Antonius Block What a deliciously creepy and suspenseful film this is. We know what's coming, but that doesn't stop us from feeling real tension that builds into a crescendo with an extended hunt sequence in the second half of the film. Leslie Banks is fantastic as the intellectual and cruel Count Zaroff, and Joel McCrea and Fay Wray play their parts well. The film is hokey in places (such as a rather comical fighting/wrestling scene), but that adds to its camp value, as did recognizing some set elements from 'King Kong'. I found it easy to overlook the sillier things because the story itself is so strong – well ahead of its time, and re-used in countless movies and TV shows over the decades. A small example of that is the ending, which may remind modern viewers of 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'.Early on we're given some food for thought with this line: "I was thinking of the inconsistency of civilization. The beast of the jungle, killing just for his existence, is called savage. The man, killing just for sport, is called civilized. It's a bit inconsistent, isn't it?" We get action in the form of a shipwreck and shark attack. We get eeriness and sadism in the Count, as well as a pre-Code ominous hint of intended rape ("Kill! Then love."), and that's all before an exciting game of "outdoor chess". There's a lot to like in this action-packed and fun film.

ala-49478 This is a must see classic for all who love classic films. In a time when big game sport was the top most sport for the elite this movie was ahead of its time by giving audiences the view of the hunted. The question on the boat asking how you would feel if you were the animal being hunted says it all. If you don't know what the movie is about you would venture at this point to guess that it is about a crazed man who has lost the thrill of hunting animals so he takes it to another level by hunting people. He sets up traps in the sea to catch his prey, like a true hunter. Then game on! I would love to see this gem remade... I'm curious how different the public would react since big game hunting is now so controversial.

classicsoncall I don't know if this was the first movie adaptation of the 1924 short story by Richard Connell, (also called "The Hounds of Zaroff"), but it certainly was an effective one. I recall reading once that the sets used for the picture were also used simultaneously for filming the following year's "King Kong", so all the while as Rainsford (Joel McCrae) is being pursued through the jungle I'm expecting some sort of errant dinosaur to pop up. There was that one scene with the crocodile but Rainsford must have known it wouldn't bother him, he and Eve Trowbridge (Fay Wray) just walked right by it.I thought the picture could have done a better job of establishing Count Zaroff's (Leslie Banks) trophy room. It's too bad the longer preview version isn't available, the trivia notes for this movie indicate that scenes were removed for giving movie audiences the creeps back in the day. Of course anything goes today, so it would be neat if the discarded sequences managed to show up again.Early on, the Count establishes that the world is divided between two factions - the hunter and the hunted. It's an interesting concept to dwell on, as today it manifests among nations through the aggressive use of force. Not to get sidetracked, Zaroff pursues his quarry with deadly efficiency, but Rainsford is not one to give up easily. I thought the little traps he set for the Count were fairly clever, proving that the prey was every bit as cunning as the hunter.I had to chuckle a bit though near the end of the story as I thought about an earlier mention that the island was 'no bigger than a deer park'. As Rainsford and Eve made their way out of Fog Hollow and approached the giant rapids, I thought to myself that this was a pretty large deer park.There's somewhat of a 1961 remake of this story with a movie titled "Bloodlust" which has an unintended comic element that fortunately didn't manifest in this story. In "Bloodlust" there are four potential victims for the mad hunter and a much more detailed trophy cave for his victims. But the thing is, in any scene where the hunter is in conversation with his intended prey, they could have easily jumped him to end the story right then and there. In this version there's a lot more suspense and intrigue before Count Zaroff meets his defeat and quite literally goes to the dogs.

AaronCapenBanner Leslie Banks stars as Count Zaroff, who is a mad hunter living on an isolated island. He likes to hunt any human being unfortunate enough to come ashore, and even has a trophy room where he displays his gruesome kills. A new quarry comes ashore when luxury cruise ship survivor Bob Rainesford(played by Joel McCrea) is at first welcomed, where he meets fellow castaways Eve(played by Fay Wray) and her brother Martin(played by Robert Armstrong), but will soon be shocked to find themselves in a life and death struggle with Zaroff in his jungle lair. Surprisingly potent film holds up well today. Plot may be obvious but acting and direction is solid, making this an effective, thought-provoking adventure.