King Kong (1933)

Writers:

James Ashmore Creelman (screenplay) and
Ruth Rose (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

7 April 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

A Monster of Creation's Dawn Breaks Loose in Our World Today!

Plot:

A film crew goes to a tropical island for an exotic location shoot and discovers a colossal giant gorilla who takes a shine to their female blonde star.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Gorilla | Beast | Rescue | Love

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Fay Wray	...	Ann Darrow
Robert Armstrong	...	Carl Denham
Bruce Cabot	...	John Driscoll
Frank Reicher	...	Captain Englehorn
Sam Hardy	...	Charles Weston
Noble Johnson	...	Native Chief
Steve Clemente	...	Witch King (as Steve Clemento)
James Flavin	...	Second Mate Briggs
King Kong	...	King Kong
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Ackerman	...	Reporter (uncredited)
James Adamson	...	Native Child (uncredited)
Van Alder	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Ed Allen	...	Native (uncredited)
Etta Mae Allen	...	Native (uncredited)
Frank Angel	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Roscoe Ates	...	Press Photographer (uncredited)
Ralph Bard	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Reginald Barlow	...	Ship's Engineer (uncredited)
Leo Beard	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Fred Behrle	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Jack Best	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Johnnie Bland	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Eddie Boland	...	Reporter / Cameraman (uncredited)
Harry Bowen	...	Reporter (uncredited)
John Brakins	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Lynton Brent	...	Reporter / Cameraman (uncredited)
Roy Brent	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Everett Brown	...	Native in Ape Costume (uncredited)
Betty Burns	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Barney Capehart	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Jack Chapin	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Harry Claremont	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Edward Clark	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
John Collins	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Odel Conley	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Onest Conley	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Merian C. Cooper	...	Pilot of Plane That Kills Kong (uncredited)
Harry Cornbleth	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Kathryn Curry	...	Native (uncredited)
Nathan Curry	...	Native (uncredited)
Dick Curtis	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Bill Dagwell	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
George Daly	...	Machine Gunner (uncredited)
Ruby Dandridge	...	Native Dancer (uncredited)
Vivian Dandridge	...	Native Child (uncredited)
John Davis	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Joe Dill	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
James Dime	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Fanny Donahue	...	Native (uncredited)
Jean Doran	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Walter Downing	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Florence Dudley	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Tex Duffy	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
William Dunn	...	Native (uncredited)
William Duran	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Peter Duray	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Harry Duval	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Earl Dwire	...	New York Theatregoer (uncredited)
Ralph Easton	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Oliver Eckhardt	...	New York Theatregoer (uncredited)
Louise Emmons	...	Old Woman in Line at Mission (uncredited)
Shorty English	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Frank Fanning	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Jean Fenwick	...	New Yorker (uncredited)
Bill Fisher	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Larry Fisher	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Art Flavin	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Joe Flourney	...	Native (uncredited)
Betty Gale	...	New Yorker (uncredited)
Jack Gallagher	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Bob Galloway	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Evelyn Garrison	...	Native (uncredited)
Harold Garrison	...	Native Child (uncredited)
Frank Gerritty	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
June Gittelson	...	Fat Woman (uncredited)
Arnold Gray	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Duke Green	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Lawrence Green	...	Native (uncredited)
Dorothy Gulliver	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Charles Haefeli	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Charlie Hall	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Pat Harmon	...	Gunman (uncredited)
James Harrison	...	Cameraman (uncredited)
Eddie Hart	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lew Harvey	...	Gunman (uncredited)
Etta Mae Henry	...	Native (uncredited)
Irene Henry	...	Baby (uncredited)
Tex Higginson	...	Member of Ship's Crew / Assistant Director / Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Earl 'Hap' Hogan	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Wesley Hopper	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Hazel Howell	...	New Yorker (uncredited)
Clifford Ingram	...	Warrior (uncredited)
T.C. Jack	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Jimmy James	...	Member of Ship's Crew / Assistant Director (uncredited)
Annie L. Johnson	...	Native (uncredited)
John L. Johnson	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Harry Keaton	...	Ballyhooer (uncredited)
Walter Kimpton	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Walter Kirby	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Al Knight	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Walter Knox	...	Native (uncredited)
Ethan Laidlaw	...	First Mate (uncredited)
Sam Levine	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Vera Lewis	...	New York Theatregoer (uncredited)
Timothy J. Lonergan	...	Police Officer / Usher (uncredited)
George MacQuarrie	...	Police Captain (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Joe Smith Marba	...	Elevated Train Motorman (uncredited)
Rena Marlowe	...	Native Child (uncredited)
Sam Marlowe	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Mae Marrin	...	Ballyhooer (uncredited)
Henry Martin	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Buddy Mason	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
LeRoy Mason	...	New York Theatregoer (uncredited)
Richie McCarew	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Etta McDaniel	...	Native (uncredited)
Al McDonald	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Larry McGrath	...	Ballyhooer (uncredited)
Frank Meredith	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Dusty Mitchell	...	Pilot (uncredited)
King Mojave	...	Ballyhooer (uncredited)
Carlotta Monti	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Harry Mount	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Almeta Muse	...	Native (uncredited)
Alice Nichols	...	Native (uncredited)
Nim Nixon	...	Native Dancer (uncredited)
John Northpole	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Skeets Noyes	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
G. Raymond Nye	...	Police Captain (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Paddy O'Flynn	...	Reporter / Cameraman (uncredited)
Tom O'Grady	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Bert O'Malley	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Charles O'Malley	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Edward Patrick	...	Native Dancer (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Jack Perry	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Nathan Perry	...	Native (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Cameraman (uncredited)
Allen Pomeroy	...	Motorcycle Policeman (uncredited)
Paul Porcasi	...	Apple Vendor (uncredited)
Mahlon Potts	...	Native Child (uncredited)
Malcon Potts	...	Native Child (uncredited)
Russ Powell	...	Watchman (uncredited)
A.J. Prather	...	Native (uncredited)
Jack Pratt	...	Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Tom Quinn	...	Reporter (uncredited)
T.J. Rankin	...	Native Dancer (uncredited)
Eddy Reed	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Gus Robinson	...	Native Dancer (uncredited)
Ed Rochelle	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Russ Rogers	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Jack Saunders	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Russell Saunders	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Syd Saylor	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Ernest B. Schoedsack	...	Machine-Gunner on Plane That Kills Kong (uncredited)
Charles Sewell	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Floyd Shackelford	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Sandra Shaw	...	Hotel Woman Dropped by Kong (uncredited)
Tony Shelly	...	Native (uncredited)
Gay Sheridan	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Milton Shockley	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Jack Silver	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Jack Smith	...	Reporter (uncredited)
William Solder	...	Native (uncredited)
Katherine Sparks	...	Native (uncredited)
Hugh Starkey	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	New York Theatregoer (uncredited)
Edward Stevens	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Roy Stewart	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Policeman at Headquarters (uncredited)
Eddie Sturgis	...	Ballyhooer (uncredited)
Madame Sul-Te-Wan	...	Native (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Gertrude Sutton	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Tobias Tally	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Walter Taylor	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Ivan Thomas	...	Conductor (uncredited)
Roy Thompson	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Jim Thorpe	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Earl Turman	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Ray Turner	...	Native (uncredited)
William Van Vleck	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Monte Vandergrift	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
John Wade	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Kid Wagner	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Harry Walker	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Wade Walker	...	Native (uncredited)
H.R. Warwick	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Blue Washington	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Charles Washington	...	Warrior (uncredited)
George Washington	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Hannah Washington	...	Native Child (uncredited)
Jack West	...	Native (uncredited)
Blackie Whiteford	...	Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Bill Williams	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Geneva Williams	...	Native (uncredited)
Ivory Williams	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Victor Wong	...	Charlie the Chinese Cook (uncredited)
Eric Wood	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Helen Worthington	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Lillian Young	...	New York Theatergoer (uncredited)

Directed by
Merian C. Cooper		(uncredited)
Ernest B. Schoedsack		(uncredited)

Writing credits
James Ashmore Creelman		(screenplay) (as James Creelman) and
Ruth Rose		(screenplay)
Merian C. Cooper		(from an idea conceived by) and
Edgar Wallace		(from an idea conceived by)
Merian C. Cooper		story (uncredited)
Leon Gordon		contributing writer (uncredited)
Edgar Wallace		story (uncredited)

Produced by
David O. Selznick	....	executive producer
Merian C. Cooper	....	producer (uncredited)
Ernest B. Schoedsack	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Edward Linden		(photographed by) (as Eddie Linden)
J.O. Taylor		(photographed by)
Vernon L. Walker		(photographed by) (as Vernon Walker)
Kenneth Peach		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Ted Cheesman

Production Design by
Carroll Clark		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Carroll Clark		(uncredited)
Alfred Herman		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Carroll Clark		(settings)
Alfred Herman		(settings) (as Al Herman)
Thomas Little		(uncredited)
Ray Moyer		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup supervisor (uncredited)
Dot Carlson	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Dotha Hippe	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Sam Kaufman	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Doran Cox	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Walter Daniels	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Ivan Thomas	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Byron L. Crabbe	....	art technician
Mario Larrinaga	....	art technician
John Cerisoli	....	sculptor (uncredited)
George Gabe	....	property master (uncredited)
Van Nest Polglase	....	supervising art director (uncredited)
Ernest Smythe	....	additional storyboard artist (uncredited)
Peter Stitch	....	painting technician (uncredited)
W.G. White	....	construction technician (uncredited)

Sound Department
Murray Spivack	....	sound effects
Earl A. Wolcott	....	recordist
Walter Elliott	....	sound effects associate (uncredited)
Eddie Harman	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Clem Portman	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Murray Spivack	....	sound designer (uncredited)
Harold E. Stine	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Richard Van Hessen	....	boom operator: visual effects unit (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Harry Redmond Jr.	....	special effects (uncredited)
Harry Redmond Sr.	....	special effects (uncredited)
Frank D. Williams	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Byron L. Crabbe	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Byron L. Crabbe	....	matte technician (uncredited)
Marcel Delgado	....	model maker (uncredited)
Marcel Delgado	....	technician (uncredited)
Linwood G. Dunn	....	optical photographer (uncredited)
C. Dodge Dunning	....	visual effects supervisor: Dunning process (uncredited)
Carroll H. Dunning	....	visual effects supervisor: Dunning process (uncredited)
Buzz Gibson	....	technician (uncredited)
Orville Goldner	....	technician (uncredited)
Henri Hillinck	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Mario Larrinaga	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Mario Larrinaga	....	matte technician (uncredited)
Willis H. O'Brien	....	visual effects supervisor (uncredited)
Fred Reese	....	technician (uncredited)
Carroll L. Shepphird	....	technician (uncredited)
Clifford Stine	....	special effects cameraman (uncredited)
Bud Thackery	....	process photography (uncredited)
William Ulm	....	optical photographer (uncredited)
Vernon L. Walker	....	visual effects cinematographer (uncredited)
Frank Williams	....	matte supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Marcella Allen	....	stunt double: Fay Wray (uncredited)
Frank Cullen	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dorothy Curtis	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Dill	....	stunts (uncredited)
Aline Goodwin	....	stunt double: Fay Wray (uncredited)
Duke Green	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tex Higginson	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Jimmy James	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Jimmy James	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lillian Jones	....	stunt double: Fay Wray (uncredited)
Leonore Kinney	....	stunt double: Fay Wray (uncredited)
Mike Lally	....	stunt double: Robert Armstrong (uncredited)
Mike Lally	....	stunts (uncredited)
Judy Malcolm	....	stunt double: Fay Wray (uncredited)
Buddy Mason	....	stunt double: Robert Armstrong (uncredited)
Cherie May	....	stunt double: Fay Wray (uncredited)
Al McDonald	....	stunt double: Bruce Cabot (uncredited)
Harvey Parry	....	stunt driver: car crashes (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	....	stunt double: Bruce Cabot (uncredited)
Allen Pomeroy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Russell Saunders	....	stunts (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	....	stunt double: Robert Armstrong (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harry Wagner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Pauline Wagner	....	stunt double: for Fay Wray on edge of Empire State Building (uncredited)
Charles Watt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Williams	....	stunt double: Robert Armstrong (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ernest Bachrach	....	still photographer (uncredited)
William H. Clothier	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (uncredited)
Lee Davis	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Guy Gilman	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Edward Henderson	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Alexander Kahle	....	still photographer (uncredited)
George Marquenie	....	best boy (uncredited)
Sam Redding	....	key grip (uncredited)
William Reinhold	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera (uncredited)
Ernest B. Schoedsack	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Clifford Stine	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera (uncredited)
Bert Willis	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera (uncredited)
Stacy Woodard	....	director of photography: inserts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ethel Beach	....	wardrobe (uncredited)
Tommy Clark	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Bernhard Kaun	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Walter Daniels	....	production assistant
Marcel Delgado	....	technical staff
Buzz Gibson	....	technical staff (as E.B. Gibson)
Orville Goldner	....	technical staff
Archie Marshek	....	production assistant (as Archie F. Marshek)
Willis H. O'Brien	....	chief technician
Fred Reese	....	technical staff
Carroll L. Shepphird	....	technical staff (as Carroll Shepphird)
Betty Collins	....	double (uncredited)
Chick Collins	....	double (uncredited)
Sam Cummings	....	double (uncredited)
C. Dodge Dunning	....	dunning process supervisor (uncredited)
Carroll H. Dunning	....	dunning process supervisor (uncredited)
Betty Goode	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Mike Graves	....	double (uncredited)
Edith Haskins	....	double (uncredited)
Jack Holbrook	....	double (uncredited)
Billy Jones	....	double (uncredited)
Duke Krantz	....	pilot (uncredited)
J.W. Lytle	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Horace McCoy	....	script assistant (uncredited)
Frances Mills	....	double (uncredited)
O.A. Patterson	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Zoe Porter	....	assistant: Mr. Cooper (uncredited)
Harry Raven	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Bob Rose	....	double (uncredited)
Loretta Rush	....	double (uncredited)
Sidney Saunders	....	rear projection process (uncredited)
John Sinclair	....	double (uncredited)
George Weiss	....	pilot (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents) (A Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack Production)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1933) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Radio Picture)
• Compagnie Universelle Cinématographique (CUC) (1933) (France) (theatrical)
• Adams Filmi (1934) (Finland) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1938) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1957) (USA) (TV)
• Kove-Filmi (1962) (Finland) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Castle Video (1989) (Finland) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Turner Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Future Film (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• RKO (1933) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Continental Video S.A. (????) (Spain) (DVD) (colorized)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Janus Films
• Pan Vision Oy (????) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sanford Productions (II)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) ((????)) (USA) (TV)
• Turner Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• VidAmerica (1980s) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Pacific Title and Art Studio  titles (uncredited)
• Western Costume Company  costumes supplied by (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

100 min | 104 min (restored version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | France:U | Germany:6 | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (video rating) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) (cut) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Denmark:15 | USA:Approved (certificate not issued at release) | USA:Not Rated (video release) | Brazil:Livre | Finland:(Banned) (1933) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1933) (cut) | South Korea:12 (2003) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Norway:16 (1934) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Both Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack had been wrestlers, and they acted out the fighting moves for the battle between the T-Rex and Kong in the effects studio, before the animators shot the scene.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the wide shot of Kong climbing the Empire State Building, he is climbing the western face of the structure. The financial district is visible to the south in the background. The shot of him atop the tower shows the Chrysler Building directly behind him. That building being to the ESB's north east, that puts Kong on the southern face of the building. When he falls, in the closer shot, he falls back to the south east. Back in the wide shot, he falls off the western side.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Charles Weston:Say, is this the moving picture ship?
Watchman:The Venture? Yeah. Are you going on this crazy voyage?
Charles Weston:What's crazy about it?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Silver Spoons: Evelyn Returns (#1.6)" (1982)

Soundtrack:

St. Louis Blues

They'll have to think up a lot of new adjectives...

There's little new I can probably add here, judging by the amount of comments, but here goes. King Kong is still one of the greatest fantasy films. It has inspired generations of filmmakers, writers, and other artists, all of whom have been awed and thrilled by the level of craftsmanship involved in its creation. The film haunted my nightmares as a child; there was something absolutely frightening about Kong's glaring eyes looming in the windows of the wrecked elevated train. Thanks to television and repeated showings every Thanksgiving for years (thanks WOR) I became smitten with this film. Nearly 30 years later- post the 1976 remake, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, etc, I still sit down every few months to watch Kong. EVERY time, I see something new. The detail they put into this film is phenomenal, considering it was released long before television or VCRs could give viewers a chance to watch it enough to notice the more subtle details. Volumes have been written about this movie's production, but one effect still has me puzzled. When Kong is in his cave, just before he sets Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) in a small opening in the rocks, the head of the elasmosaurus can be seen surfacing and submerging in the pool behind him. If it was done in stop motion, it's the smoothest work in the film; even the pool's water actually appears to ripple around the head.

Willis O'Brien is the man primarily credited with bringing King Kong to the screen, but in truth, Kong was the brainchild of Merian Cooper, a truly larger-than-life film producer, on whom the character of Carl Denham was modeled. Cooper had been a fighter pilot in World War I, a POW after he was shot down behind enemy lines, and- with his partner Ernest Schoedsack- had traveled to the wilds of Asia and Africa to film documentaries. Cooper imagined King Kong as the logical extension of his true life exploits; exaggerated but a recognizable caricature of his experiences. Originally he had wanted a real gorilla to portray Kong, and even wanted to have it fight a Komodo dragon! (Call the Humane Society!) We can all be grateful he encountered Willis O'Brien (who was working on his own dinosaur film- Creation) and decided to produce Kong and the monsters of Skull Island using stop-motion. I doubt anyone in 1933 could have tolerated the spectacle of a live gorilla in real combat with a Komodo dragon. I suspect the film would have either been banned outright or been little more than a grisly footnote in motion picture history. The idea was Cooper's, but the majesty and spectacle of the film belong to O'Brien. The miniature jungle settings created by O'Brien's crew with multiple glass paintings created an otherworldly quality to Skull Island that could not be duplicated by shooting on location- as Cooper had originally envisioned.

To be sure, the film is very much a product of a simpler time. However, if the acting in Kong is compared to its early 1930's contemporaries in the horror/fantasy genre, it holds up quite well. Cooper and Schoedsack understood the necessity of establishing the characters before Kong's entrance, but kept dialog to a minimum. The story is told visually, with camera-work furthering plot points that may have seemed didactic otherwise. The film is carried by not only its visual imagery, but by one of the first feature length music scores. This was an innovation that put King Kong ahead its sound contemporaries, which relied quite heavily on the spoken word and direction alone. There is a ten minute sequence in the center of the film- after the death of the tyrannosaurus until the escape of Ann and Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot) from Kong's lair- that is told entirely with visuals, music, and sound effects. It is in large part due to the score that much of Kong's emotional impact is conveyed, particularly in its finale atop the Empire State Building. Steiner was able to suggest Kong's emotional state, assisting O'Brien in providing empathy to a creature who in reality was only an 18 inch high puppet.

It is a mistake to compare Kong technically or artistically with films from later decades. Consider the cultural context in which King Kong was produced. America was in the darkest days of the Depression. World War II was seven years away, and nobody outside of a few physicists knew what 'atomic bomb' meant. Kong truly was the 'Eighth Wonder of the World' just as the Empire State Building was at the time considered the greatest technological marvel. As Cooper envisioned it, Kong was an adventure escapist film, offering Depression-Era audiences something that at the time would be considered the 'ultimate in adventure.' Whether or not Peter Jackson's proposed remake of Kong can maintain these qualities of showmanship and adventure is a matter of wait and see: to today's audiences Kong no longer represents something 'all powerful' or able to 'lick the world' as Carl Denham described him back in 1933. Even setting the remake in 1933 will have its difficulties, since the film will then be a period piece rather than a contemporary story, as both the original film and the 1976 remake were, and audience involvement may be more limited.

Like Star Wars, King Kong was a made for the movies myth, not based directly on any previous source other than Cooper and O'Brien's imagination. It spawned one of the first monster movie sequels, one remake, (so far) and countless imitations, parodies, and merchandise. Among fantasy films, only the Wizard of Oz can rival King Kong for the sheer longevity of popularity, but while Oz provided escapist entertainment, it did so in a lighter fashion. Kong provided escapism but of a more disturbing and haunting kind.

Here's to ya, Obie, and Coop!

Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast.