A Game of Death

Last updated
A Game of Death
A Game of Death (1945) poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Wise
Written by Norman Houston
Based on"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
Produced by Herman Schlom
Starring John Loder
Cinematography J. Roy Hunt
Edited byJ.R. Whittredge
Music by Paul Sawtell
Production
company
RKO Radio Pictures
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • November 23, 1945 (1945-11-23)(U.S. [1] )
Running time
72 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Game of Death is a 1945 American adventure film directed by Robert Wise and starring John Loder and Audrey Long. It is a remake of Richard Connell's 1924 short story "The Most Dangerous Game" about a madman who hunts human prey on his island. In the original story and in the 1932 film adaptation, the madman is Russian, but in the 1945 version, he is German.

Contents

Cast

Production

The film was originally called The Most Dangerous Game. [2] Audrey Long was signed in January 1945, [3] and Edgar Garrier joined shortly afterward. [4] The film uses outtakes from RKO's 1932 production of The Most Dangerous Game with Joel McCrea and Fay Wray.

Related Research Articles

Robert Florey was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Mature</span> American actor (1913–1999)

Victor John Mature was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include One Million B.C. (1940), My Darling Clementine (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1953). He also appeared in many musicals opposite such stars as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Most Dangerous Game</span> 1924 short story by Richard Connell

"The Most Dangerous Game", also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff", is a short story by Richard Connell, first published in Collier's on January 19, 1924, with illustrations by Wilmot Emerton Heitland. The story features a big-game hunter from New York City who falls from a yacht and swims to what seems to be an abandoned and isolated island in the Caribbean, where he is hunted by a Russian aristocrat. The story is inspired by the big-game hunting safaris in Africa and South America that were particularly fashionable among wealthy Americans in the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Ryan</span> American actor (1909–1973)

Robert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film noir drama Crossfire (1947).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Tierney</span> American actor (1919–2002)

Lawrence James Tierney was an American film and television actor who is best known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and tough guys in a career that spanned over 50 years. His roles mirrored his own frequent brushes with the law. In 2005, film critic David Kehr of The New York Times described "the hulking Tierney" as "not so much an actor as a frightening force of nature".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Holt</span> American actor (1919–1973)

Charles John "Tim" Holt III was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures.

<i>Virginia City</i> (film) 1940 film directed by Michael Curtiz

Virginia City is a 1940 American Western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins, Randolph Scott, and a mustachioed Humphrey Bogart in the role of the real-life outlaw John Murrell. Based on a screenplay by Robert Buckner, the film is about a Union officer who escapes from a Confederate prison and is sent to Virginia City from where his former prison commander is planning to send five million dollars in gold to Virginia to save the Confederacy. The film premiered in its namesake, Virginia City, Nevada. The film was shot in black and white (sepiatone).

Edward Small was an American film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movies The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), The Man in the Iron Mask (1939), The Corsican Brothers (1941), Brewster's Millions (1945), Raw Deal (1948), Black Magic (1949), Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Solomon and Sheba (1959).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Armstrong (actor)</span> American actor (1890–1973)

Robert William Armstrong was an American film and television actor remembered for his role as Carl Denham in the 1933 version of King Kong by RKO Pictures. He delivered the film's famous final line: "It wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast."

<i>Lady Luck</i> (1946 film) 1946 film

Lady Luck is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin and starring Robert Young, Barbara Hale and Frank Morgan. It was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures. The picture tells the story of a professional gambler who falls in love with a woman who hates gambling and tries to reform him.

<i>The Window</i> (1949 film) 1949 film by Ted Tetzlaff

The Window is a 1949 American black-and-white film noir, based on the short story "The Boy Cried Murder" by Cornell Woolrich, about a lying boy who witnesses a killing but is not believed. The film, a critical success that was shot on location in New York City, was produced by Frederic Ullman Jr. for $210,000 but earned much more, making it a box-office hit for RKO Pictures. The film was directed by Ted Tetzlaff, who worked as a cinematographer on over 100 films, including another successful suspense film, Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946). For his performances in this film and in So Dear to My Heart, Bobby Driscoll was presented with a miniature Oscar statuette as the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949 at the 1950 Academy Awards ceremony.

<i>The Las Vegas Story</i> (film) 1952 film by Robert Stevenson

The Las Vegas Story is a 1952 American suspense film noir starring Jane Russell and Victor Mature, directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Robert Sparks and Howard Hughes with Samuel Bischoff as the executive producer.

<i>The Most Dangerous Game</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

The Most Dangerous Game is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel, starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray and Leslie Banks.

<i>The Sun Also Rises</i> (1957 film) 1957 film by Henry King

The Sun Also Rises is a 1957 American drama film adaptation of the 1926 Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name directed by Henry King. The screenplay was written by Peter Viertel and it starred Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, and Errol Flynn. Much of it was filmed on location in France and Spain as well as Mexico in Cinemascope and color by Deluxe. A highlight of the film is the famous "running of the bulls" in Pamplona, Spain and two bullfights.

<i>A Dangerous Profession</i> 1949 film by Ted Tetzlaff

A Dangerous Profession is a 1949 American film noir directed by Ted Tetzlaff, written by Warren Duff and Martin Rackin, and starring George Raft, Ella Raines, and Pat O'Brien. The supporting cast features Jim Backus.

<i>Three Men on a Horse</i>

Three Men on a Horse is a three-act farce co-authored by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. The comedy focuses on a man who discovers he has a talent for choosing the winning horse in a race as long as he never places a bet himself. Originally titled Hobby Horse by John Cecil Holm, Three Men On A Horse was a property controlled and produced by Alex Yokel, who reached out to Warner Bros. for financial assistance; Warners agreed to provide financing on the condition Yokel find someone to doctor the script and direct the Broadway production. George Abbott, the director, who had since 1932 directed and produced each of his Broadway productions, immediately saw the potential and rewrote the script and agreed to direct if he received co-author credit and split the author's royalties with Holm. Abbott wrote a third act, resulting in a new three-act play titled Three Men on a Horse.

<i>Easy Living</i> (1949 film) 1949 film

Easy Living is a 1949 American drama film directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Victor Mature, Lucille Ball and Lizabeth Scott. The film features the real-life Los Angeles Rams football team.

Seymour Nebenzal was an American-born Jewish-German film producer. He produced 46 films between 1927 and 1961.

<i>The Petty Girl</i> 1950 film by Henry Levin

The Petty Girl (1950), known in the UK as Girl of the Year, is a musical romantic comedy Technicolor film starring Robert Cummings and Joan Caulfield. Cummings portrays painter George Petty who falls for Victoria Braymore (Caulfield), the youngest professor at Braymore College who eventually becomes "The Petty Girl".

Adaptations of <i>The Most Dangerous Game</i>

"The Most Dangerous Game" is a highly influential 1924 short story by Richard Connell. It tells the story of big-game hunter Sanger Rainsford becoming the hunted when trapped on a jungle island owned by General Zaroff, a Russian aristocrat who has turned to hunting man after growing bored of hunting animals. This story has been adapted into many works across many forms of media, including film, radio, television, and others.

References

  1. "A Game of Death: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  2. Of Local Origin - The New York Times. November 20, 1945: 18.
  3. Screen News; Karloff Will Continue 'Horror' Roles at RKO Of Local Origin. The New York Times . January 18, 1945: 15.
  4. News of the Screen: Bogart and Stanwyck Will Star in 'Fountainhead'-- 'Moscow Skies' Due at the Stanley Today. The New York Times . January 20, 1945: 16.