The Son of Kong (1933)

Director:

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writer:

Ruth Rose (story)
(more)

Release Date:

22 December 1933 (USA)

Genre:

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

Tagline:

SEE! The cannibals! The earthquake! The sea serpent! The fighting monsters of ages past!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

King Kong | Mutiny | Island | Giant Ape | Seal

Awards:

2 nominations

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cy Clegg	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Steve Clemente	...	Native Witch King (uncredited)
Harry Cornbleth	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Nathan Curry	...	Native (uncredited)
F. Garrety	...	Sailor (uncredited)
J. Goff	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian	...	Dutch, a Sailor (uncredited)
Tex Higginson	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Noble Johnson	...	Native Chief (uncredited)
Lee Kohlmar	...	Mickey, 2nd Process Server (uncredited)
Ken Kuntz	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Ed Lanegan	...	Messenger (uncredited)
Jimmy Leon	...	Barkeeper (uncredited)
James B. Leong	...	Chinese Trader (uncredited)
Sam Levine	...	Fruit Peddler (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	1st Process Server (uncredited)
Claude Payton	...	Sailor / Suspenders Peddler (uncredited)
Jack Richardson	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Ed Rochelle	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Constantine Romanoff	...	Bill, a Sailor (uncredited)
Gene Rossi	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Gertrude Short	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Alice Stombs	...	(uncredited)
Leo Sulky	...	Extra (uncredited)
Gertrude Sutton	...	Servant Girl (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Tommy, a Sailor (uncredited)
Kathrin Clare Ward	...	Mrs. Hudson, Landlady (uncredited)
Homer Watson	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Clarence Wilson	...	Peterson - Helene's Father (uncredited)
Fay Wray	...	Screaming voice (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ruth Rose		scenario (uncredited)
Ruth Rose		story

Produced by
Merian C. Cooper	....	executive producer
Archie Marshek	....	associate producer
Ernest B. Schoedsack	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Edward Linden		(as Eddie Linden)
J.O. Taylor
Vernon L. Walker		(as Vernon Walker)

Film Editing by
Ted Cheesman

Set Decoration by
Alfred Herman		(settings) (as Al Herman)
Van Nest Polglase		(settings)
Thomas Little		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup supervisor (uncredited)

Production Management
C.J. White	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Cody	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Walter Daniels	....	assistant director: additional scenes (uncredited)
Ivan Thomas	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Byron L. Crabbe	....	art technician
Mario Larrinaga	....	art technician
Gene Rossi	....	property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Murray Spivack	....	sound effects
Earl A. Wolcott	....	sound recordist
Hal Bumbaugh	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Walter Elliott	....	associate sound effects (uncredited)
Jean L. Speak	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Bill Turner	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Willis H. O'Brien	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Harry Redmond Jr.	....	special effects (uncredited)
Harry Redmond Sr.	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Juan Larrinaga	....	technical artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Cy Clegg	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Holbrook	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ernest B. Schoedsack	....	camera operator
S.H. Barton	....	chief electrician (uncredited)
Pete Bernard	....	assistant grip (uncredited)
Tom Clement	....	grip (uncredited)
James Daly	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Linwood G. Dunn	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Edward Henderson	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Gaston Longet	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Eddie Pyle	....	camera operator (uncredited)
William Reinhold	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Clarence Slifer	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Clifford Stine	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Bert Willis	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Claire Cramer	....	wardrobe: women (uncredited)
Maxine Lockwood	....	wardrobe: women (uncredited)
Homer Watson	....	wardrobe: men (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Henry Berman	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Bernhard Kaun	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Marcel Delgado	....	technician (as Marcell Delgado)
Buzz Gibson	....	technician (as E.B. Gibson)
Willis H. O'Brien	....	chief technician (as Willis O'Brien)
Fred Reese	....	technician
Carroll L. Shepphird	....	technician (as Carroll Shepphird)
W.G. White	....	technician
C. Dodge Dunning	....	dunning process: photography supervisor (uncredited)
Carroll H. Dunning	....	dunning process: photography supervisor (uncredited)
Lawrence Green	....	double: Noble Johnson (uncredited)
Frank Williams	....	williams process: photography supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1933) (USA) (theatrical)
• Bio-Kuva (1934) (Finland) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Fox Hills Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (????) (USA) (VHS)
• RKO Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• TV3 (1987) (Finland) (TV)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2002) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1339) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The Little Kong puppet is actually the "long face" Kong model used for the T-Rex battle in King Kong (1933). For this film the armature (metal skeleton) was stripped of its rubber and fur and remodeled to look like a younger albino gorilla.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Carl Denham:Stick to me, kid, and you'll wear diamonds.

Movie Connections:

Featured in I'm King Kong!: The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper (2005)

Soundtrack:

Dill Pickles

A nice, quick snack

No one ought to expect lightning to strike twice. No one ought to expect a sequel to King Kong, easily one of the greatest films of all times, to be that great, especially one cranked out in only 8 months, as this one was. Plus, the budget of this one was less than 1/3 the budget of the original. This is why the special effects are so few (and so much less than those of the original). Still, Son of Kong is some fun RKO entertainment. Robert Armstrong is back as Carl Denham, and he is good, although a little weary after his adventures in the first one (it has been a month since Kong died). Fay Wray does not return, and they have replaced her character with a stowaway girl played by Helen Mack. No, she's no Fay Wray, but she's cute and likable. Charlie, the Chinese cook, is back with a bigger part. Although he seems nothing more than a racial stereotype now, for the time his role was probably seen in a better light. He may speak pigeon-English, but he's seen as a human being by the other characters.

The son of Kong is unfortunately more humanized than Kong was (they tried to make him seem more like a curious animal, which I think was the right decision), but he's a chip off the old block, at least when it comes to monster fighting. The animation is cruder, but it is passable. It's a decent flick that runs at only 70 minutes. Don't expect too much more. 7/10