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The Most Dangerous Game – Part One
I’m in the stacks at The University of Michigan Graduate Library. It’s 1983 and I am a junior studying the liberal arts. Not of a studious mind, I find bound collections of The Saturday Evening Post in some lost corner of the library. And inside I find… printed gold. On the written page I see “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. It turns out that this story was not to leave my mind for a lifetime. And now I get the opportunity to (in three parts) share a radio edit, a modern musical take on one of my favorite tales of all time.
“They call it Shiptrap Island”
Rainsford in Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”
1924. Colliers Magazine. A Fictional Short Story is Published.
“The Most Dangerous Game” is a classic short story written by Richard Connell. It tells the story of Sanger Rainsford, a big game hunter who finds himself stranded in the Caribbean on the desolate Ship Trap Island. There he squares off against the ruthless General Zaroff, a madman who hunts human beings on his private island.
This tale of survival and hunting is an early forerunner for many novels and movies that came later: The Running Man by Stephen King, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Rollerball starring James Caan, and The Grounding of Group 6 by Julian F Thompson.
The story was adapted into the 1932 movie of the same name directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray and Leslie Banks, and again in 2022 by director Justin Lee.
In 1943, Orson Welles adapted it for the radio show Suspense.
“The Most Dangerous Game” has been called the most popular short story ever written in English. While this may be a stretch, it is certainly one of the most widely read and often anthologized tales in literary history.
Richard Connell
Richard Edward Connell Jr. (October 17, 1893 – November 22, 1949) was an American author and journalist. He is best remembered for his short story “The Most Dangerous Game” (1924). Connell was one of the most popular American short story writers of his time. His stories were published in The Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s magazines. He had equal success as a journalist and screenwriter, and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1942 (Best Original Story) for the movie Meet John Doe (1941), directed by Frank Capra and based on his 1922 short story “A Reputation”.
Connell was born on October 17, 1893, in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of Richard E. Connell and Mary Miller Connell. He began his writing career for The Poughkeepsie Journal and attended Georgetown College for a year before going to Harvard University. While at Harvard, Connell edited The Lampoon and The Crimson. He subsequently worked on the city staff of The New York American and as a copywriter for J. Walter Thompson. Connell served in France with the US Army during World War I. While in the army, he was the editor of his camp’s newspaper. After the war, he turned to writing short stories, and eventually wrote over 300.
Show Playlist – The Most Dangerous Game (Radio Edit)
| Track | Artist | Album | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Believe | Gus Gus | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
| Soothe (Chicane Mix) | Furry Freaks | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
| Burn the Elastic | Violet vs Mantronik | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
| Geomantik | Prana | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
| Cycles of Time | The Acoustic Hoods | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
| Blue (Original and LP Mix) | Doi-Oing | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
Little Bullet (Part One) | Spooky | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
| Botz | Uberzone | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
| Reeferendum | Fluke | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
| Distant Voices (Angel Edit) | Lost Tribe | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
Purple | Gus Gus | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
| Symphony | Hybrid | Northern Exposure East Coast Edition | 2006 |
You lucky radio stations – for finding LTNF you get this fabulous show on your air! Well done!
The Most Dangerous Game (Radio Edit S3 | E137)
A moment in the stacks and U of M… and now a radio show. Could not have anticipated that!
I loved it!! Can’t wait to listen to part 2!!!