'The Most Dangerous Game' depicts hunter Sanger Rainsford fighting for his life against a sadistic Russian Prince in what is described as a frightening, yet compelling adventure. Although it is not at the dollar theater or on Netflix, BYU students and faculty do not have to go far to watch the classic motion picture and can witness it just in time for the Halloween season.
The Brigham Young University Motion Picture Film Series will screen “The Most Dangerous Game” Friday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and early arrival is encouraged for an assured seat.
The 1932 film comes to the HBLL on Oct. 12Madeleine McCann, a junior from Orem majoring in English, has studied the short story 'The Most Dangerous Game' in class.
'I'm really excited to see the film version because I thought the story was so interesting,' McCann said. 'I've never been to the film festival here on campus, so this will be my first time.'
The film is a 1932 adaptation of Richard Connell’s classic story of a hunter shipwrecked on an island and then hunted by Russian prince. The filmmakers behind the legendary “King Kong,' Merian C. Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, made this film an early standout.
James D'Arc is a curator at the Harold B. Lee library and decides which films will be screened at the festival each year.
'It is a film made just three years after the birth of sound, but its wonderful music score belies its time period,' D'Arc said. 'The fast-moving pace is more akin to films from later years. We are screening it in October because of its chilling aspects. It's a great Halloween film.'
The BYU Motion Picture Archive Film Series is an ongoing series of classic American motion pictures from the permanent collection of the Motion Picture Archive at BYU’s L. Tom Perry Special Collections. The library houses original memorabilia from the film including scripts and other artifacts.
Also showing that evening will be “Chapter Three” of the 1939 series “Dick Tracy’s G-Men.” One chapter will be shown with each of the 15 screenings during the film series season through May 2013.
'We're attempting to replicate what it was like going to the movies at the time these movies were made,' D'Arc said. 'Serials were popular, and you had to come to each one because of the cliff-hanging endings.'
The film festival makes for an enjoyable Halloween celebration, or an evening for friends, family, roommate and couples, and is guaranteed to be a scream.