcomer (at the time) Robert Wise. Wise edited Citizen Kane in 1941 and had connections with Orson Wells. Wells would play the villain Zaroff along Keenan Wynn (as Rainsford) in a radio episode of Suspense just 9 months before the release of A Game of Death.

Sadly A Game of Death falls short in its efforts as a remake. One can only ask why was this made? Granted, The Most Dangerous Game did fairly well at the box office when it was first released.  Film techniques advanced slightly in the 13 years yet both films were shot in the same aspect ratio as well as in 35mm. Perhaps RKO thought of it as an easy dollar at the box office? The villain in A Game of Death had a decidedly German Nazi-esque air about him. Using words like "comrade" &  "alvederzane", as well as having his name changed to German accented Erich Kreiger, can only imply that RKO was betting the post war audience would identify with the crazed hunter of humans. Kreiger is a fan of Rainsford and has all of his novels within arm's reach. There are other slight staging differences in the story but not by much. In the remake Rainsford ventures out setting traps for Kreiger, knowing that in a short period of time the three guests will become the hunted. Not only is A Game of Death a remake of The Most Dangerous Game but seeing the two together in just a span of a few days the viewer can't help realize that they almost copy each other shot for shot, including the ending. A Game of Death not only uses footage from the RKO original, but re-casts actor Noble Johnson (an extra in The Most Dangerous Game) as Kreiger's right hand man Ivan.

Femme Fatale Fay Wray and hunky Joel McCrea on the run in "The Most Dangerous Game."

Let's face it; no one can hold a candle to Fay Wray. Her pre-Kong role in The Most Dangerous Game is leaps and bounds above her re-make counterpart actress Audrey Long. Long's performance falls flat and sadly has no screen presence, although she gets to utter my favorite line from the re-make; "There's evil in this place. We're all prisoners." At an impressive 6'3" I'll take handsome Pamona CA native Joel McCrea over John Loder any day. McCrea would go on to westerns in his later life and was regarded as one of Hollywood's top horsemen. The chemistry between McCrea and Wray seems more romantic than the latter pairing.

Favorite WTF moments are a floating head in the dungeon of Kreiger and some statuary homage to the carnivorous hunting dogs that will play such an important role in the end of the film. Kreiger's sporting a Harry Potter-esque scar on his forehead that "flares" up every once in a while to somewhat give reason to his craziness. His accent, at times, reminds me of Ludwig Von Drake, the German accented duck (voiced by Paul Frees) in all the Disney educational films. I love the make up on him too, including a couple of white stripes in his hair. 

AGOD Knocker

TMDG Knocker

This story has be done and re-done so many times since. I first remember the plot line as a kid on an old Lost in Space episode, and then later on Gilligan's Island. More recently The Simpsons even had Mr. Burns hunting the crew from the power plant. Other feature re-makes are out there too; Race for the Sun, Bloodsport, Gymkata, and The Predators.

All in all stick with the original. Although I haven't screened Run for the Sun just yet (Available on Netflix), I'd bet dollar to doughnuts that it also will not be as good as the original. I guess that will be in a future blog. It was very difficult to find an actual trailer for the films, but I did come across this delightful student project from a 8th grade class. (I adore that they're ALL wearing evil mustaches.) Enjoy!