The first of many official and unofficial screen versions of Richard Connells The Most Dangerous Game was put together by producer Willis OBrien and directors Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel in 1932. Leslie Banks stars as looney Russian count Zaroff, a renowned big-game hunter who tires of stalking animals and begins hunting down the most dangerous game-human beings. Luring unwary victims to his remote island, Zaroff wines and dines them, gives them a few hours head start to run into the jungle, then hunts them down with rifle and bow and arrow. As his grisly trophy room demonstrates, Zaroff hasnt missed yet. Shipwreck survivors Joel McCrea and Fay Wray are Zaroffs latest quarry. First the hunt, then the revels! declares Zaroff, casting a lecherous eye towards the wide-eyed Ms. Wray. The original Connell story had no heroine, but who wants to watch Joel McCrea lose most of his clothing while scurrying through the jungle. The Most Dangerous Game was filmed on RKOs standing King Kong sets during a lull in the production of that classic film, utilizing most of the Kong personnel (actors Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Noble Johnson, Steve Clemente and Dutch Hendrian; producer OBrien; director Schoedsack; composer Max Steiner). While the plot has been reshaped and recycled many times since 1932, RKOs only official remake of Most Dangerous Game was 1945s A Game of Death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide