1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,000 Suspense. 2 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:28,480 This is the man in black, here again to introduce Columbia's program, Suspense. 3 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:34,040 From Hollywood, we bring you as star, Mr. Orson Welles, who this evening begins a four-week 4 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,560 engagement as guest of these proceedings. 5 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:42,440 In the interest of crime suspense, Mr. Welles and the producer of this series have scheduled 6 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:48,520 four radio stories which they feel are particularly distinguished in our chosen field. 7 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:53,560 The first of these is The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Garnel. 8 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,840 And so with the performance of Orson Welles and the character of General Zoroff and Keenan 9 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:04,280 Wynn as Sanger Rainsford, who learned from Zoroff what was the most dangerous game, we 10 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:08,280 again hope to keep you in suspense. 11 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:25,600 I haven't much time. 12 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,320 Any moment now he may come in and when he does, I'm going to kill him. 13 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:30,320 It's him or me. 14 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:33,480 And I'm going to do my best to make it him. 15 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:35,400 Or maybe it sounds crazy to you. 16 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:36,400 I guess it does. 17 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:41,200 It would have sounded crazy to me a few days ago when I was with Whitney on the yacht. 18 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:42,880 I was on a pleasure trip. 19 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:44,640 A pleasure trip. 20 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:50,280 How were I, how could I, or anyone realize then the horror and torment I was to go through. 21 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:55,000 How was I to know of Yvonne and the death swamp and the hounds? 22 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:56,000 How was I to know of Zoroff? 23 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:57,000 Think of it. 24 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:02,720 It was only four nights ago that the ship went down. 25 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:06,360 We'd been talking about this island, Ship Trap Island with Whitney, said it was called on 26 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:07,360 the charts. 27 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,760 I was sleepy and started on down below to turn in. 28 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,080 I was mixing myself a nightcap when I looked up and saw it. 29 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,520 A tremendous reef racing at us out of the fog. 30 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:18,520 I screamed out a warning, but it was too late. 31 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:19,520 We were right upon it. 32 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:43,520 The ship exploded right on top of Whitney and members of the crew. 33 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,920 I alone was standing safe out on the prow, but the force of the explosion hurled me into 34 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:47,920 the blood-warm waters. 35 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:52,160 Terrified at the suddenness and surprise, my stomach weakened sick at the thought of the 36 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:53,160 others. 37 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,800 The sea was eddying furiously around the sinking remnants of the ship. 38 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:01,400 And a certain cool headiness came to me and made me swim desperately away, or I might 39 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:04,640 not have lived to go through the horror which was soon to come. 40 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:07,640 I struck out to the right in the direction of the island about which Whitney had been 41 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:08,640 telling me. 42 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:13,640 I had no recollection of how long I swam, but all at once I heard the muttering and growling 43 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:14,640 of the sea breaking on the rocky shore. 44 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:21,640 With my remaining strength, I dragged myself from the swirling waters. 45 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:25,840 All in, gasping, my hands raw, I at last reached a flat place at the top. 46 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,840 I flung myself down at the jungle edge and tumbled headlong into the deepest sleep of 47 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:31,840 my life. 48 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:43,840 When I awoke, I was in a strange place, having no idea how I had done it. 49 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:48,120 Well, Yvonne, our friend seems to be awakening. 50 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,800 Where is this? 51 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:52,800 Where am I? 52 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,200 Do not be alarmed, my friend. 53 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:03,600 My man Yvonne found you out on the cliff and brought you here to be taken care of. 54 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:04,920 Thank God there's life on this island. 55 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:06,920 I hardly believed. 56 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:07,920 Few people do. 57 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,000 Yes, you are quite safe here in my castle, Mr. 58 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:13,000 Rainsford. 59 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,440 I'm Sanger Rainsford of New York. 60 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:16,440 Rainsford. 61 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:17,440 Sanger Rainsford? 62 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:18,440 Yes. 63 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:27,320 Well, it is indeed a very great pleasure and honor to welcome you, Mr. Sanger Rainsford. 64 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,760 You're the celebrated hunter, are you not? 65 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:30,760 Yes, yes. 66 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:31,760 You know me? 67 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:34,200 By reputation only. 68 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:38,240 I've read your book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet, you see. 69 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:39,960 My name is General Zaroff. 70 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,120 I am not English, Mr. Rainsford, but I went to a good school. 71 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,240 Perhaps you recognize the colors of my tie. 72 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,400 No, it makes no difference. 73 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,600 I've lived too long in the jungle to be a snob. 74 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:51,600 Well, I... 75 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:52,600 Well... 76 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:55,240 I can't tell you how happy I am to meet you, General. 77 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,840 And I can't tell you how happy I am to meet you, Mr. Rainsford. 78 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:00,920 But come, we shouldn't be chatting here. 79 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:01,920 We can talk later. 80 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:02,920 You must be hungry. 81 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:03,920 Yes, I am rather. 82 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:04,920 What? 83 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:10,120 Ivan thought you'd like a robe, he's drying your clothes for you. 84 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:11,120 Oh, thank you. 85 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,640 Ivan is an incredibly strong fellow, but you mustn't mind his looks. 86 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:17,640 His ears were cut off in battle, and he has the misfortune to be deaf and dumb. 87 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:19,400 He is sensitive about his appearance. 88 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:24,520 A simple fellow, really, but I'm afraid a bit savage. 89 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:26,520 He's been in our family for years. 90 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,240 Follow Ivan, if you please, Mr. Rainsford. 91 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:31,880 I was about to have my luncheon just before you awoke. 92 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,120 We can have it together now. 93 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:36,560 Does the robe fit you all right? 94 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:37,960 Oh, yes, yes, perfectly, thanks. 95 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:38,960 I am so glad. 96 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:41,520 You have quite a collection of heads here. 97 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,920 Lions, tigers, elephants, moose, bears. 98 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,280 I don't believe I've ever seen a more perfect specimen. 99 00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:48,280 They are nice. 100 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:49,280 I take great pride in them. 101 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:51,000 You have good cause. 102 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,160 Coming from you, Mr. Rainsford, that is a great compliment. 103 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:54,160 And here we are. 104 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:55,160 You sit over there. 105 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:56,160 Thank you. 106 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:57,160 Mr. Tor, Ivan. 107 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:02,880 We do our best to preserve the amenities of civilization here. 108 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:03,880 Please forgive my in lapses. 109 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:04,880 Of course. 110 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:05,880 Yes. 111 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:08,880 Well off the beaten track, you know. 112 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:10,880 Shoo, shoo. 113 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:12,880 Shoo, shoo. 114 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:14,880 Shoo, shoo. 115 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:19,160 This is my little pet, Mr. Rainsford. 116 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:23,880 As a hunting falcon, Shoo, Shoo is of no further usefulness in the field. 117 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,160 But I am fond of its company. 118 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,160 Am I not, little sweetheart? 119 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:31,480 Patience, my darling. 120 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,000 I know you're hungry, my dear. 121 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:35,000 We hunt tonight. 122 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:39,680 Your, uh, your head's a really remarkable general. 123 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:42,840 That, uh, that Cape Buffalo is the largest I've ever seen. 124 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:44,800 Ah, that fellow, he's a monster. 125 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:45,800 Did he charge you? 126 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,600 Hurled me against a tree, fractured my skull, left me the scar. 127 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:50,600 And I got the brute. 128 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:55,120 I've, uh, I've always thought the Cape Buffalo is the most dangerous of all games. 129 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,320 Ah, no, no, you're wrong. 130 00:06:57,320 --> 00:06:59,200 Wrong, sir. 131 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:03,080 The Cape Buffalo is not the most dangerous game. 132 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:05,160 Yvonne, the wine. 133 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:06,960 Oh, no, oh. 134 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:07,960 How does he understand you? 135 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:08,960 He reads my lips. 136 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:13,560 If you like the champagne, Mr. Rainsford, Yvonne chills it expertly. 137 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:20,200 Uh, no, no, the, the Cape Buffalo is not the most dangerous game. 138 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:24,840 Here in my preserve on this island, I hunt more dangerous games. 139 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:27,640 Oh, what is there a big game on this island? 140 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:28,640 The biggest. 141 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:29,640 Really? 142 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:33,120 Oh, it isn't here naturally, of course. 143 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:34,600 I have to stock the island. 144 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:36,600 Uh, what have you imported, General? 145 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:37,600 Uh, jaguars? 146 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:38,600 Jaguars. 147 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:39,920 I hope you like filling me in, Mr. Rainsford. 148 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:40,920 I do very much. 149 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:41,920 Thank you. 150 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:42,920 Uh, is it jaguars, General? 151 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:44,680 No, no, no, no. 152 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,040 Hunting jaguars ceased to interest me some years ago. 153 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:50,040 I exhausted their possibilities. 154 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:54,440 You see, I, there's no thrill left in jaguars. 155 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,320 You understand, no real danger. 156 00:07:57,320 --> 00:07:59,520 I live for danger, Mr. Rainsford. 157 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,800 Well, you will have some capital hunting. 158 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:03,800 You and I. 159 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,120 I shall be most glad to have your company. 160 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:07,120 Yes, but what can you? 161 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:08,120 I'll bet you you'll be amused. 162 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:09,120 I know. 163 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:11,760 I think you may say in all modesty that I've done a rare thing. 164 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,680 Yes, I've invented a new sensation. 165 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,840 May I pour you another glass of champagne, Mr. Rainsford? 166 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:19,840 Thank you, General. 167 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:21,480 God makes some men poets. 168 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:22,760 Some he makes kings. 169 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:23,760 Some beggars. 170 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:25,580 But I've inevitable made a hunter. 171 00:08:25,580 --> 00:08:27,560 My hand was made for the trigger. 172 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:31,500 My father once said that, made for the trigger. 173 00:08:31,500 --> 00:08:35,600 My whole life has been one prolonged hunt. 174 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,240 I've hunted every kind of game in every land. 175 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:42,480 It'd be impossible for me to tell you how many animals I've killed, grizzlies, and 176 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:43,480 yore ungefo. 177 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:45,880 Crocodiles and the Ganges, rhinoceroses in the East Africa. 178 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:50,540 Listen, Africa, the way that Cape Buffalo hit me and made me up for six months. 179 00:08:50,540 --> 00:08:53,840 As soon as I recovered, I started to the Amazon to hunt jaguars, 180 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:56,140 but I'd heard they were unusually cunning. 181 00:08:58,140 --> 00:08:58,940 They weren't. 182 00:09:00,340 --> 00:09:03,540 They were no match at all for a hunter with his wits about him, 183 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:04,940 the high-powered rifle. 184 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:07,740 I was bitterly disappointed. 185 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:11,940 Lying in my tent with a splitting headache one night, 186 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:15,040 a terrible thought pushed its way into my head. 187 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,540 Hunting was beginning to bore me. 188 00:09:18,540 --> 00:09:20,540 And hunting, remember, had been my life. 189 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:24,740 I've heard that in America, businessmen often go to pieces 190 00:09:24,740 --> 00:09:27,240 when they give up the business that's been their life. 191 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:28,540 Yes, yes, I think so. 192 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:31,040 I had no wish to go to pieces. 193 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,040 I must do something. 194 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,340 Now, mine is an analytical mind, Mr. Rainsford. 195 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:43,040 Doubtless, that is why I enjoy the problems of the chase. 196 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:44,040 Oh, no doubt, General. 197 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,040 So I ask myself why the hunt no longer fascinated me. 198 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,040 You are much younger than I am, Mr. Rainsford, 199 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,040 and have not hunted as much, but you perhaps can guess the answer. 200 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:52,540 What is it? 201 00:09:52,540 --> 00:09:53,540 Simply this. 202 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:57,040 Hunting had ceased to be what you call a sporting proposition, 203 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:58,540 as it had become too easy. 204 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:00,540 I always got my quarry. 205 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:02,040 Always. 206 00:10:02,540 --> 00:10:05,040 There's no greater bore than perfection. 207 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:05,540 Cigarette? 208 00:10:05,540 --> 00:10:06,040 No, thank you. 209 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,040 No animal had a chance with me anymore. 210 00:10:08,540 --> 00:10:10,040 Not a chance. 211 00:10:10,540 --> 00:10:12,040 That is no boast. 212 00:10:12,540 --> 00:10:14,540 It is a mathematical certainty. 213 00:10:14,540 --> 00:10:17,040 The animal had nothing but his legs and his instinct. 214 00:10:17,540 --> 00:10:20,040 Instinct is no match for reason. 215 00:10:20,540 --> 00:10:22,040 When I thought of this, 216 00:10:22,540 --> 00:10:25,540 it was a tragic moment for me, I can tell you. 217 00:10:26,540 --> 00:10:28,540 It came to me as an inspiration. 218 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:30,040 What I must do. 219 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:31,040 And that was? 220 00:10:32,540 --> 00:10:36,540 I had to invent a new animal to hunt. 221 00:10:36,540 --> 00:10:37,540 A new animal? 222 00:10:37,540 --> 00:10:38,540 Are you joking? 223 00:10:38,540 --> 00:10:39,540 Not at all. 224 00:10:40,540 --> 00:10:42,540 I never joke about hunting. 225 00:10:42,540 --> 00:10:44,040 I needed a new animal. 226 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:45,040 I found one. 227 00:10:46,540 --> 00:10:48,540 So I bought this island, built this castle, 228 00:10:48,540 --> 00:10:50,040 and here I do my hunting. 229 00:10:50,540 --> 00:10:52,040 The island's perfect for my purposes. 230 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:54,540 There are jungles, the maze of trails in them, 231 00:10:54,540 --> 00:10:56,040 hills, swamps, all kind of... 232 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:57,040 Yes, but the animal... 233 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:58,040 The animal, General Zahra... 234 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:02,040 It surprised me with the most exciting hunting in the world. 235 00:11:03,540 --> 00:11:06,540 No other hunting compares with it for an instant. 236 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:08,540 Every day I hunt. 237 00:11:08,540 --> 00:11:10,540 I never grow a tree. 238 00:11:10,540 --> 00:11:14,040 I hunt. I never grow bored now. 239 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:18,040 For I have a quarry with which I can match my wits. 240 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:19,040 Yes, but you still haven't... 241 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:21,540 I wanted the ideal animal to hunt, so I said, 242 00:11:21,540 --> 00:11:24,540 what are the attributes of an ideal quarry? 243 00:11:25,540 --> 00:11:27,540 And the answer was, of course, 244 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,040 it must have courage, cunning, 245 00:11:31,540 --> 00:11:33,040 and above all, 246 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:36,040 it must be able to reason. 247 00:11:36,540 --> 00:11:38,040 Well, no animal to reason. 248 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:39,040 I never... 249 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:41,040 There is one that can. 250 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,040 One? 251 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:45,040 But you can't mean... 252 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,040 And why not? 253 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:51,040 Well, I... I can't believe you're serious, General Zorov. 254 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:52,040 You're just joking. 255 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:53,040 Joking? 256 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:55,040 I'm quite serious. 257 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:57,040 Speaking about hunting. 258 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,040 Hunting? You're speaking about murder. 259 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,040 Oh, dear me, that unpleasant word. 260 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:05,040 I think I can show you that your scruples are quite ill-founded. 261 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:06,040 Yes? 262 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:08,040 I hunt the scum of the earth. 263 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:12,040 Sailors from tramp ships, laskas, japs, mongrels, 264 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:16,040 a thoroughbred horse, a hound is worth more than a squirrel. 265 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:17,040 But these are men. 266 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,040 Precisely. That is why I use them. 267 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,040 It gives me pleasure. 268 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:28,040 They can reason after a fashion, so they are dangerous. 269 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,040 But where do you get them? 270 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,040 You visit my training school. It is in the cellar. 271 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:36,040 I have about a dozen pupils down there now. 272 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:38,040 They're from the Spanish box Sanlucar, 273 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,040 that had the bad luck to go with the rocks out there. 274 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,040 Very inferior lot, I regret to say. 275 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,040 Poor specimens, more accustomed to the deck than to the jungle. 276 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:49,040 Another glass of minol. 277 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,040 It's a game, you see. 278 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:56,040 Sort of game. I suggest to one of them that we go hunting. 279 00:12:56,040 --> 00:13:01,040 I give him a supply of food and an excellent hunting knife. 280 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:04,040 I give him three hours' start, time to follow, 281 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:08,040 armed only with a pistol of the smallest caliber and range. 282 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:14,040 If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, he wins the game. 283 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:20,040 If I find him, he loses. 284 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,040 Suppose he refuses to be hunted. 285 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,040 I give him his choice, of course. 286 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:30,040 He need not play that game if he does not wish to. 287 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:34,040 If he does not wish to hunt, I turn him over to Ivan. 288 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:40,040 Ivan once had the honor of serving as official knouter to my old king, 289 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,040 and he has his own ideas of sport. 290 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:49,040 Invariably, Mr. Rainsford, invariably they choose the hunt. 291 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:51,040 And if they win? 292 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:55,040 To date, I have not lost. 293 00:13:55,040 --> 00:14:00,040 I do not wish you to think me a braggart, Mr. Rainsford. 294 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:05,040 Many of them afford only the most elementary sort of problem, I assure you. 295 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:09,040 Occasionally I strike a tartar. 296 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:14,040 So, so remembers the tartar, don't you doubt me? 297 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,040 Yes, he almost did win. 298 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:22,040 I eventually had to use the hounds. 299 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:26,040 You see? Wait a moment, I'll open the window. 300 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:29,040 Hello, boys! 301 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,040 Rather good lot, I think. 302 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,040 They're let out at seven every night. 303 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,040 If anyone should try to get into my castle or out of it, 304 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:45,040 something extremely regrettable to curtail. 305 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:47,040 But enough of this, come on. 306 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:52,040 I'll show you a collection of heads I'm quite sure you've never seen before. 307 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:54,040 Join me in the library for coffee. 308 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:57,040 I hope that you will excuse me tonight, General. 309 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,040 I'm really not feeling well at all. 310 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:03,040 Indeed. I know what it is, my old complaint. 311 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:06,040 On you, you boredom, you need some excitement. 312 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,040 Tonight we'll hunt. 313 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:13,040 Hey, Mr. Rainsford, you and I. 314 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,040 You're wrong, General. I won't hunt, I won't murder. 315 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,040 As you wish, my friend. 316 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,040 The choice rests entirely with you. 317 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:26,040 But may I not venture to suggest that you will find my idea of sport 318 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:29,040 more diverting than Ivan's? 319 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:32,040 You... 320 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:33,040 My dear fellow. 321 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,040 You don't mean that you plan to hunt me. 322 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:42,040 My dear fellow, have I not told you, 323 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:46,040 I always mean what I say about hunting. 324 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,040 This is really an inspiration. 325 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:54,040 I drink to a fulmin worthy of my steel at last. 326 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,040 I simply can't believe it. 327 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:59,040 This must be some sort of dream. 328 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:02,040 You'll find the game worse playing, Mr. Rainsford. 329 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,040 Think of it, your brain against mine, your woodcraft against mine, 330 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:09,040 your strength, your stamina against mine, outdoor chess. 331 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:13,040 And the stake is not without value, eh? 332 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:14,040 And if I win... 333 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:16,040 I'll cheerfully acknowledge myself defeated 334 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,040 if I do not find you by midnight of the third day. 335 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,040 My sloop will place you on the mainland nearer town. 336 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:23,040 You can trust me. 337 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,040 I'll give you my word as a gentleman and a sportsman. 338 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:30,040 Of course, you in turn must agree to say nothing of your visit here. 339 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:32,040 I will agree to nothing of the kind. 340 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:34,040 Oh. 341 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,040 Well, in that case. 342 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:39,040 But why discuss that now? 343 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:43,040 Three days hence we can discuss it over a bottle of Ouvrie Coe, unless... 344 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:48,040 Well, your choice, Mr. Rainsford. 345 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:50,040 I'm a hunter. You know my choice. 346 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:53,040 Ilan here will supply you with hunting clothes, food and knife. 347 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,040 I'd suggest you wear moccasins. They leave a poorer trail. 348 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:00,040 I'd suggest too that you avoid the big swamp in the southeast corner of the island. 349 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,040 We call it Death Swamp. 350 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:04,040 This quicksand there. 351 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:07,040 Well, I must beg you to excuse me now. 352 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:10,040 We always take our siesta after our lunch. 353 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:12,040 Don't we, Shoo Shoo? 354 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:18,040 My little pet. You'll hardly have time for a nap, I fear, Mr. Rainsford. 355 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:21,040 You'll want a start, of course. 356 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:24,040 I shall not follow through dusk. 357 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:29,040 Hunting at night is so much more exciting than by day, don't you think? 358 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:33,040 Well, au revoir, Mr. Rainsford. 359 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:36,040 Au revoir. 360 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:52,040 I'd fought my way through the bush for two hours, repeating to myself over and over again, 361 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,040 I must keep my nerve, I must keep my nerve. 362 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:58,040 My whole idea at first was to put distance between the two of you. 363 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:04,040 And at this end I had plunged along through the thicket spurred on by the sharp rowls of something very much like panic. 364 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,040 Now I had got a grip on myself. 365 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,040 I'd stopped. I was taking stock of the situation. 366 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:11,040 I saw that straight flight was futile. 367 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:15,040 Inevitably it would bring me face to face with the sea. 368 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:17,040 Well, I'll give him a trail, I murdered. 369 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:21,040 And I struck off from the rude path I had been following and into the trackless wilderness. 370 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,040 I made a series of intricate loops. I doubled back on my trail again and again, 371 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:28,040 recalling all the lore of the fox hunt, all the dodges of the fox. 372 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:30,040 Night found me exhausted. 373 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:34,040 My hands and face lashed by the branches on a thickly wooded ridge. 374 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:40,040 My need for rest was imperative and I thought, I played the fox, now I must play the cat of the fable. 375 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:44,040 A big tree with a thick trunk and outspread branches was nearby. 376 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:50,040 And taking care not to leave the slightest mark, I climbed up and stretched out among the broad limbs. 377 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,040 Rest brought me new confidence in myself. 378 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:56,040 It brought me new confidence and almost a feeling of security. 379 00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:02,040 Even so expert a hunter as General Zoroff cannot face me here, I assured myself. 380 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:08,040 An apprehensive night crawled slowly by, my mind keenly alert for any sound, any warning. 381 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:10,040 Towards the dawn, an instinct I never knew existed. 382 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:15,040 Like an animal was possessed and held me to look far off in the distance in a wettly direction. 383 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:20,040 Sure enough, following the trail with the sureness of a bloodhound came General Zoroff. 384 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:27,040 Nothing escaped those searching black eyes, no crushed blade of grass, no bent twig, no mark, no matter how fine in the moss. 385 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:32,040 My heart pounding furiously, I slid down quickly from the tree and struck off again into the woods. 386 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:36,040 I knew I had to do something desperate, I knew that I had little time in which to do it. 387 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:42,040 Three hundred yards from my hiding place I stopped where a huge dead tree leaned precariously on a smaller living one. 388 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:48,040 Throwing off my sack of food, I took my knife from its sheath and began to work with all my energy. 389 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:54,040 The job was finished at last, and I threw myself down behind a fallen log three hundred feet away. 390 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,040 I did not have to wait long. 391 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:13,040 Shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, patience, patience my darling, you'll be fed. 392 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:22,040 Rainsford, Rainsford, Rainsford. 393 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:26,040 Got him. 394 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:42,040 Rainsford, if you are within sound of my voice, as I suppose you are, let me congratulate you. 395 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:48,040 Not many men know how to make a male-eye mancatcher. 396 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:52,040 Luckily for me, I too have hunted in Malacca. 397 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:56,040 You are proving interesting, Mr. Rainsford. 398 00:20:56,040 --> 00:21:00,040 Hmm, very interesting. 399 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:04,040 The tree brushed my shoulders, I jumped back. 400 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:06,040 I'm going to have a wound rest. 401 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,040 So does flight. 402 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:12,040 I shall be back, Mr. Rainsford. 403 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:22,040 I shall be back. 404 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:26,040 It was flight now, a desperate, hopeless flight that carried me on for hours. 405 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:28,040 I don't know where I got the strength. 406 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:32,040 I kept telling myself over and over again that I must keep my nerve. 407 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,040 That I was competing with a monster, a super huntsman. 408 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:39,040 Dust came, then darkness, and still I managed to press on. 409 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:44,040 The ground grew softer under my moccasins, the vegetation grew rancor, denser. 410 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:46,040 Insects bit at me savagely. 411 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:50,040 Suddenly as I stepped forward, my foot sank into the ooze. 412 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:55,040 I tried to wrench it back, but the muck sucked viciously at my foot like a giant leech. 413 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:57,040 With a violent amity, I tore my foot loose. 414 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:59,040 I knew where I was then. 415 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,040 Death's swamp and its quicksand. 416 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,040 The softness of the earth had given me an idea. 417 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:10,040 I stepped back from the quicksand a dozen feet or so and began to dig. 418 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:17,040 When the pit was above my shoulders, I climbed out and from some hard saplings cut stakes and sharpened them to fine points. 419 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:21,040 These stakes I planted in the bottom of the pit with the point sticking upwards. 420 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:26,040 As fast as I could, I wove a rough carpet of weeds and branches and with it covered the mouth of the pit. 421 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:31,040 And wet with sweat and aching with tiredness, I crouched behind the stump of a lightning charmed tree. 422 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,040 Oh, I knew Zorop was coming. 423 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,040 I could hear the paddling sound of his feet on the saunter. 424 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,040 Zorop was coming and coming fast. 425 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,040 He was not feeling his way along foot by foot. 426 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,040 Crouching air, I could not see him nor see the pit. 427 00:22:45,040 --> 00:23:08,040 I lived a year and a minute frozen, every muscle tensed. 428 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:11,040 Very good, Rainfuz. 429 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,040 Very good. 430 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,040 You've done well. 431 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:23,040 Your Burmese tiger pit has claimed one of my finest towns. 432 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:27,040 Again you score. 433 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:34,040 I think, Mr. Rainfuz, I'll see what you can do against my whole pack. 434 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,040 I'm going back to get them now. 435 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:49,040 Thank you for a most amusing evening. 436 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:55,040 At daybreak lying near the swamp, I was awakened by a sound that made me know I had new things to learn about fear. 437 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,040 It was a distant sound, faint and wavering. 438 00:23:58,040 --> 00:23:59,040 But I knew it. 439 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:02,040 It was the baying of a pack of hounds. 440 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:03,040 I could do one of two things. 441 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,040 I could stay where I was and wait. 442 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,040 That was suicide. 443 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:08,040 I could flee. 444 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,040 That was postponing the inevitable. 445 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,040 I had put my very last hope into that tiger pit. 446 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,040 For a moment I stood there thinking. 447 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:20,040 All at once an idea that held a wild chance came to me and tightening my belt I headed away from the swamp. 448 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:22,040 The baying of the hounds drew nearer. 449 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,040 They would be on me any minute now. 450 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,040 My mind worked frantically. 451 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:28,040 I thought of a native trick I had learned in Uganda. 452 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:33,040 I caught hold of a springy young sapling and to it fastened my hunting knife with the blade pointing down the trail. 453 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:36,040 With a bit of wild grapevine I tied back the sapling. 454 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:38,040 Then I ran for my life. 455 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:42,040 I raised their tentifying crosses as they heard them and felt the fresh scent. 456 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,040 I knew then how an animal at bay feels. 457 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:46,040 At last I had to stop to get my breath. 458 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,040 The baying of the hounds stopped just as suddenly. 459 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,040 And with it my heart stopped too. 460 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,040 They must have reached the knife. 461 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,040 Excitedly I shunted up a tree and looked back. 462 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:57,040 My pursuers had stopped all right. 463 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:01,040 But the hope that had been in my brain when I climbed died. 464 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:05,040 For in the shallow valley I saw that General Zorok was still on his feet. 465 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,040 But I was not. 466 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:09,040 Apparently he had come along to hold the hounds. 467 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:13,040 The knife driven by the recoil of the springing tree had splintered through his chest. 468 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:16,040 I'd hardly tumbled to the ground when the pack took off to cry again. 469 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:20,040 Nerve, nerve, nerve, nerve I patted aside their shawl. 470 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,040 A blue gap showed between the trees dead ahead. 471 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,040 The hounds were almost on top of me. 472 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,040 I forced myself on towards that gap. 473 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:27,040 I reached it. 474 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:29,040 It was the shore of the sea. 475 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:32,040 Across the cove I could see the gloomy gray stone of the castle. 476 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,040 Twenty feet below me the sea rumbled and hissed. 477 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:36,040 I hesitated. 478 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:37,040 I heard the hounds. 479 00:25:37,040 --> 00:26:00,040 Then I looked far out into the sea. 480 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,040 Oh yes. 481 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,040 The sea was good to me. 482 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,040 And I'm here safe in the General's bedroom waiting for him. 483 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,040 Three days are up and I've eluded him. 484 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,040 But now I must go further. 485 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:16,040 In a moment we will meet, he and I, and he will be unarmed. 486 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:18,040 Only one of us is going to live. 487 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:26,040 You understand that now. 488 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:31,040 Quiet, Shushu. Shushu. 489 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,040 You must be patient dear. 490 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:37,040 You must forgive me. 491 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:42,040 You're hungry, I know. 492 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,040 Shushu. 493 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:45,040 Rainsford. 494 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,040 General. 495 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,040 Rainsford. 496 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:52,040 How on earth did you get here? 497 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:53,040 A swam. 498 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:56,040 I found it easier and quicker than walking through the jungle. 499 00:26:56,040 --> 00:27:00,040 I congratulate you. 500 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,040 Strong. 501 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:03,040 You've won the game. 502 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,040 Oh no, General. 503 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:08,040 I'm still a beast at bay here. 504 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,040 Get ready, General Zaroff. 505 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:11,040 Swords. 506 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:13,040 Yes, two of them. 507 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:16,040 I see. 508 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,040 Oh very good. 509 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:19,040 Very good, Rainsford. 510 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:22,040 One of us then is to furnish a repast for the hounds. 511 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:29,040 The other will sleep in this very excellent bed. 512 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:32,040 Excellent. 513 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:34,040 On guard, Rainsford. 514 00:27:34,040 --> 00:28:03,040 Get ready, General Zaroff. 515 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:24,760 It was just as my late host said it would be. 516 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:43,880 A very excellent bed. 517 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:50,480 And so closes the most dangerous game by Richard Carmel starring Orson Welles, tonight's tale 518 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:57,120 of suspense. 519 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:01,000 Mr. Welles was General Zoroff and Keenan Wynne, Rainesburg. 520 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:06,040 This is your narrator, the man in black who conveys to you Columbia's invitation to spend 521 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:12,800 this half hour in suspense next week, same time when Orson Welles will again be our star 522 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,720 in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story, The Lost Special. 523 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:21,000 The producer of suspense is William Spear who tonight also directed the broadcast and 524 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:25,680 who with Bernard Herman the conductor, Lucian Malawick who composed the original score and 525 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:44,840 Private Jack Anson Trink, the radio author, collaborated on tonight's suspense. 526 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:49,160 This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.