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A Game of Death (1945)

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MonsterGuy95	A Game of Death (1945)	Lead	[-]
Oct 23 11 1:43 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I only found about his film today. A remake of the 1932 classic "The Most Dangerous Game", is this film good, anyone seen it?
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Rick		#1	[-]
Oct 23 11 2:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's been a while, but as I recall, it's not bad, has a bit of that RKO/Lewton feel. But not a patch on the original.
PhantomXCI		#2	[-]
Oct 23 11 4:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I haven't seen it since the late '70s. As I recall, it was pretty thread-bare, and (merit-wise) had more in common with THE BRIGHTON STRANGLER and GENIUS AT WORK than it did with Val Lewton.
dcwillis9		#3	[-]
Oct 24 11 12:17 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It has been too long since I've seen either version. Filmfax, however, had a good, pretty thorough article comparing the two recently....
MonsterGuy95		#4	[-]
Oct 24 11 11:19 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Ok got it today. Looked through it, nice but use of LOTS of footage lifted from the 1932 version. The ending is virtually identical though only SPOILER ALERT Zarnoff is killed with a gun, not an arrow in this version.
Ray Faiola		#5	[-]
Oct 24 11 11:41 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have a gorgeous 16mm print. It's definitely worth watching. In addition to Edgar Barrier's neat turn as Kreiger, Paul Sawtell actually wrote a terrific score in place of Steiner's classic original. PS Paramount now owns the picture. Classic Film Scores Restored on CD http://www.chelsearialtostudios.com
TomWeaver999		#6	[-]
Oct 24 11 12:35 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Sue me, I like it a lot, and I bet it'd have more fans if there wasn't the four-star, Hall of Fame adventure classic MOST DANGEROUS GAME (1932) looming large over it. With Noble Johnson (repeating his role in GAME) now looking rather long-in-the-tooth, it's nice to have a rather formidable-looking Gene Roth picking up a bit of the slack. The way Roth says "ja wohl" now and then, and calls Edgar Barrier "herr," gives a Nazi flavor to their little set-up. It has a few daytime exteriors, unlike the first movie, and I thought it was nicely updated and fleshed-out with a few extra scenes that IMHO are well-done. As I've mentioned here before (stop me when I get too repetitious), an episode of Nick Adams' Western TV series THE REBEL is a MOST DANGEROUS GAME take-off, and they had Barrier again play the hunter; Adams and Mala Powers were the hunted. And if you ask me, the second remake RUN FOR THE SUN (1956) is also quite good.
telegonus		#7	[-]
Oct 24 11 5:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks for the info, Tom. Regharding The Rebel, I mean. You're a treasure trove. Didn't most westerns that ran more than a season have at least one Most Dangerous Game type episode.? No harm in that. I could watch a dozen variations on that theme in a row and probably not get bored so long as they were well done.
TomWeaver999		#8	[-]
Oct 24 11 5:54 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	One of the dopiest TV variations I've seen is a MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. where the hunt takes place in an abandoned section of mid-Manhattan. WTF????
telegonus	77 Sunset Strip	#9	[-]
Oct 24 11 6:15 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	There's a really out there 77 Sunset Strip that features one character, Efrem Zimbalist's, titled Reserved For Mr. Bailey, in which he's tracked down in a small western town by a man he doesn't know, has never seen, never does see...it's really quite good. The unknown tormener's voice can be heard but we never see him.
gene phillips		#10	[-]
Oct 24 11 6:22 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	TIME TUNNEL did one too. I've been told that it recycled, as many other episodes did, footage from other sources, though I dunno if it used any of the above-named films. NATURALISTIC! UNCANNY! MARVELOUS!
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robertg		#11	[-]
Oct 24 11 8:42 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Joss Whedon's recent series DOLLHOUSE did a riff on "The Most Dangerous Game" as well. It was the second episode of Season One. In fact, the hunter actually gives his name as "Richard Connell" in the episode.
JoeDoakes		#12	[-]
Oct 24 11 9:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, if you are mentioning most dangerous game reworkings, how could you forget the episode of Gilligan's Island where Rory Calhoun lands to hunt Gilligan and is assisted by Oddjob from the Goldfinger film.
clore103051		#13	[-]
Oct 24 11 9:54 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	telegonus wrote: There's a really out there 77 Sunset Strip that features one character, Efrem Zimbalist's, titled Reserved For Mr. Bailey, in which he's tracked down in a small western town by a man he doesn't know, has never seen, never does see...it's really quite good. The unknown tormener's voice can be heard but we never see him. To this day I'm still positive that the voice belongs to Robert Colbert who was at the studio at the time and had been a guest star on the series at least six times. One of those appearances was on another exceptional episode titled "The Attic." The Bailey episode was directed by Montgomery Pittman who also helmed the episode of TWILIGHT ZONE titled "The Grave." I remember staying up late in 1963 to see another variation on "The Most Dangerous Game" titled BLOODLUST. This was the kind of film that showed up on late night TV only a couple of years after being in theaters and in the meantime Robert Reed was at least now known for THE DEFENDERS so that was mentioned in the small "TV Guide" ad. It was actually the first version of the tale that I had seen. Now that I think about it, I saw A GAME OF DEATH and RUN FOR THE SUN long before I ever caught up to THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. When I finally did catch up to the latter, I was so annoyed by Robert Armstrong's character that I was rooting for Zaroff.
Rapfred		#14	[-]
Oct 25 11 12:02 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Scarfaced, perpetually haughty George Macready makes a dandy Zaroff figure in JOHNNY ALLEGRO, an otherwise dull 1949 murder meller that takes a sudden turn into MOST DANGEROUS country during its last reel. Unfortunately, his fleet-footed prey is played by the anything-but-allegro George Raft, a ridiculously dapper Rainsford who dodges crossbow arrows in a spiffy suit and snap-brim hat (with nary a wrinkle or frayed thread in sight, natch).
thehorrorboy		#15	[-]
Oct 25 11 6:26 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	An episode of THE INCREDIBLE HULK, "The Snare," featured Bradford Dillman as the Zaroff character. If I'm remembering correctly, the TV GUIDE listing actually began, "In an episode with similarities to the classic short story 'The Most Dangerous Game'..." Did you ever wonder who wrote those TV GUIDE listings anyway?
rvoyttbots		#16	[-]
Oct 25 11 8:50 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I believe Leonard Maltin`s book always gave this the BOMB rating. Anyone remember the name of the other guy who put out a movies on TV book like Maltin`s every year as well? He hated horror/scifi & would give almost every such film a low rating. Last Edited By: rvoyttbots Oct 25 11 8:52 AM. Edited 1 times.
TomWeaver999		#17	[-]
Oct 25 11 9:30 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Steven Scheuer (sp?) maybe? Yeah, even as a teenage movie nut, I just threw his book away after a while. I never got the impression that he (or any of his reviewers) watched the movies. Well, I bet most books with umpty-ump-thousand reviews have a lot that are just guesswork ("GUNS OF SKELETON KNAGGS with Rod Cameron and Gabby Hayes?? ... jeez, never heard of it ... for now, I'll call it a 'fair oater...'"). Occasionally I'll still stumble across a Maltin MOTV review that reads like it was left over from those dark early days.
Jerry Blake Federal Operator 99.thenostalgialeague		#18	[-]
Oct 25 11 11:27 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	clore103051 wrote: telegonus wrote: There's a really out there 77 Sunset Strip that features one character, Efrem Zimbalist's, titled Reserved For Mr. Bailey, in which he's tracked down in a small western town by a man he doesn't know, has never seen, never does see...it's really quite good. The unknown tormener's voice can be heard but we never see him. To this day I'm still positive that the voice belongs to Robert Colbert who was at the studio at the time and had been a guest star on the series at least six times. One of those appearances was on another exceptional episode titled "The Attic." The voice of Efrem Zimbalist's antagonist in "Reserved For Mr. Bailey" wasn't Robert Colbert--it was the British-accented Robert Douglas, who appeared in one other 77 Sunset Strip episode ("Eyewitness") and directed several others (including the excellent Halloween-themed ep "The Rice Estate," which was written, like "Reserved," by Montgomery Pittman). Douglas, of course, was a frequent villain in 1950s swashbuckling films, including Flame and the Arrow with Burt Lancaster. The Files of Jerry Blake: Movie Serial Reviews and Other Cliffhanging Material
thehorrorboy		#19	[-]
Oct 25 11 1:22 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	TomWeaver999 wrote:. Occasionally I'll still stumble across a Maltin MOTV review that reads like it was left over from those dark early days. Years ago, Maltin's book said that DEAD MAN'S EYES featured Chaney Jr. as a mad scientist experimenting with peoples' eyes. Steven H. Schuer, however, was the worst. He called BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, "Way above average for this kind of trash." Gee, thanks, Steve!
clore103051		#20	[-]
Oct 25 11 1:50 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Jerry Blake Federal Operator 99 wrote: The voice of Efrem Zimbalist's antagonist in "Reserved For Mr. Bailey" wasn't Robert Colbert--it was the British-accented Robert Douglas, who appeared in one other 77 Sunset Strip episode ("Eyewitness") and directed several others (including the excellent Halloween-themed ep "The Rice Estate," which was written, like "Reserved," by Montgomery Pittman). Douglas, of course, was a frequent villain in 1950s swashbuckling films, including Flame and the Arrow with Burt Lancaster. Wow, thank you for that. I haven't seen that one since it first aired and I've always wondered about the voice. When the American Life cable channel was running 77 SUNSET STRIP a few years ago, that one was not among the episodes aired - at least not while I had the channel anyway. I did get to see the eps based on STRANGERS ON A TRAIN and DIAL M FOR MURDER though, That was fun, especially since Richard Long, later a regular, was the villain in both.
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A Game of Death (1945)

A Game of Death (1945)