The channel's here on the chart.
So are the marking lights.
Then what's wrong with them?
Those lights don't seem to be
in just the right place.
They're both a bit out of position,
according to this.
Two light buoys mean a safe channel
between the world over.
"Safe between the world over"
doesn't go in these waters.
Look here. You'll see the water
shoals on the island side...
while the deep soundings
run to the mainland.
Have any of you seen
the captain today?
- No. He wasn't down for dinner.
- No, and he wasn't down for lunch.
He hasn't left the bridge since you
decided to come through the channel.
What are you driving at?
Ever since you gave him those orders
yesterday to cut through these waters...
he's had the jitters.
There's something wrong. I...
Hey, I'm getting nervous myself.
Doc, what do you recommend for nerves?
- Give him a shot of scotch.
- Give the whole bottle.
- No! I've got nerves too.
- Here you are, Doc.
Just what you need.
- Well, maybe you're right.
- And how, boy.
- Good evening, Captain.
- Good evening, sir.
- May I speak with you?
- Why, certainly. Go ahead.
We're heading straight for the channel
between Branca Island and the mainland.
- Good.
- But the lights are just a bit off, according to the chart.
The charts are never up to date in this
part of the Pacific. You know that.
I know, sir, but...
Doesn't Branca Island
mean anything to you?
- Well, not a lot.
- Perhaps if I spoke with Mr. Rainsford...
Bob's not a sailor.
He's a hunter.
He's made many of these trips.
He's young, but he has judgment.
I'll call him.
- Oh, Bob. Bob!
- What is it?
- Come up here, will ya?
- Just a minute.
What's bothering you, Captain?
There are no more coral-reefed, shark-infested
waters in the whole world than these.
Boy! Just take a look at these.
You didn't turn out so hot as a hunter,
Doc, but oh, what a photographer.
If we'd had you to take pictures
on the Sumatran trip...
they might have believed my book.
If you'd had me on the Sumatran trip,
you'd have never had me on this one.
Say, here's a swell one of
the ship, Skipper. What's the matter?
These old sea dogs tell yarns
to kid each other...
and end up
believing it all themselves.
I think that Mr. Rainsford
should know...
that the channel lights aren't just
in the position given on the charts.
Oh. Well, what do you think, fellas?
I think we should turn back
and take the outside course.
We'll go ahead.
Very well, sir.
It's your ship.
"It was the schooner 'Hesperus,'
and she sailed the wintry sea. "
Now, wait a minute, fellas.
Let's talk this over.
- There's no use taking any chances.
- Chances? That's fine talk...
coming from a fella who just got through
slapping tigers in the face.
Get an eyeful of this.
And he talks about taking chances.
Here's the doc charging the enemy
with an unloaded camera.
Get the expression
on Doc's face, Bill.
He looks more frightened
than the tiger.
- He is.
- What'd you have on your mind, Doc?
I'll tell you
what I had on my mind.
I was thinking of the inconsistency
of civilization.
The beast of the jungle killing just
for his existence is called savage.
The man, killing just for sport,
is called civilized.
- Hear! Hear!
- It's a bit contradictory, isn't it?
Now, just a minute.
What makes you think...
it isn't just as much sport
for the animal as it is for the man?
Take that fellow right there,
for instance.
There never was a time
when he couldn't have gotten away.
He didn't want to.
He got interested in hunting me.
He didn't hate me
for stalking him...
any more than I hated him
for trying to charge me.
As a matter of fact,
we admired each other.
Perhaps, but would you change places
with the tiger?
- Well, not now.
- Mm-mm!
Here comes
that bad-luck lady again.
Third time tonight.
- Here. Let me shuffle them.
- Wait a minute. Don't evade the issue.
- Yeah, speak up.
- I asked you a question.
- You did? I forgot.
- Oh, no, you didn't.
I asked you if there'd be
as much sport in the game...
if you were the tiger
instead of the hunter.
- Come on.
- What's your answer now, Bob?
That's something
I'll never have to decide.
Listen here, you fellows.
This world's divided into two kinds
of people... the hunter and the hunted.
Luckily, I'm a hunter.
Nothing can ever change that.
Hang on!
Hello! Hello, down there!
Hello, Engine Room!
- The panel is flooded!
- If the water hits those hot boilers...
Help!
Help!
You trying to drown me?
Where are the others?
See anybody?
Nobody left but us two and...
that fella.
Doc! Help!
- Look!
- Shark!
Ohh! It got me!
Hello!
Is anybody here?
Anybody around, I say.
Oh, hello.
Is this your house?
I'm not trying to break in,
but I've been in a wreck.
Our yacht just sunk
with all hands.
I got ashore and found
your place here by accident.
I'm not trying to intrude,
but I'm in sort of a jam.
Don't you understand
any English?
Lvan does not speak any language.
He has the misfortune
to be dumb.
Oh, hello.
Are you the owner here?
Yes.
Welcome to my poor fortress.
- Fortress?
- It once was.
Built by the Portuguese,
centuries ago.
I have had the ruins restored
to make my home here.
I am Count Zaroff.
My name's Robert Rainsford.
Glad to meet you.
Very glad.
Lvan is a Cossack.
I am afraid, like all my fellow
countrymen, he is a bit of a savage.
Smile, Ivan.
I was trying to make him understand
there'd been a shipwreck in the channel.
But how appalling!
And you mean to say
that you are the only survivor?
Yes, I'm afraid I am.
You're certain?
I'd have never left the spot
if I hadn't been.
The swellest crowd on Earth...
my best friends.
- It's incredible.
- Such things are always incredible.
Death is for others,
not for ourselves.
That is how most
of my other guests have felt.
Your other guests?
You mean this has happened before?
My fellow, we have several survivors
from the last wreck still in the house.
It would seem that this island
were cursed.
That's just what the captain said.
Only he thought
it was uninhabited.
We Cossacks find our inspiration
in solitude.
- Well, it's a break for me, anyway.
- My house is yours.
Oh, by the way. You'll want to change
those wet rags immediately.
Yes. They look
about the way I feel.
Yes.
I have some loose hunting clothes
which I keep for my guests...
that you can possibly
get into.
Lvan will show you
to your room.
- Thank you.
- You'll find a stiff drink there also.
Thanks a lot.
All pleasure is mine.
Come in.
- Ready, Rainsford?
- All set.
I'm afraid
we have finished dinner.
But I have ordered
something for you.
Thanks. I don't feel
like eating, though.
Oh. Well, perhaps later.
Now, then,
what do you say to coffee...
and most charming company?
It is hard to forget
your comrades' fate, I know...
but our feminine guest
is easily perturbed.
If I could beg you to put
a good face upon the matter.
A- Assume a cheerfulness
you may not feel.
- Why, sure. Of course.
- Thank you.
Miss Trowbridge, may I present
Mr. Robert Rainsford.
- Miss Eve Trowbridge.
- How do you do?
- How do you do?
- And her brother, Mr. Martin Trowbridge.
How are you, old chap?
Pretty well shaken up, I guess, huh?
- Coming out of it now, thanks.
- We know how it feels, don't we, Eve?
Indeed we do.
Perhaps Mr. Rainsford would like
some hot coffee.
Oh, yes, of course.
Mr. Rainsford, please sit here.
Vodka, that's the stuff!
One shot'll dry you out quicker
than all the coffee in Java.
Have to toss it off, though.
Like this.
Now, Martin, you don't have
to drink it all tonight, do you?
Don't be ridiculous, sis.
We are victims of circumstance.
Same as Mr. Rainsford.
And if anyone has a right to his liquor,
it's a victim of circumstance.
- Isn't that so, Count?
- Of course, yes.
- You were in a shipwreck too?
- Yes.
Our lifeboat
was the only one saved...
my brother and I
and two sailors.
The count found us on the beach with
nothing but the clothes on our backs.
Those channel lights
must have been shifted.
- I wonder it hasn't been reported.
- Well, we'll report 'em...
just as soon as we get back
to the mainland.
You see, the count
has only one launch...
and that's under repair.
Russians are not
the best mechanics.
I'm afraid we'll have to be patient
a few days longer.
It's all right with me. I feel as if I
were living on borrowed time right now.
Speaking of that,
perhaps now you'll tell us...
a little bit
about who you are.
Just sketchily, you know...
born, married, why I left my last job.
No, no, no, no.
One moment, please.
Mr. Rainsford need never explain
who he is in my house.
We entertain a celebrity,
Miss Trowbridge.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Don't tell me. Let me guess.
I know. Flagpole sitter.
- I know. He wrote some books.
- No, he lived some books.
If I am not mistaken,
this is Mr. Robert Rainsford...
who hunts big game
so adventurously.
Yeah? Here's to ya.
- I've lugged a gun around a little.
- "I've lugged a gun around a little. "
No, I have read your books.
I read all books on hunting.
- A papiroso?
- Thank you.
Only in yours have I found
a sane point of view.
- What do you mean, "sane"?
- Cigarette?
- Hmm? Yeah. Thanks.
- You do not excuse what needs no excuse.
Let me see.
How did you put it?
"Hunting is as much a game
as stud poker...
only the limits are higher. "
- You have put our case perfectly.
- Then you're a hunter yourself?
We are kindred spirits.
It is my one passion.
He sleeps all day
and hunts all night.
And what's more, Rainsford,
he'll have you doing the same thing.
We'll have capital sport together,
I hope.
Don't encourage him.
He's had our two sailors so busy...
chasing around the woods
after flora and fauna...
that we haven't
seen them for three days.
But what do you hunt here?
I'll tell you.
You will be amused, I know.
I have done a rare thing.
I have invented
a new sensation.
Yeah, and is he stingy with it.
What is this sensation, Count?
Mr. Rainsford,
God made some men poets.
Some He made kings,
some beggars.
Me, He made a hunter.
My hand was made for the trigger,
my father told me.
He was a very rich man...
with a quarter of a million acres
in the Crimea, and an ardent sportsman.
When I was only still up high
he gave me my first gun.
- Good for him.
- My life has been one glorious hunt.
It would be impossible for me to tell
you how many animals I have killed.
- But when the revolution...
- Look out.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
Count Zaroff
was so interesting...
I didn't realize the danger.
Oh, it's all right now. What were you
saying about the revolution, Count?
Oh, merely that I escaped
with most of my fortune.
Naturally, I continued to hunt
all over the world.
It was in Africa that the Cape buffalo
gave me this.
That must have been a close call.
Yes. It still bothers me
sometimes.
However, in two months
I was on my way to the Amazon.
I'd heard that the jaguars there
were unusually cunning.
No, no, no.
No sport at all.
Well, conditions
are bad everywhere these days.
One night, as I lay in my tent
with this...
this head of mine...
a terrible thought crept like a snake
into my brain.
Hunting was beginning
to bore me.
Is that such a terrible thought,
Count?
It is, my dear lady, when hunting has
been the whip for all other passions.
When I lost
my love of hunting...
I lost my love of life...
of love.
Well, you seem to have
stood it pretty well.
I even tried to sink myself
to the level of the savage.
I made myself perfect in the use
of the Tartar war bow.
Tartar which?
Tartar war bow...
That one up there.
It's cute.
Even to this day I prefer
to hunt with it...
but alas,
even that was too deadly.
What I needed
was not a new weapon...
but a new animal.
- A new animal?
- Exactly so.
You found one?
Yes.
Here on my island...
I hunt
the most dangerous game.
"The most dangerous game"?
You mean tigers?
Tigers?
No.
The tiger has nothing
but his claws and his fangs.
I heard some queer beast howling back
there along the water. Was that it?
It's no use, Rainsford.
He won't tell.
He won't even let you see
his trophy room...
till he gets ready to take you
on a hunt of the great whatsit.
My one secret. I keep it
as a surprise for my guests...
against the rainy day
of boredom.
You let me in on that game...
and I'll bet you
I go for it.
You know, Rainsford,
he hasn't failed yet.
If he says a thing is good,
it is good.
He's a judge of liquor,
wizard at contract...
plays the piano...
anything you want.
He's a good host
and a good scholar, eh, Count?
Yes, yes.
You want me to go hunting?
You just say the word. We're pals.
We'll have a big party,
get cockeyed and go hunting.
A completely civilized
point of view.
I tell you what you do. You come
to my place in the Adirondacks, see.
We'll have a private car,
liquor and gals on the trip...
and the guides
will make the deers behave.
I think we'd better
change the subject.
All right.
Change the subject.
Oh, I know!
Play the piano, huh?
If you wish.
Good idea. Play the piano.
Leave it to me, and I'll fix everything.
Perhaps the count
doesn't want to play.
There you go, sis,
throwing cold water.
Leave me alone.
I know where the piano is.
I'm perfectly sober.
Charming simplicity.
"Completely civilized,"
did you say?
He talks of wine and women
as a prelude to the hunt.
We barbarians know
that it is after the chase...
and then only
that man revels.
It does seem a bit
like cocktails before breakfast.
Of course, yes. You know the saying
of the Ugandi chieftains...
"Hunt first the enemy,
then the woman. "
That's the savages' idea
everywhere.
It is the natural instinct.
What is woman...
even such a woman as this...
until the blood is quickened
by the kill?
- Oh, I don't know.
- "Oh, I don't know. "
You Americans.
One passion builds upon another.
Kill!
Then love.
When you have known that...
you will have known ecstasy.
Oh, Martin!
Here you see Zaroff,
the keyboard king...
in his Branca Island hour.
Come on, Count.
Now, you show them.
- What do you suggest?
- Oh, just a good tune.
But not highbrow,
like last night.
- Just a good tune, see?
- I see.
Oh, his hunting dogs.
Keep your voice low
and listen.
It isn't true about the launch
needing repairs.
I heard it leave the boathouse
last night. It returned this morning.
You mean he's keeping you
from returning to the mainland?
Yes.
Well, perhaps he enjoys the company
of two very charming people.
Two, maybe.
There were four of us a week ago.
- The other two have disappeared.
- What do you mean?
One night after dinner,
the count took one of our sailors...
down to see his trophy room...
at the foot
of those stone steps.
- That iron door?
- Yes.
Two nights later
he took the other there.
Neither has been seen since.
Have you asked him
about them?
He says they've gone hunting.
Oh, be careful.
He's watching us.
Will you smile,
as if I'd said something funny?
Now look here. You must be mistaken.
Not now.
Applaud.
- Attaboy! Attaboy!
- Thank you.
What did I tell you?
Smacks a mean ivory, eh, Rainsford?
It was splendid.
Don't stop, please.
I'm afraid we have failed to hold
the full attention of our audience.
Well, I expect it's rather difficult
for Mr. Rainsford...
to concentrate on anything
after all he's been through.
My dear lady,
you are pleading for yourself.
I can see the drooping
of those lovely eyes.
Excuse me.
You know, the count's worse
than a family governess.
Every night he sends us off to bed
like naughty children.
Oh, no, my dear. No.
Charming children.
There, you hear that, sis?
Now trot along upstairs
and don't bother us grownups anymore.
Well, after that I guess...
I guess I'll have to go.
- Good night, Mr. Rainsford.
- Good night.
We'll be seeing each other
at breakfast.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Good night, sis. We won't
be seeing each other at breakfast.
Oh, my dear Rainsford,
I have been most inconsiderate.
You must be feeling
the need of sleep too.
- Yes, I am just about all in.
- Then Ivan will show you to your room.
Oh, Martin,
turn in early, please?
Don't worry. The count'll
take care of me, all right.
Indeed I shall.
- Well, good night.
- Good night, sir.
Sleep well.
Oh, uh, well, here's to long life.
A long life.
Tell me, Mr. Trowbridge...
are you also fatigued?
Tired? Me?
You know I'm not.
You know, Rainsford,
we two are just alike.
Up all night and sleep all day.
Well, good night.
Well, what are we
gonna do, huh?
What's the big idea?
I thought that perhaps...
tonight you would like to see
my trophy room?
Your trophy room?
I'm sure
you will find it most...
interesting.
Say, that's a great idea.
Ho-ho. Now we're pals.
No more secrets now, huh?
- We'll make a night of it.
- I hope so, Mr. Trowbridge.
Just you and I... pals.
We'll have fun together, huh?
Precisely, yes.
Fun together.
Attaboy, County, old boy,
old boy, County.
Please let me come in.
I'm sorry to disturb you,
but I'm frightened.
- What was it? Those dogs?
- My brother.
I've been listening for hours
for him to come upstairs.
I've just gone to his room.
He isn't there!
- He's probably somewhere with the count.
- That's just what I'm afraid of.
Count Zaroff is planning something...
about my brother and me.
You don't really think anything
has happened to your brother?
Oh, I don't know,
but we've got to find him.
Won't you help me?
Why, of course I'll help you.
- Where do you think he's gone?
- Where did the others go?
The iron door.
I'll meet you downstairs
in five minutes.
Thank you.
That's queer.
It's unlocked.
Zaroff! He's coming down.
Back here, quick!
Where is my brother?
You killed him!
You killed my brother!
You!
Why, you...
Come, come, my dear Rainsford.
I don't want to treat you
like my other guests.
You and I,
we are hunters.
So that's
your most dangerous game.
Yes. My dear fellow,
I intended to tell you last night...
but you know, Miss Trowbridge...
You hunted him like an animal.
I know what you think,
but you are wrong.
He was sober and fit for sport
when I sent him out.
An hour or two strapped up in here
brought him to his senses.
You raving maniac!
Yes, yes, yes. I'll take it off...
when we've finished.
The stupid fellow tried to escape
through the swamps of Fog Hollow.
You see, when I first began
stocking my island...
many of my guests
thought I was joking...
so I established
this trophy room.
I always bring them here
before the hunt.
An hour with my trophies...
and they usually do their best
to keep away from me.
Where do you get
these poor devils?
Providence provided my island
with dangerous reefs.
But there are light buoys
to mark the safe channel.
They do not always mark it.
- You shifted them.
- Precisely right.
Too bad your yacht
should have suffered...
but at least
it brought us together.
You take half-drowned men
from ships you've wrecked...
and drive them out
to be hunted.
I give them
every consideration...
good food, exercise...
everything to get them
in splendid shape.
- To be shot down in cold blood.
- Oh, no, no.
Oh, I admit,
with this annoying fellow...
but usually I give them
hunting clothes...
a woodsman's knife
and a full day's start.
I even wait until midnight to give them
the full advantage the dark.
And if one eludes me
only till sunrise...
he wins the game.
Suppose he refuses
to be hunted.
Ivan is such an artist
with these.
Invariably, Mr. Rainsford,
invariably they choose to hunt.
And when they win?
To date I have not lost.
Oh, Rainsford, you'll find
this game worth playing.
When the next ship arrives,
we'll have gorgeous sport together.
You murdering rat!
I'm a hunter not an assassin.
Come, Rainsford.
Say you will hunt with me.
Hunt men?
Say you will hunt with me!
No?
What do you think I am?
One, I fear, who dare not
follow his own convictions...
to their logical conclusion.
I'm afraid in this instance,
Mr. Rainsford...
you may have to follow them.
What do you mean?
I shall not wait
for the next ship.
Four o'clock.
The sun is just rising.
Come, Mr. Rainsford.
Let us not waste time.
Ivan.
Your fangs and claws,
Mr. Rainsford.
Bob! Bob!
Lvan.
Bob! Bob, what are they
going to do?
- I'm going to be hunted.
- Oh, no. No, Miss Trowbridge.
Outdoor chess.
His brain against mine.
His good craft against mine.
- And the prize?
- The prize?
You may recall
what I said last evening.
Only after the kill...
does man know
the true ecstasy of love.
Suppose you lose.
If I do not...
What shall I say?..
Find you...
between midnight and sunrise tomorrow,
freedom for both of you.
- I'm going with you.
- No. He'll kill you too.
Not at all.
One does not kill a female animal.
If you lose,
I can easily recapture her alive.
All right.
I'll take her with me then.
We'll set him a trail
he'll remember.
It's only fair to advise you
against Fog Hollow.
Outdoor chess, Mr. Rainsford.
Don't lose your nerve.
We'll beat this thing.
- The others didn't.
- We will.
Come on.
Let's get going.
It seems as though
we've come miles.
Yeah, but three hours
doesn't take you far in this jungle.
Come on.
Let's keep going.
Come on.
Just a little more of this,
then easy downhill going.
We'll soon be safe.
No wonder he was so sure.
This island is no bigger
than a deer park.
Oh, Bob!
Come on, now.
What are we going to do?
We didn't each live through a shipwreck
to let this crazy man hunter worry us.
I shouldn't have come with you.
You might beat him if you were alone.
Alone? And leave you here
with that savage?
Not a chance.
Now we've got to think
of something to worry him.
You'd never get near him.
He'd shoot on sight.
Weapons aren't everything
in the jungle.
Say, did you notice
that leaning tree down there?
- The one we just passed?
- Yes. I want to show you something.
You see? If that supporting branch
were cut away...
this fallen tree would make a perfect
Malay deadfall.
A Malay deadfall? What's that?
A man-killing contraption
the natives use.
It would stop that madman,
all right.
Trouble is, it takes
quite a few hours to build.
He said he wouldn't follow
till midnight.
That's right. If you help me,
I think we'll have time.
Come on.
We'll cut some strong vines.
There. Almost ready.
This bracelet of yours makes
a fine guide ring for my necktie.
He'll have been on his way
almost an hour now.
Look out!
Don't touch that trip line.
You'll have a two-ton tree
down on your back.
- Jungle wood's as heavy as iron.
- Will it really work?
I've never known a living thing
to get by one yet.
Look here.
You touch that trip line...
it'll pull that trigger free.
Once that's loose, there's nothing
to keep the log from coming down.
It'll crash down
and kill anything underneath it.
Look.
We're ready.
Let him come.
Give me that knife.
Come out, Rainsford.
Why prolong it?
I'll not bungle this shot.
You'll never even feel it.
But surely you don't think
that anyone who has hunted leopards...
would follow you
into that ambush?
Oh, very well.
If you choose to play the leopard...
I shall hunt you
like a leopard.
Wait. Maybe it's a trick.
Eve.
Why did he go?
He's playing with us...
like a cat with a mouse.
What do you mean?
You heard him say he'd hunt us
as he'd hunt a leopard.
That means he's gone
for his high-powered rifle.
His rifle?
Oh, Bob, we must get away from here!
- Run, quick!
- Eve, wait.
- No, I tell you, no!
- Don't stop! No!
Wait. That's Fog Hollow ahead.
- Fog Hollow?
- The swamp where he caught the others.
We haven't a chance
of keeping ahead of him there.
- But there's no place else to run.
- That's just what he's counting on.
We've got two hours till dawn. We've got
to use our brains instead of our legs.
But he'll have his rifle.
And we'll have a man trap.
Look.
It makes me dizzy.
Cover this over.
When Mr. Zaroff falls down there,
he'll be all through hunting.
Quick. Gather some leaves and grass.
I'll cut some branches.
Yes. Very good, Rainsford.
Very good.
You have not won yet.
Look at your watch.
Are you looking at it?
Still half an hour till sunrise.
Swamp or no swamp,
we can keep ahead of him that long.
As you are doubtless saying,
the odds are against me.
You have made my rifle useless
in the fog.
You cannot blame me
if I overcome that obstacle.
Those animals I cornered...
now I know how they felt.
Achmed, Miss Trowbridge...
bring her here.
Now!
My dear Rainsford,
I congratulate you.
You have beaten me.
Not yet.
Oh, but of course.
I insist.
Why, you're...
You're not even wounded.
You hit the dog not me.
I took a chance
and went over with him.
A clever trick, Rainsford.
I cheerfully admit defeat.
Here's the key
of the boathouse.
The door is
in the trophy room.
You and Miss Trowbridge
may leave at once.
No!
Ohh!
Bob!
Eve!
The boat! Quick!
Impossible.