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King Kong Overview:

King Kong (1933) was a Adventure - Fantasy Film directed by Merian C. Cooper (uncredited) and Ernest B. Schoedsack (uncredited) and produced by David O. Selznick, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack.

SYNOPSIS

A masterpiece of movie exotica and one of the top moneymakers of the '30s. Fortune hunters travel to Skull Island in search of the fabled giant ape "King Kong." Enticing him with the lovely Wray, they capture Kong and bring him back to New York to become a sideshow attraction. The rampaging ape escapes and ransacks the city searching for Wray, ending his quest swatting biplanes as he dangles from the Empire State Building in one of the most famous images in movie history. Directors Cooper and Schoedsack met as fliers in WWI Poland. They specialized in exotic documentaries and then adventure films with far-flung locations. Cooper later became a producer for David O. Selznick, and then produced John Ford masterpieces such as Fort Apache (1948) and The Quiet Man (1952), and one of the biggest hits of the '50s, This Is Cinerama (1952). Followed by Son of Kong (1934), a 1976 remake, and the related monkeyshines of Mighty Joe Young (1949). The special edition video includes archival footage, such as the scene in which Kong peels Wray like a banana and the excised giant spider scene. The laserdisc includes a second audio track with historical commentary from film historian Ronald Haver.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

King Kong was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1991.

King Kong BlogHub Articles:

Win Tickets to see “TCM Big Screen Classics: King Kong” (Giveaway runs now through Feb 22)

By Annmarie Gatti on Feb 2, 2020 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Win tickets to see “King Kong” on the Big Screen!In Select Cinemas NationwideSun March 15 CMH continues into our 5h year of our partnership with Fathom Events – with the 4th of our 15 movie ticket giveaways for 2020, courtesy of Fathom Events! That said, we’ll be giving away FOUR PAIRS... Read full article

Classic Movie Tourism: King Kong on Broadway

By Jennifer Garlen on Jan 16, 2019 From Virtual Virago

Some 85 years after the great ape's original screen debut, King Kong has made a triumphant return to New York City, this time as the star of his own Broadway musical. There have been plenty of sequels, reboots, revisions, and reincarnations featuring the oversized cinema gorilla, but I've never seen... Read full article

King Kong Escapes (1967, Honda Ishirô)

By Andrew Wickliffe on Jun 10, 2017 From The Stop Button

Despite lacking special effects and a phoned in score from Ifukube Akira (reusing his previous Godzilla themes to various effect), King Kong Escapes has quite a bit of charm to it. The film opens with Kong enthusiasts–really, they’re sitting around drawing pictures of him–Rhodes Reason and Tak... Read full article

Classic Films in Focus: KING KONG (1933)

By Jennifer Garlen on Jun 23, 2015 From Virtual Virago

King Kong rules as the alpha ape among a crowd of cinematic simians, and the original 1933 movie that bears his name has influenced countless other films. Many of our modern blockbusters can trace their roots to King Kong; its special effects work and emphasis on big action sequences showed later fi... Read full article

[Stopped Button Favorites] Episode 1 | King Kong ’76

By Andrew Wickliffe on Feb 20, 2015 From The Stop Button

Synced to the R1 Paramount DVD release. iTunes link coming soon MP3 Download... Read full article

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King Kong Quotes:

Captain Englehorn: And you expect to photograph it?
Carl Denham: If it's there, you bet I'll photograph it!
Jack Driscoll: Suppose it doesn't like having its picture taken?
Carl Denham: Well, now you know why I brought along those cases of gas bombs
Carl Denham: [Kong frantically shakes his chains] Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute; he thinks you're attacking the girl...
Reporter: Aw, let him roar, it's a swell picture...
Carl Denham: Throw your arms across your eyes and scream, Ann. Scream for your life!
Carl Denham: Holy mackrel, do you think I want to take a woman along?
Charles Weston: Then why?
Carl Denham: Because the public - bless 'em - must have a pretty face.
Carl Denham: It's money and adventure and fame. It's the thrill of a lifetime and a long sea voyage that starts at six o'clock tomorrow morning.
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King Kong Facts
Scenes cut over the years of release and re-release: Kong chewing on the natives of Skull Island; two scenes with Kong squashing one native each with his giant foot; the brontosaurus biting and throwing the men in the water; Kong putting a New Yorker in his mouth then throwing him down to the ground; a scene where Kong climbs a building, pulls out a sleeping woman with his giant hand, examines her, and when he finds it's not Ann Darrow, tosses her down to the sidewalk below; and, of course, Fay Wray's clothing being peeled off. The censor committee once stated that this was at least six minutes of editing. These scenes were all restored to the actual film in 1971. Of course, we still have yet to see the famous spider pit sequence, although in King Kong, we get an idea of what it was like. Also, the 2005 DVD release of the 1933 film has Peter Jackson's recreation of that scene.
Art drawn for the press book associated for the original release of the film was contributed to by actor Keye Luke, who was a highly regarded illustrator before he became an actor and whose works have appeared in films themselves, such as The Shanghai Gesture.
The remakes of this film in 1976 and 2005, show Kong with the same temperament as in the original film. In the less popular sequel _Son of Kong (1934)_ and in the successful Mighty Joe Young, a "distant cousin", the Production Code of 1934 was a strong influence on "the script" for the central characters, as they were friendlier and less destructive.
According to the book "David O. Selznick's Hollywood" by Ron Haver, costume designer Walter Plunkett (later noteworthy for Gone with the Wind) worked uncredited on this film. Specifically, he designed the "Beauty and the Beast" costume that Ann Darrow wears while Carl Denham is filming her screen test.
As a child, Merian C. Cooper lived close to an elevated train which kept him awake at night when it clattered across the tracks. This was the inspiration for the scene where Kong destroys an elevated train.
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