The Son of Kong (1933)

The men who captured the giant ape King Kong, return to his island and find his equally gigantic, but far more friendly, son.

Director:

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Stars:

Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack, Frank Reicher

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Armstrong	...	Carl Denham
Helen Mack	...	Helene Peterson
Frank Reicher	...	Captain Englehorn
John Marston	...	Captain Nils Helstrom
Victor Wong	...	Charlie the Chinese Cook
Ed Brady	...	Bo'sun Red

Storyline

After the disastrous results of his last expedition, Carl Denham leaves New York aboard a ship to escape all the trouble. After a mutiny, he and a few companions are left behind on Skull island, where they meet a smaller relative of King Kong and make friends with him.

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Plot Keywords:

king kong | mutiny | island | giant ape | seal | 

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Taglines:

Laughs! Thrills! Pathos!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hijo de Kong

Filming Locations:

Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the scenes involving pterodactyls flying in the far background was matted into Citizen Kane during the scene where Kane and "friends" make for the beach from Xanadu - this was done to save production costs.

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Quotes

Carl Denham: [after little Kong has broken the rifle] Now look what you've done, you big dummy!

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Crazy Credits

The cast credits in the opening titles identify the character played by Helen Mack as "Hilda", but nowhere in the story itself is she given a name other than her stage billing of "La Belle Helene".

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Connections

Referenced in Dennis the Menace: Through Thick and Thin (1962)

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Soundtracks

"The Runaway Blues"
(uncredited)
Music by Max Steiner
Lyrics by Edward Eliscu
Played on guitar and sung by Helen Mack

User Reviews

Very entertaining sequel that shouldn't be compared to its predecessor. It stands alone as its own somewhat satirical and lighthearted adventure tale.

A great little film (about 65-70 minutes) that's every bit as entertaining, though not quite as dramatic as "King Kong". This film has it all. The early part of the movie gives a gritty and realistic depiction of the squalid little fever ports of the South Seas where an old tramp steamer would have gone searching for cargoes in the early part of the 20th century. The atmosphere, down and out characters, and their pathetic circumstances are straight out of a Joseph Conrad novel. It should be noted that Merian C. Cooper, who produced both this film and its precursor, was a former World War I aviator who became a real life "Carl Denham", producing a number of high adventure and "cannibal and jungle" documentaries (often a loosely applied term) that were popular with movie audiences of the times.

After what amounts to a Marxist mutiny (led by a mate known as "Red") the principal players eventually reach "Kong" island in the boat in which they were cast adrift. There they meet up with Kong Jr., a sweet, playful giant gorilla who's nevertheless no slouch when it comes to fighting other monsters to protect his human friends. The movie becomes a bit too cutesy towards the end and almost seems to be rushing to a conclusion. I usually find that movies are overly long, but this one could have used more development of its denouement.

I won't spoil the ending but I will say that this is one of the few movies that ever made me cry. Nothing morbid or truly depressing though. A fine family film and truly unique in many respects.