This famous classic loosely based on a novel by Richard Connell was directed by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack. The first time I've seen more than one director. It was the first film in what would be a long and productive Hollywood career for them both. The story has been retold and remade countless times since the novel "The Hounds of Zaroff" in 1924. I saw the remake with Ice-T when I was a kid. People hunting people for sport. In this case it is the hospitable Count Zaroff who owns an island that he sets up boats to crash on. The count is played by Leslie Banks who is truly scary in this role delivering lots of ominous dialogue. Our hero"Bob" who will save us from "Leslie" is played by Joel McCrea who was also very busy acting in a lot of movies I have never heard of. The picture looks better than some films from the year, but not as good as others with larger budgets like Frankenstein or The Invisible Man. Once the rules are established and the chase is on the tension ramps up and the last half of the movie does not disappoint. I give this a 7 out of 10. It was better than expected and one of the more entertaining classics from the year that is one of my favorites in horror history.
