Reading, Short And Deep #017
Eric S. Rabkin and Jesse Willis discuss The Wolf by Guy de Maupassant
The Wolf was first published in French in 1889.
Here’s a link to the PDF of the story.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
Tag: hunting
LibriVox: The Watcher by R.H. Benson
E.F. Benson, A.C. Benson, and R.H. Benson were three brothers, all writers. They wrote weird fiction, Science Fiction and ghost stories.
R.H. Benson, the youngest of the three, started off as a clergyman in the Church of England, but later switched to the Roman Catholic Church and became an assistant to the Pope. An interesting choice since his biological father had been the Archbishop of Canterbury.
This short story of his, The Watcher, is somewhat difficult to classify. Reading it, it sounds like it could almost have been a true story – but it’s from a collection of fifteen stories depicting a fictional priest’s supernatural experiences.
I think it’s an allegory.
But the question is … an allegory for what?
Find out for yourself with Peter Yearsley’s fun reading of it…
The Watcher
By R.H. Benson; Read by Peter Yearsley
1 |MP3| – Approx. 12 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: January 7, 2007
A face in a bush takes delight in the death of a thrush. First published in 1903.
And here’s a |PDF|.
Posted by Jesse Willis
X Minus One: A Gun For Dinosaur based on the short story by L. Sprague de Camp
I was surprised to learn this X-Minus One audio drama had never been posted to SFFaudio before. We’ve talked about L. Sprague de Camp’s A Gun For Dinosaur on the SFFaudio Podcast a couple of times (episodes #055 and #035), but for some reason it had never actually been posted on the website!
Now that I’ve got a copy of the original magazine where the short story was first published, and I’m looking at the fantastic illustrations by Ed Emshwiller, I think I’ve found the perfect time!
X-Minus One – A Gun For Dinosaur
Based on the short story by L. Sprague de Camp; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx.30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC
Broadcast: March 7, 1956
Provider: Internet Archive
In the bloodiest and most ferocious arena of all prehistoric Earth, hunting reptile heavyweights isn’t for human lightweights. First published in the March 1956 issue Galaxy magazine.
And here’s the cover and splash page for Marvel Comics’ Worlds Unknown, which featured a 14 page adaptation of the story:
Posted by Jesse Willis
The SFFaudio Podcast #105 – AUDIOBOOK: The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
The SFFaudio Podcast #105 – a complete and unabridged reading of The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. Narrated by William Coon of Eloquent Voice.
A tempest tossed hunter crawls ashore on a mysterious island only to find his way to a creepy castle inhabited by a Russian Count named Zaroff.
After listening to this wonderful recording I heartily recommend you check out the 1932 RKO film version of The Most Dangerous Game. It has an excellent provenance having been produced by David O. Selznick and Merian C. Cooper. That’s the same team, with the same actors, with the same sets that was later used to make the original King Kong (1933)! The film version of Game adds a couple of characters (most notably a love interest), changes a few scenes, but really keeps the spirit of the piece and adds a haunting and beautiful visual motif. When the hero crawls ashore he meets the lovely Eve (played by Fay Wray) and her drunken brother Martin (Robert Armstrong), who were also shipwrecked. The film opens with a shot of a door with an ornate door knocker in the shape of a wounded centaur that’s carrying a subdued human woman. We see the door knocker once again and then later, inside the castle, the same iconic image is seen upon a mighty tapestry.
So, the wounded centaur is obviously a symbol. But for who or for what?
Now if you think about it, I’m sure you’ll see it, just as I did. Let’s break it down:
1. A centaur is, of course, half-man and half-beast.
2. The wound is from an arrow.
3. The woman in the centaur’s arms is either being rescued or abducted.
That’s almost enough. But it may help to know that, as I figure, the image was inspired by the myth of the centaur Chiron. In one part of the legend of Chiron, he is wounded by Hercules, with the wound’s cause being an arrow. An arrow dipped in the blood of a hydra. And hydra blood (of course) causes a wound that can never heal.
Now here’s the clincher, there’s a character in the film that has a wound that constantly bothers him. Get it?
As one of the reviewers on Archive.org’s page for The Most Dangerous Game put it: “[It’s a] film you can watch again and again.” Another reviewer put it this way:
“I think watching this movie has awakened my latent homicidal tendencies and right now I wanna fart around on an island with a cod Russian accent, wear a black polo neck sweater guzzle the best cognac smoke filterless cigarettes … and im gonna start right now.”
Download the |AVI| of the public domain movie!
Posted by Jesse Willis
BBC R7 & RA.cc: Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
So in following up on that terrific new dramatization of The Most Dangerous Game, you know the one I told you about the other day, I’ve come across a novel with a similar theme. Indeed, this is a novel with a similar legacy to that of Richard Connell’s short story. Consider this…
“One should always hunt an animal in its natural habitat; and the natural habitat of man is – in these days – a town. Chimney pots should be the cover, and the method, snapshots at two hundred yards. My plans are far advanced. I shall not get away alive, but I shall not miss; and that is all that matters to me any longer.” – Rogue Male
Similar to The Most Dangerous Game hey?
But as to the legacy – let me offer these…
First up we need to consider in reverse chronological order David Morrell‘s 1972 novel, First Blood, and the subsequent movie of the same name. Said Morrell: “When I started First Blood back in 1968, I was deeply influenced by Geoffrey Household’s Rogue Male.”
That’s a very strong recommendation in itself.
Then there was a 1976 TV-movie version starring Peter O’Toole (I also recall seeing it advertised as airing on A&E television network back in the 1990s)….
And lastly, in the video department, there was a 1941 film version (directed by Fritz Lang) put out under the title Man Hunt…
As to the audio, I did a search of that handy dandy resource RadioArchive.cc and found there a lovely UNABRIDGED reading of Rogue Male, a novel that was commissioned (and recently re-aired) on BBC Radio 7. I’ve just finished listening to it and I highly recommend it!
SERIOUSLY, be sure give this one a try. It’s totally gripping from the first sentence on. It holds your attention with a combination of great narration (by Michael Jayston), excellent writing (by Geoffrey Household) and historical relevance. It has a feel of a historical novel – giving you a sense of the time and the culture – whilst also meditating on the human mind – especially decision making. It’s not unlike Ken Follett‘s Eye Of The Needle or The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins – it’s that good.
One thing that Rogue Male has, that those others lack, is a nice human-animal friendship. This is essentially a hunting story, rather than a spy story, so it is more singularly focused on those themes and less externalized. I’ve never read a story that depicts what it’s like to stalk an animal (be it human or otherwise) better than this novel does.
Here’s what one of the commenters on the torrent thread said about it:
“This simply has to be one of the best ‘reads’ I will have in 2008. The reader is brilliant and the story suspenseful beyond belief. I listened to it in bed and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout every chapter. Thanks for upping it. This is already in my top 10 audio experiences of all time.”
Rogue Male
By Geoffrey Household; Read by Michael Jayston
15 Broadcasts – Approx. 6 Hours 32 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: 2004
Told in first person by the protagonist, an un-named British sportsman, sets out to see whether he can successfully stalk and prepare to shoot a European dictator. Supposedly interested only in the hunt for its own sake, he convinces himself that he does not intend to actually pull the trigger. First published in paperbook form in 1939.
And, there was a BBC radio drama version too (also available at RadioArchive.cc)!
Rogue Male
Based on the novel by Geoffrey Household; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – Approx. 90 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4
Broadcast: 1989
Starring Simon Cadell and David Googe.
Other radio drama adaptations include:
Suspense – Rogue Male
Based on the novel by Geoffrey Household; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBS Radio
Broadcast: December 31st 1951
Provider: Archive.org
Stars Herbert Marshall and Ben Wright.
Everything For The Boys – Rogue Male
Based on the novel by Geoffrey Household; Adapted by Arch Oboler; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]*
Broadcaster: NBC Radio
Broadcast: 1944
Starring Ronald Colman and Ida Lupino.
*This is a lost broadcast, no known copies now exist.
And I should also mention, that a sequel, Rogue Justice, first published in 1982, was also broadcast on BBC Radio 7 earlier this year as a five-part abridged reading (also read by Jayston).
Neat eh?
Posted by Jesse Willis
Radio Drama Revival: The Most Dangerous Game AUDIO DRAMA
COOL! Fred Greenhalgh, of Radio Drama Revival, was inspired by my post called “The Most Dangerous Meme” to re-adapt Richard Connell’s short story, The Most Dangerous Game, as a new audio drama! Sez Fred:
“Closing the month of September is a production I’m thrilled to share with you. It’s the first work out of a three-part collaboration of FinalRune Productions and the Mad Horse Theater Company. The project took classic old time radio plays and brought them to life with modern day field recording, and what fun it was!
The play today is The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell, which was broadcast originally on Escape! and Suspense.”
As you can see by the pic above, a “modern day field recording” sound is really what this is. I fell deeply in love with this style of audio drama after listening to Roger Gregg’s Infidel. Have a listen!
The Most Dangerous Game
Based on the story by Richard Connell; Adapted by Fred Greenhalgh; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 32 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: Radio Drama Revival
Podcast: September 25th, 2009
Wealthy big-game hunter Sanger Rainsford falls off his boat in the middle of the Caribbean and finds himself on a curious island. He finds the mansion of General Zaroff, a Cossack who has a taste for the hunt, and will go to any extreme to keep himself interested…
Podcast feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/RadioDramaRevival
Posted by Jesse Willis