History Literature / TheMostDangerousGame

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* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:The climactic battle between Rainsford and Zaroff. Considering the general badassery of both characters, it can be assumed that it was quite a fight.]]

* ShoutOut: When Zaroff thinks he has won the game, he hums "Un Bel Di" from ''Theatre/MadameButterfly''. Appropriately, it's a song about watching the horizon to see if a ship will come in.* TheSocialDarwinist: How General Zaroff justifies hunting people.

* TheSocialDarwinist: How General Zaroff justifies hunting people.

* ShoutOut: When Zaroff thinks he has won the game, he hums "Un Bel Di" from ''Theatre/MadameButterfly''. Appropriately, it's a song about watching the horizon to see if a ship will come in.

* GirlyGirl: Eve, who pretty much does nothing but look pretty. However, she is the first character to notice something is off about Zaroff's island and the circumstances that got everyone stranded there, even before Rainsford admits as much.

* TheChick: Eve, who pretty much does nothing but look pretty. However, she is the first character to notice something is off about Zaroff's island and the circumstances that got everyone stranded there, even before Rainsford admits as much.

* SummonBiggerFish: If the hunt has gone for three days with the hunted still outsmarting Zaroff, the general will release his hunting dogs.

Sanger Rainsford, a hunter of big game from New York, finds himself shipwrecked on an island. 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.

* {{Blackface}}: A very rare inversion, as the actor playing Ivan the Cossack (Noble Johnson) was actually a black man who wore whiteface to play a Cossack. This was easier to do in black-and-white. Also a rare non-comedic example of a black man in whiteface (compare WhiteLikeMe's film examples).

* {{Blackface}}: A very rare inversion, as the actor playing Ivan the Cossack (Noble Johnson) was actually a black man who wore "whiteface" to play a Cossack. This was easier to do in black-and-white.

* 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.

* ScarilyCompetentTracker: As soon as the game begins Rainsford sets out on making the most confounding false trail he can, then covering up his real path. Zaroff finds him anyway.

* TheSocialDarwinist: General Zaroff.

* TastesLikeFriendship: When Rainsford washes ashore on Ship-Trap Island, Zaroff insists on serving him a drink, then dinner, during which they talk about their shared passion for hunting.

* WickedCultured: General Zaroff wears tailored suits, appreciates fine food and wine, and hums ''Theatre/MadameButterfly'' to himself after Rainsford appears to have got the better of him. Emphasized in the film.

-->'''Rainsford''': Is he Russian?"

->'''Zaroff''': [[TheDragon Ivan]] is an incredibly strong fellow, but he has the misfortune to be deaf and dumb. A simple fellow, but, I'm afraid, like all his race, a bit of a savage.
->'''Rainsford''': Is he Russian?"
->'''Zaroff''': He is a Cossack. So am I.

* HotterAndSexier: The film, compared with the original story. Sexual deviance is a major theme of the pre-Code movie. Check out the look of naked lust that Eve gives Rainsford while Zaroff is yammering on in the lounge room.

* ManOfWealthAndTaste: General Zaroff wears suits from one of London's finest tailors, and dines on borsch, filet mignon, and red wine at a table set with the finest linen, crystal, silver, and china.

* EvilCounterpart: Zaroff is what Rainsford would be if he had [[AristocratsAreEvil a lot more money]] and a lot less scruples.

* CurbStompBattle: Possibly. It's left ambiguous, but [[spoiler:given how much time Rainsford potentially had to prepare for his final fight with Zaroff, he could've stolen one of Zaroff's shotguns and blown him away in the opening seconds of the duel. We'll never know as the fight is completely glossed over in the book]].

* WeCanRuleTogether: Zaroff wants Rainsford to hunt with him, and only decides to make him the game after Rainsford refuses.

* 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.