Bloodlust!
About Bloodlust!
Johnny Randall, Betty Scott, Pete Garwood, and Jeanne Perry go ashore on a jungle island after their captain passes out, and Johnny falls into a pit. Dr. Albert Balleau pulls them out, says he came after the war to hunt, and takes them home. They find a tunnel, an acid vat, and a body in a tank; Balleau has already mounted his wife Sandra and the houseguest Dean Gerrard as trophies. He hunts the men with a crossbow, kills Captain Tony with a rigged pistol, and locks the women in until Betty throws a servant into the acid. Jondor drowns in a leech pond, comes back covered in leeches, and kills Balleau.
Cast & crew
More about Bloodlust!
Ralph Brooke wrote, directed, and produced. Bri Murphy Brooke was associate producer and Robert H. Bagley executive producer. Richard E. Cunha photographed. Harold V. McKenzie edited. Michael Terr wrote the music. It was shot in 1959 at Screencraft Studios in Hollywood. Crown International released it. The story uses Richard Connell's 1924 story "The Most Dangerous Game" without a credit.
Themes
Making
Brooke shot the picture in 1959 and sat on it until Crown could pair it with The Devil's Hand. The trophy room, with mounted people, is the set the plot keeps returning to.
Reviews
Boxoffice, on November 20, 1961, said little was left to the imagination, that Graff was unconvincing as the killer, and that the young players were one-dimensional. Margaret Harford, reviewing the co-feature, treated the title itself as the warning and called Graff a mad scientist. Phil Hardy later called it a wretched misuse of Connell's story.
Look
Richard E. Cunha photographed the Hollywood studio island, the pit, and the trophy room.
Music
Michael Terr wrote the score.
Preservation
Prints have circulated on home video since 2001.
Notes
- It opened in San Diego on September 13, 1961, on a double bill with The Devil's Hand. Los Angeles got it on January 10, 1962.
- June Kenney is billed as June Kenny. Eugene Persson is billed as Gene Persson.
- Wilton Graff plays Balleau. Lilyan Chauvin plays Sandra. Robert Reed plays Johnny. Joan Lora plays Jeanne. Walter Brooke plays Dean Gerrard. Troy Patterson plays Captain Tony. Bobby Hall plays Jondor.
- Astral Films released it in Canada in 1963. In October 1963 Westhampton Features, a Desilu division, sold it to television in a 41-film package with The Devil's Hand.
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 used it on September 3, 1994.
Scenes
- Johnny drops into a pit, and Balleau's men haul him out.
- Jondor, covered in leeches, impales Balleau in the trophy room.
Influenced by
- Richard Connell's short story The Most Dangerous Game (1924)
Also available
- Internet Archive (Bloodlust.mpeg)
- Wikimedia Commons (Bloodlust! (1961) by Ralph Brooke 4.webm)
- Elstree Entertainment DVD (United Kingdom, 2001)
Quotes
As other men collect fame and riches, I collect trophies.