History Literature / TheMostDangerousGame

* WickedCultured: General Zaroff wears tailored suits, appreciates fine food and wine, reads philosophy [[UsefulNotes/{{Stoicism}} from Marcus Aurelius]], and hums ''Theatre/MadameButterfly'' to himself after Rainsford appears to have got the better of him. Emphasized in the film.

* SurvivalMantra: In the short story, Rainsford keeps himself sane through three straight days of the Count hunting him by chanting “Nerve, nerve, nerve, nerve!”

* TheSpeechless: Ivan doesn't say anything but considering his position as Zaroff's brute he may just not have anything that needs saying.

* BigBad: General Zaroff is the master of HuntingTheMostDangerousGame- growing bored of hunting animals, he hunts humans instead. When Sanger Rainsford gets stranded on his nearly deserted island, Zaroff decides to make him play his sick game, as the prey, and challenges him to survive till sunrise.

The story has been directly adapted for film at least eight times, though only twice under its original title: in 1932, starring Creator/JoelMcCrea as Rainsford and Leslie Banks as Zaroff, and in 2008, with Brian Spangler-Campbell and Mark Motyl, respectively. However, it has been imitated by a vastly greater number of works, and is the source and TropeNamer of the HuntingTheMostDangerousGame plot. ''Zaroff'', a 2019 Franco-Belgian graphic novel, continues the story with Zaroff as the VillainProtagonist facing off a against a group of Irish Mafia hitmen lead by a previous victim's [[MafiaPrincess daughter]].

* AffablyEvil: More so in the movie than in the book, Zaroff is quite ruthless, but he can be very charming and polite when he's not hunting human beings. In both cases he quickly slides to FauxAffablyEvil.

-->'''Rainsford''': Is he Russian?
-->'''Zaroff''': He is a Cossack. So am I.
* CassandraTruth: Rainsford laughs off the yacht's crew's jumpiness about Zaroff's island.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Zaroff casually converses with Rainsford about hunting and killing others.

-->"Ivan is an incredibly strong fellow... A simple fellow, but, I'm afraid, like all his race, a bit of a savage."
-->"Is he Russian?"
-->"He is a [[UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}} Cossack]]," said the general, and his smile showed red lips and pointed teeth. "So am I."

* MirrorCharacter: As Zaroff himself notes when they first meet, Zaroff and Rainsford are both [[EgomaniacHunter Egomaniac]] {{Great White Hunter}}s from refined backgrounds (at least more than common sailors) who are so skilled they [[VictoryIsBoring find it difficult to find a challenge]]. The main difference is Rainsford draws the line at hunting and killing people, while Zaroff does not.

The story has been directly adapted for film at least eight times, though only twice under its original title: in 1932, starring Creator/JoelMcCrea as Rainsford and Leslie Banks as Zaroff, and in 2008, with Brian Spangler-Campbell and Mark Motyl, respectively. However, it has been imitated by a vastly greater number of works, and is the source and TropeNamer of the HuntingTheMostDangerousGame plot.

"The Most Dangerous Game" (also known as "The Hounds of Zaroff") is a short story by American author Richard Connell, first published in ''Collier's'' magazine in January 1924.

The story has been directly adapted for film at least eight times, though only twice under its original title: in 1932, with Creator/JoelMcCrea as Rainsford and Leslie Banks as Zaroff, and in 2008, with Brian Spangler-Campbell and Mark Motyl, respectively. However, it has been imitated by a vastly greater number of works, and is the source and TropeNamer of the HuntingTheMostDangerousGame plot.

"The Most Dangerous Game" (also known as "The Hounds of Zaroff") is a short story by Richard Connell, first published in ''Collier's'' magazine in January 1924.

[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MostDangerousGamePoster2_8348.jpg]]

Sanger Rainsford, a hunter of big game from New York, falls off his yacht as it passes by a certain Caribbean island with a sinister reputation. Managing to swim ashore, he finds a big mansion occupied by [[BigBad Zaroff]], a bored old Russian general, who describes his one true passion: hunting. The general [[TitleDrop tells]] Rainsford that he has grown bored of hunting animals, and only enjoys HuntingTheMostDangerousGame of all... humans. (The title has a double meaning, referring both to a "game" or contest between the general and his quarry, as well as "game" in the sense of an animal that is hunted.) And Rainsford has just become his next prey.