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We can't answer definitively, as a fine line exists between remaking a film and ripping it off. Some may even find significant parallels between "Citizen Kane" and "Weekend at Bernie's," although that logic may leave the rest of us scratching our heads. One question in assessing number of remakes is whether to count films adapted from major works of literature. If you do, then contenders abound: "Anna Karenina," "Zorro," "The Three Musketeers," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Dracula," and "Frankenstein" (which spawned that trenchant statement on race relations, "Blackenstein.") Not to mention "Romeo and Juliet" and films with
plots inspired by the play, "Macbeth" and Macbeth-like plots, and "Hamlet." One review of the Jerry Lewis "vehicle" "Cinderfella" cites "The Guinness Book of Film Facts and Feats" in crowning "Cinderella" the most-filmed story. Some cinephiles, however, consider "A Christmas Carol" (aka "Scrooge") the all-time champ. But if you exclude adaptations of literary works, then many agree "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932), in which a big-game hunter targets human beings on his remote island, is the most borrowed-from film.
(And even this was originally a short story.) Remakes and rip-offs (or "homages") include "Run for the Sun," "Bloodlust," "Woman Hunt," "Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity," "Deadly Prey," "Deadly Game," "Final Rounds," "Hard Target," "Surviving the Game," "Escape 2000," "Star Hunter," and "Predator." So there it is. But don't forget, "King
Kong" is coming on strong.
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