WED, AUG 01, 7p:
MBC Interactive Archive Retrospective:
Highlights of World Cinema
THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD
1930s
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
Produced by MERIAN C. COOPER,
Directed by ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK & IRVING PICHEL/1932/63mins.
With Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks
US herald for The Most Dangerous Game, 1932. #MBCarchive
The Most Dangerous Game is a superb, pre-Code action-adventure film. Based upon a famous short story by Richard Connell, it follows big game hunter, Bob Rainsford, (Joel McCrea), as he becomes quarry for another, the opulently deranged Count Zaroff, (floridly played by Leslie Banks). Utilizing some of the amazing sets made for King Kong, the film is sometimes thought of as a place-holder to keep key cast and crew available during Kong's lengthy animation schedule. This included actors Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Noble Johnson and Steve Clemento, as well as editor Archie Marshek, composer Max Steiner, sound effects expert Murray Spivak, illustrators Mario Larrinaga and Byron Crabbe, and optical effects wizards Vernon Walker and Linwood Dunn. The strong story and theme, excellent production values, vigorous action and fast pacing make The Most Dangerous Game an exciting and more than satisfying entertainment after eighty years. Both picture and sound are scrupulously restored in high definition from the original 35mm studio fine grain master positive.
And the short film
THE PLAY HOUSE
By BUSTER KEATON and EDWARD F. CLINE/1921/22mins.
German postcard of Buster Keaton in The Play House, 1921. #MBCarchive
Buster Keaton’s Play House is one of the boldest and most daring films ever made by a Hollywood studio, illustrating that the avant-garde was very much in vogue in the mainstream cinema of the 1920s (and into the 1930s). Buster plays a theatre stagehand but also every other character in the film, not to mention having a hand in every detail of the production, in the ultimate display of early auterism.
With a sneak-peek at the RKO Studios page of the MBC Interactive Archive Project. The 1930s will be revealed soon!
