Ernest B. Schoedsack (1893–1979)

Adventurer and wild game hunter Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) is shipwrecked on a remote Pacific island where he discovers the welcoming Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks) living in luxury in a jungle fortress. With Zaroff are survivors from other shipwrecks including the beautiful Eve Trowbridge (Fay Wray). It soon becomes apparent that Zaroff is an insane hunter with an eye for some new and dangerous game to challenge his hunting prowess. This is a first class and much imitated adventure yarn that was shot on the same sets that King Kong would later use and utilising much of the same leading players including the great Fay Wray. Twin directors Irving Pickel and Ernest B. Schoedsack bring an exotic jungle world to vibrant life with ease. They convey a real sense of mystery during the dialogue-driven fortress sequences and imbue the hunt scenes with plenty of action and tension. Joel McCrea and Fay Wray make for a fine leading couple, but it's Leslie Banks as the serpentine, eternally bored Russian aristocrat who steals the film with a glowing, memorable performance. "The Most Dangerous Game" has been remade and the concept recycled on any number of occasions, but this splendid, vivid picture remains the film to beat.… (mehr)