 Now, Roma Wines, present. Suspense, tonight's most dangerous game starring Joseph Cotton with J. Carol Nash. Suspense is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R-O-M-A, Roma Wines. Those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live. A most interesting woman who extracts all the simple pleasure and happiness possible from living is Elsa Maxwell, International Authority on Hospitality. She offers you some friendly counsel. I am always telling people to take it easy, as they say, to be moderate and natural and at ease. And so obviously I suggest the enjoyment of a glass of Roma California Port after dinner or during the evening. It is also very smart to serve when friends drop in, for this is one of the most glorious of all wines. Richly fruity in flavor with wonderful deep red color, utterly delicious. This is simple enjoyment, easy and restful enjoyment, moderate pleasure that helps you feel calmly at ease. And so happier. Don't bother about special glasses. Just use whatever glasses are convenient and enjoy your wine. You really should act on Miss Maxwell's suggestion. Roma Port, as all Roma wines, is the best that California's magnificent sun-ripened grapes can provide. In glorious flavor, color and aroma is unvaryingly good. Always enjoyable, protected for you by the ancient skill of the noted Roma wineries, located in the choicest vineyard areas of California. Yet all this delight costs you only pennies a glass. Remember, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine. Roma, R-O-M-A, Roma wines. Yes, right now a glassful would be very pleasant, as Roma wines bring you Mr. Joseph Cotton as Sanga Rangford with J. Carol Nash as General Zoroff in the greatest manhunt story written in our time. The most dangerous game, a supreme adventure in suspense. I haven't much time. Any moment now I may come in. When he does, I'm going to kill him. It's him or me, and I'm going to do my best to make it him. Maybe it sounds crazy to you, I guess it does. Would have sounded crazy to me a few days ago when I was laughing and joking with Whitney on the yacht. I was on a pleasure trip. How could I or anyone realize then the horror and torment I was to go through? How was I to know of Ivan and the death swamp and the hounds? How was I to know of Zoroff? Thank God. It was only four nights ago that the ship went down. We'd been talking about the island. Shipcraft Island, Whitney said it was called on the charts. He was sleepy and started on down below to turn in. I was mixing myself and my captain when I looked up and saw it. A tremendous reef racing at us out of the fog. It screamed out a warning, but it was too late. We were right upon it. It exploded right on top of Whitney and the members of the crew. The force of the explosion hurled me into the blood-warm waters. Terrified of this bloodness and surprise, my stomach weak and sick at the thought of the others. The sea was eddying furiously around, sneaking ramparts at the ship, and a certain cool head in it came to me, making me swim desperately away, or I might not have lived to go through the horror which was soon to come. I struck out to the right in the direction of the island Whitney had been telling me about. I had no recollection of how long I swam, but all at once I heard the muttering and growling of the sea breaking on a rocky shore. With my remaining strength, I dragged myself in the swirling waters. Jagged crags appeared to jet up endlessly into the nightingale. All in, jasping, hands raw. I had last reached a flat place at the top. Lunged myself down at the jungle edge, tumbled headlong into the deepest sleep of my life. When I awoke, I was in a strange place, having no idea how I got there. Our friend seems to be awakening. Hm? What? Where is this? Where am I? Where's Whitney? Oh, do not be alarmed, my friend. My man, Ivan, found you on the cliff. He brought you here to be picked up. Oh, that's life on this island. I hardly believed. Well, few people do. Yes, you are quite safe here in my castle, Mr.... Rainsford, I'm Sanger Rainsford of New York, my yacht. Oh, Sanger Rainsford. Well, it is indeed a very great pleasure and an honor to welcome Mr. Sanger Rainsford, the celebrated hunter to my home. You know me? By reputation only. I've read your book about hunting, snow leopards in Tibet. Oh. You see, my name is General Zarov. Well, I can't tell you how happy I am to meet you, General. And I cannot tell you how happy I am to meet you, Mr. Rainsford. What come? We shouldn't be chatting here. We can talk later. You must be hungry. I am, Ruther. What? Well, Ivan, he thought you would like a robe. He's drying your clothes for you. Oh, thank you. Ivan is an incredibly strong fellow, but you must not mind his look. His ears were cut off in battle and he has the misfortune to be deaf and dumb. He is sensitive about his appearance. A simple fellow, really, but I'm afraid a bit savage, though. He has been in our family for years. Uh, uh, uh... Follow Ivan, if you please, Mr. Rainsford. I wasn't afraid. Please, Mr. Rainsford. I was about to have lunch just before you woke, but we can have it together now. Uh, does the robe fit you all right? Oh, yes, yes, perfectly. Thanks. Hmm. You have quite a collection of heads here. Lions, tigers, elephants, moose, bears... I don't believe I've ever seen more perfect specimens. They are nice. I take great pride in them. You have good cards. Well, coming from you, Mr. Rainsford, that is a great compliment. Well, here we are. Uh, if you will sit over there, please. Oh, thank you. All right, Ivan. Well, this stuff looks delicious. Hmm, thank you. Uh, perhaps you were surprised that I recognized your name, Mr. Rainsford. Well, you see, I read all books on hunting. I have but one passion in my life. And it is the hunt. Your heads are really remarkable, General. That Cape Buffalo is the largest I've ever seen. You know, I have always thought that Cape Buffalo is the most dangerous of all games. No, you are wrong, sir. The Cape Buffalo is not the most dangerous game. Ivan, they won. How does he understand you? He reads my lips. Uh, I think you would like the champagne, Mr. Rainsford. You want children expertly. No, the Cape Buffalo is not the most dangerous game. Here in my preserve on this island, I hunt more dangerous games. Is there a big game on this island? The biggest. Really? Oh, it isn't here naturally. Of course, I have to start the island. Oh, well, uh, what have you imported, General? Jaguars? No, nothing. Jaguar ceased to interest me some years ago. I exhausted their possibilities, you see. Only I pour you another gratu-champagne, Mr. Rainsford. Well, thank you, General. Hmm, well, that's good. You know, uh, God makes some import, some he makes king, some beggars. Me, he made a hunter. My hand was made for the trigger my father once said. My whole life has been one prolonged hunt. I have hunted every kind of game in every land. Grizzlies in Iraqis, crocodiles in the Ganges, rhinoceros in East Africa. Ha, jaguars. In the Amazon I hunted jaguars. I heard they were unusually cunning. They weren't. They were no much at all for a hunter with his wits about him and his high-powered rifle. I was bitterly disappointed. I was lying in my tent with his spitting headache one night when a terrible thought pushed its way into my mind. Hunting was beginning to bore me, and hunting, remember, had been my life. This was a tragic moment, was it not, Mr. Rainsford? Well, it must have been indeed, General Zara. Fortunately, that never happened to me. Ah, well, you are much younger than I am, Mr. Rainsford, and you have not hunted much. But you perhaps can guess why they hunt no longer. Fascinated me. You'll have to tell me, General. Well, hunting had ceased to be what you call a sporting proposition. It had become too easy. I always got my quarry always. No animal had a chance with me anymore. The animal had nothing but his legs and his instinct. Instinct is no match for reason. I see. It came to me as an inspiration. What I must do. And that was? Well, I had to invent a new animal to hunt. A new animal? Are you kidding? Not at all. I never joke about hunting. I needed a new animal. I found one, so I bought this island, built this castle, and here I do my hunting. The island is perfect for my purposes. There are jungles with mazes of prails in them hills, swarms. But the animal, General Zara. Well, I wanted the ideal animal to hunt. So I said, what are the attributes of an ideal quarry? Well, the answer was, of course. It must have courage, cunning, and above all, it must be able to reason. But no animal can reason? My dear fellow, there is one that can't. One? One. You can't mean... And why not? I can't believe you're serious, General Zara. You're just joking. Joking? I'm quite serious. I'm speaking about hunting. Hunting? You're speaking of murder? You and me, that don't play those words. But I think I can show you that your scruples are quite ill-founded. I doubt that. I hunt the scum of the earth, sailors from tramp ships, laskers, mongrels. But they are men. Precisely. That is why I use them. They can reason after a fashion. Oh, they are dangerous. But where do you get them? Well, we will visit my training school. It is in the cellar. I have about a dozen pupils locked down there now. They're from the Spanish bark, San Lacal. But I had the bad luck to go on the rocks out there. Well, very inferior. A lot, I forget to say. Another glass? No. You see, it is a game. I suggest to one of them that we go hunting. I give him a supply of food and an excellent hunting knife. I give him two hours' time. If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, he wins the game. If I find him, well, he'll lose it. Suppose he refused to be hunting. Well, I give him his choice, of course. He needs not play that game if he does not wish to. If he does not wish to hunt, I turn him over to Ivan. Ivan used to be the official knelter to my old king. And he has his own ideas of sport. Invariably, Mr. Rensford. Invariably, they choose to hunt. And if they win? Well, to date, I have not lost. Oh, I do not wish to think me a braggart, Mr. Rensford. Many of them, of course, don't need a more elementary sort of problem. Occasionally, I strike a tart out. One almost did win. I eventually had to use the hound. Mr. Hound. Well, this way, please. Come, I will show you. You wait a minute. I'll open the window. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Well, they are a rather good lot, I think, huh? They are let out at seven every night. If anyone should try to get into my castle or out of it, something extremely regrettable with the card to him. But enough of this. Come, I want to show you a collection of heads I am quite sure you have never seen before. Will you join me in the Robertine performance? your hospitality and your rest doing me more than I can say but I well I'm not bored with hunting good good excellent tonight we will hunt then general I wish to leave this island at once tonight we will hunt you and you're wrong general I won't hunt oh I won't murder but it's too bad well as you wish my friend the choice to rest entirely with you but may I not venture to suggest to you that you will find my idea of sport more diverting than you want you don't you you don't mean you plan to hunt my dear fellow if I not told you I always mean what they say about hunting this is really an inspiration I drink to a form and worthy of my steels at last I simply can't believe this must be some sort of a dream by your brain against mine your woodcraft against mine your strength your stamina against mine outdoor chess and the steak is not without value huh and if I win over then I would cheerfully acknowledge myself defeated and if I do not find you by midnight of the third day my slope will place you on the mainland near the town oh you can trust me I will give you my word as a gentleman and a sportsman of course you in turn must agree to say nothing of your visit here I'll agree to nothing of the kind oh well in that case well but why discuss that now three days ends we can discuss it unless well what is your choice I'm a hunter you know my choice good if I'm here or will supply with hunting clothes food and night I suggest you wear Marcus and they leave a poor trail I suggest to that you avoid the big swamp in the northeast corner of the island we call it death swap there's quicksand there well I must beg you to excuse me now I always take a siesta after lunch you will want to start no doubt well or sports or look here isn't there any way I I thought my way through the bush for two hours repeating to myself over and over again I must keep my nerve I must keep my nerve my whole idea at first was to put distance between myself in general Zara often to this end I had plunged along through the ticket spurred on by the sharp rows of something very much like panic now I had got a grip on myself it stopped and was taking stock of the situation I saw that straight flight was future inevitably it would bring me face to face with the sea I'll give him a trail to follow I muttered nice struck off from the rude path I had been following and into the trackless wilderness I made a series of intricate loops I double on my trail again and again recalling all the lore of the fox and all the dodges of the fox might found me exhausted my hands and face lashed by the branches on a thickly wooded ridge my need for rest was imperative and I thought I played the fox now must play the cat of the fable a big tree with a thick trunk about without spread branches was nearby and taking care of the lead not the slightest mark I climbed up and stretched out on one of the broad limbs rest brought me new confidence almost a feeling of security even so expert a hunter's general sort of could not trace me here I assured myself an apprehensive night crawled slowly by my mind keenly alert for any sound any warning and towards the dawn an instinct I never knew existed like like an animal must possess and tell me to look far in the distance in a west of the direction sure enough following the trail with the sureness of a bloodhound came general thought of nothing ain't no searching black eyes and no crushed blade of grass no bent twig no mark no matter how pain in the moss my heart pounding furious last lid down quickly from the tree and stuck off again in the woods and you had to do something desperate I knew I had little time in which to do it 300 yards my hiding place I stopped where a huge dead tree reamed precariously on a smaller living one throwing off my sack of food I took my life from the sheet began to walk with all my energy job was finished at last I threw myself down behind the fallen log a hundred feet away I did not have to wait long sound of my voice as I suppose you are let me congratulate you not many men know how to make a Malay man catcher luckily for me I too have haunted in Malacca you are proving interesting mr. rainfall you are the tree brush my shoulders I jump back I am going to have the wound dressed it is only slight what I shall be back mr. rainfall I shall be back this flight now a desperate hopeless flight to carried me on for hours I don't know where I got the strength I kept telling myself over and over again that I must keep my nerve that I was competing with a monster a super huntsman dust came and darkness and still I managed to press on the ground grew softer under my marks the vegetation who ranker denser insects that bit at me habitually suddenly as I stepped forward my foot back into the ooze my mind sucked viciously at my foot like a giant bleach the pile of effort I took my foot place I knew where I was then death swarming its quicksand the softness of the earth had given me an idea I stepped back from the quicksand it doesn't see the so and again to dig and the pit was above my shoulders I climbed out hard saplings cut steaks and sharpen them to a fine point these steaks I planted in the bottom of the pit with a point sticking up as fast as I could I wore a rough carpet of weeds and branches and with it covered the mouth of the pet then wet with sweat and aching with tires I crouched behind this dump of a lightning charred tree and you thought up was coming at the other paddling sound of feet on the saw right it's not feeling his way along foot by foot he was coming and coming fast crouching there I couldn't see him nor the pit I lived a year in a minute robson every muscle tensed for me tiger pit has climbed one of my finest town again you scored I think Mr. Randford I will see what you can do against my whole pack I'm going back to get them now thank you for the most amusing evening a daybreak lying near the swamp I was awakened by a sound that made me know that I had new things to learn about fear it was a distant sound st. and wavering but I knew it it was the daying of a pack of hounds I could do one of two things I could stay where I wasn't wait that was suicide I could flee that was postponing the inevitable I put my every last hope into that tiger pit for the moment I stood there thinking all at once and an idea that held a wild chance came to me and I think I felt I headed away from the swamp the being of the harm's good near it would be on me any minute now my mind worked frantically I thought of a native trick I had learned in Gandhi a couple of a springy young sapling and twit fastened my hunting knife with the blade pointing down the trade a bit of wild grapevine I tied back the sapling I ran for my life I haven't raised that terrifying twist as if they hit the fresh set I knew then how an animal would bathe feels last I had to stop to get my breath but being the hounds stop just a suckling with it my heart stopped to they must have reached the night I did lay I shitted up a tree and look back my pursuers had stopped all right but the hope that had been in my brain when I climbed die for in the shallow valley I saw the general Zadoff was still on his feet but if on was not apparently he had come along to hold the hound the knife driven by the recoil of the springing tree had splintered through his chest I partly tumbled to the ground when the pack took took up the cry again I panicked as I dashed along a blue gap showed between the trees dead ahead the hounds were almost on top of me I forced myself toward the gap I reached it with the shore of the sea across the cove I could see the gloomy gray stone on Sauron's castle 20 feet below me the sea rumbled and hissed I heard the hounds and I went far out into the sea it's good to me I am here safe in the general's bedroom waiting for him the three days are up and I have eluded him but now I know I must go further in a moment we'll we will meet he and I only one of us is going to live you understand that now general how on earth did you get here swam I found it easier and quicker than walking through your jungle well I congratulate you you have won the game oh no general I'm still a beast at bay here get ready general Zara oh yes two of them oh well I see splendid one of us then is to furnish a rip-up for the hounds the other was sleeping this this very excellent bed and God bring forth a very excellent beard and so closes the most dangerous game by Richard Connell starring Joseph Cotton as Rainsford with J Carol Nash as general Zoroff night study in suspense suspense is produced edited and directed by William Spear probably no woman alive has been hostess to so many famous and distinguished people as Miss Elsa Maxwell this is what she says about Roma wine when you entertain friends you do everything you can think of to add to their enjoyment and that is why I say when you serve your guests Roma wine you not only delight them you also smartly and genuinely flatter them these delicious wines add so much to hospitality and to enjoyment of everyday meals yet it's such a simple easy addition to the joy of living so wholesomely moderate and so inexpensive Miss Maxwell gives you good advice enjoy Roma wine regularly it's California's finest always good unburyingly fine in flavor and quality remember more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine Roma are oh ma Roma wine Joseph Cotton appeared through the courtesy of David O. Selznick and is currently being seen in the Selznick production since you went away J Carol Nash is soon to be seen in the Paramount picture a medal for Benny our thanks also to RKO who began production today on the most dangerous game and through whose cooperation this story was presented tonight on suspense ladies in gentlemen next week you will hear Claire Trevor and Nancy Kelly as co-stars of suspense presented by Roma wine R.O.M.A. made in California for enjoyment throughout the world the broadcasting system