When interviewed about the release of the movie "The Most Dangerous Game" in 1932, its associate producer, Merian Caldwell Cooper (born 1893) replied "man is the most dangerous animal of all". Merian C. Cooper wasn't only known as a filmmaker, actor and producer, he was an officer with the United States Army Air Service and Polish Air Force, who began his fledgling movie career as part of the Explorers Club, traveling the world and thoroughly documenting his adventures.
As a young 6-year-old, he decided that he wanted to become an explorer after reading stories from the book "Explorations and Adventures in Equitorial Africa". Cooper would eventually realise those ambitions. He was also a big game hunter, so when the script for the upcoming movie "The Most Dangerous Game" was presented to him, it obviously appealed greatly to his penchant for adventure, detailing a psychotic big game hunter who deliberately strands a luxury yacht on a remote island, where he plans to hunt its passengers for sport. This movie title has been touted as the inspiration for the Zodiac Killer's wording in the 408 cipher, but it seems that the quote given by Merian C. Cooper to a reporter of "man is the most dangerous animal of all", was the likely origin for the Zodiac Killer's choice of words in his lengthy cryptogram. Something that he could only reasonably have found by trawling through microfiche reels in the library. Currently, I have only found this exact quote in three newspapers, all from America in 1932.
As a young 6-year-old, he decided that he wanted to become an explorer after reading stories from the book "Explorations and Adventures in Equitorial Africa". Cooper would eventually realise those ambitions. He was also a big game hunter, so when the script for the upcoming movie "The Most Dangerous Game" was presented to him, it obviously appealed greatly to his penchant for adventure, detailing a psychotic big game hunter who deliberately strands a luxury yacht on a remote island, where he plans to hunt its passengers for sport. This movie title has been touted as the inspiration for the Zodiac Killer's wording in the 408 cipher, but it seems that the quote given by Merian C. Cooper to a reporter of "man is the most dangerous animal of all", was the likely origin for the Zodiac Killer's choice of words in his lengthy cryptogram. Something that he could only reasonably have found by trawling through microfiche reels in the library. Currently, I have only found this exact quote in three newspapers, all from America in 1932.
Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne However, "The Most Dangerous Game" wasn't the pinnacle of his movie career, because in 1933 the much acclaimed movie "King Kong" was released by RKO Radio Pictures, directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. Cooper was inspired to create the character of King Kong, a giant ape, after developing a scenario for a “gorilla picture” in 1929. Cooper's original concept for the film involved a giant gorilla who kidnaps a woman, fights dragons, and is defeated by modern technology. His fascination for adventure and hunting would coalesce to produce a film praised by critics and the viewing public for its stop-motion animation and score.
But did the conception of "King Kong" and his love of big game hunting play any part in his quotation of "man is the most dangerous animal of all"? There is a strong likelihood that the Zodiac Killer took this phrase from Merian C. Cooper, but did Cooper develop this phrase from somebody else before him? Somebody who was also an adventurer and big game hunter, who came face to face with a gorilla in Africa. An adventurer who would almost certainly have been known to Merian C, Cooper.
To cover the story of Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne (born 1877) would take forever, so here is a condensed version of this infamous character, described as a soldier, big game hunter, journalist and spy, who fought with the Boers in the Second Boer War and as a secret agent for Germany during both World Wars, and became known as the man who killed Lord Kitchener, a British Army officer and colonial administrator. Duquesne was an advisor to US President Theodore Roosevelt on big-game hunting, as a publicist in the movie business, as a journalist, as a fictional Australian war hero and as head of the New Food Society in New York. As a youth, Duquesne became a hunter like his father. His hunting skills proved useful not only in the African landscape, but also later in life, when he would publish articles about and give lectures on big-game hunting. Below is a newspaper cutting from 1912 describing one of Roosevelt's hunts in Africa, with the sub-headline "The First Hunt for Buffalo, the Most Dangerous Game in Africa". In numerous statewide articles in America throughout the years, Frederick Duquesne was featured in countless stories, including full page spreads on big-game hunting. One of which we'll get to soon.
But did the conception of "King Kong" and his love of big game hunting play any part in his quotation of "man is the most dangerous animal of all"? There is a strong likelihood that the Zodiac Killer took this phrase from Merian C. Cooper, but did Cooper develop this phrase from somebody else before him? Somebody who was also an adventurer and big game hunter, who came face to face with a gorilla in Africa. An adventurer who would almost certainly have been known to Merian C, Cooper.
To cover the story of Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne (born 1877) would take forever, so here is a condensed version of this infamous character, described as a soldier, big game hunter, journalist and spy, who fought with the Boers in the Second Boer War and as a secret agent for Germany during both World Wars, and became known as the man who killed Lord Kitchener, a British Army officer and colonial administrator. Duquesne was an advisor to US President Theodore Roosevelt on big-game hunting, as a publicist in the movie business, as a journalist, as a fictional Australian war hero and as head of the New Food Society in New York. As a youth, Duquesne became a hunter like his father. His hunting skills proved useful not only in the African landscape, but also later in life, when he would publish articles about and give lectures on big-game hunting. Below is a newspaper cutting from 1912 describing one of Roosevelt's hunts in Africa, with the sub-headline "The First Hunt for Buffalo, the Most Dangerous Game in Africa". In numerous statewide articles in America throughout the years, Frederick Duquesne was featured in countless stories, including full page spreads on big-game hunting. One of which we'll get to soon.
During the Second Boer War, Duquesne was under orders to assassinate Frederick Russell Burnham, the American acting as Chief of Scouts for the British Army. After the war, Burnham remained active in counter-espionage for the British, and much of it involved keeping track of Duquesne. In 1910 he and Representative Robert Broussard founded the New Food Supply Society to import useful African wildlife into the US as a solution to a serious American meat shortage, and Broussard selected Duquesne as an expert. In support of this plan, Broussard introduced H.R. 23261, also known as the American Hippo Bill, attempting the appropriation of $250,000 to import hippopotamus into the Louisiana bayous as a food source and to control the water hyacinth then clogging Southern river systems. Former US President Theodore Roosevelt backed the plan, as did the US Department of Agriculture, as well as editorial writers in The Washington Post and The New York Times, which praised the taste of hippopotamus as "lake cow bacon". Duquesne's expert testimony on this subject before the House Committee on Agriculture is recorded in the Congressional Record. The bill fell just short of passing, and the New Foods organization was disbanded. Wikipedia.
Duquesne was wanted by His Majesy's government for murder on the high seas, but fled to Mexico and Europe. In 1926 he moved back to New York and assumed a new identity as Frank de Trafford Craven. He worked for Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America (FBO Pictures), and later RKO Pictures in 1928, as part of the publicity staff. As part of this job he moved back to Manhattan, where he was well-known under his real name. In 1930, Duquesne moved to the Quigley Publishing Company, a producer of movie magazines, and called himself Major Craven. This is just the tip of the iceberg, so if you want to read the rest of his life story, click here.
Both Merian C. Cooper and Fredeick Duquesne worked for RKO Pictures, with Cooper joining RKO Pictures in 1931, just before the release of "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932) and "King Kong" (1933). With their common lifelong interest in adventure and big-game hunting, and both employed by RKO Pictures during a similar time period, it is not difficult to see how Merian C. Cooper came upon the words "man is the most dangerous animal of all". In one of Frederick Duquesne's many ventures into Africa, he spoke of a "Blood Curdling Gorilla Hunt" in 1909 that was covered extensively in US newspapers, stating that "The most dangerous animal of all to capture is the gorilla".
The filming for "The Most Dangerous Game" and "King Kong" by RKO Pictures overlapped in 1932, so it can be strongly argued that Merian C. Cooper took the quote of "The most dangerous animal of all to capture is the gorilla" from Duquesne, and during the filming of "King Kong" he repackaged it to read "man is the most dangerous animal of all" to fit the narrative of "The Most Dangerous Game", which replaced hunting animals with the hunting of humans. So the phraseology of the Zodiac Killer in his 408 cipher on July 31st 1969 may have its roots as far back as 1909 in the words of Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne. The Zodiac Killer's wording of "I like killing people because it is so much fun, it is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most dangerous animal of all", now makes a lot more sense. His claim of using a pencil flashlight on his gun on August 4th 1969 so he could hunt victims, is in keeping with his trinity of letters to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald.
Both Merian C. Cooper and Fredeick Duquesne worked for RKO Pictures, with Cooper joining RKO Pictures in 1931, just before the release of "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932) and "King Kong" (1933). With their common lifelong interest in adventure and big-game hunting, and both employed by RKO Pictures during a similar time period, it is not difficult to see how Merian C. Cooper came upon the words "man is the most dangerous animal of all". In one of Frederick Duquesne's many ventures into Africa, he spoke of a "Blood Curdling Gorilla Hunt" in 1909 that was covered extensively in US newspapers, stating that "The most dangerous animal of all to capture is the gorilla".
The filming for "The Most Dangerous Game" and "King Kong" by RKO Pictures overlapped in 1932, so it can be strongly argued that Merian C. Cooper took the quote of "The most dangerous animal of all to capture is the gorilla" from Duquesne, and during the filming of "King Kong" he repackaged it to read "man is the most dangerous animal of all" to fit the narrative of "The Most Dangerous Game", which replaced hunting animals with the hunting of humans. So the phraseology of the Zodiac Killer in his 408 cipher on July 31st 1969 may have its roots as far back as 1909 in the words of Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne. The Zodiac Killer's wording of "I like killing people because it is so much fun, it is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most dangerous animal of all", now makes a lot more sense. His claim of using a pencil flashlight on his gun on August 4th 1969 so he could hunt victims, is in keeping with his trinity of letters to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald.
Anybody reading the numerous Lake Herman Road newspaper articles would have been aware that one eyewitness reported seeing a second vehicle in the turnout with the Faraday Rambler, but nobody would have been aware of the empty Chevrolet Impala parked in the turnout at 9pm and 10pm on December 20th 1968, except the police and each of the eyewitnesses that night - and probably the killer. If the occupant of this vehicle had traveled into the adjoining fields on two occasions, looking for victims, they would have required additional illumination such as a carry flashlight or gun-mounted flaslight.
If this was the murderer's vehicle he would have known this. Therefore, the claims of the August 4th 1969 letter writer stating that he used a pencil flashlight for extra illumination is extremely noteworthy. Extra illumination would not have been required in the turnout when you have the use of headlights from your vehicle, along with the illumination from within each vehicle. Also, extra illumination would certainly not have been required if the murderer had kept the couple penned inside their vehicle. The only person that would have required additional illumination (either carried or gun-mounted) would have been somebody venturing into the fields surrounding the turnout. Such as the driver of the white Chevrolet Impala, who apparently never came forward. There is a distinct possibility that this Chevrolet owner wrote the "Debut of Zodiac" letter, because this person had a viable reason to carry additional illumination as he distanced himself from his vehicle that night. Not once, but twice, on a freezing dark night in Benicia. Possibly an individual, who on July 31st 1969, would promote the idea of hunting humans in the wilderness because it was more fun than killing wild game in the forest.
If this was the murderer's vehicle he would have known this. Therefore, the claims of the August 4th 1969 letter writer stating that he used a pencil flashlight for extra illumination is extremely noteworthy. Extra illumination would not have been required in the turnout when you have the use of headlights from your vehicle, along with the illumination from within each vehicle. Also, extra illumination would certainly not have been required if the murderer had kept the couple penned inside their vehicle. The only person that would have required additional illumination (either carried or gun-mounted) would have been somebody venturing into the fields surrounding the turnout. Such as the driver of the white Chevrolet Impala, who apparently never came forward. There is a distinct possibility that this Chevrolet owner wrote the "Debut of Zodiac" letter, because this person had a viable reason to carry additional illumination as he distanced himself from his vehicle that night. Not once, but twice, on a freezing dark night in Benicia. Possibly an individual, who on July 31st 1969, would promote the idea of hunting humans in the wilderness because it was more fun than killing wild game in the forest.
NEW YORK EVENING JOURNAL, MAY 24TH 1932
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