KING KONG (1933)

KING KONG (1933)

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

(Sci-Fi, Horror, Adventure) [PG]

Note – Back in 1933 they really didn’t do ratings. This one was just got a rating of “passed”, so there’s that. Apparently, there are some versions out there that would be closer to a PG-13 or R, but the versions I’ve seen didn’t have anyone getting disrobed or anything like that. 

Don't be alarmed, ladies and gentlemen. Those chains are made of chrome steel.

In this one, a film crew is on its way to an island that’s ridiculously hard to find. Once there they plan to shoot a movie with a potential star named Ann Darrow (played by Fay Wray). On the way, she is treated like garbage, especially by John Driscoll (played by Bruce Cabot), but that is just the beginning of her ordeal as they run into all kinds of massive creatures, island natives, and a giant gorilla named “KONG”. Can the film crew escape this prehistoric nightmare or will they all get stepped on by colossal feet as they run for their freakin lives? 

First off, I am kind of shocked I don’t own this movie. I mean, I own tons of older crap but not this and it’s outstanding. Clocking in at 1 hour and 40 minutes this movie is longer than a lot of the films of its day but it’s never boring and even with the long lead-in. This feature is packed with action once it gets going and never lets up. The stop motion effects do have some flaws, but at the time this form of filmmaking was just cinematic magic. As mentioned earlier there are apparently some more risqué cuts of this thing out there, but I have only seen the one that doesn’t have any of the rumored spiders or Fay Wray getting disrobed. By the way, Peter Jackson was apparently thrilled with the idea of a giant spider or bug attack because he put that in his version of KING KONG made in 2005. I am not reviewing that one here, but I hated that damn scene. I did see the version of this that included a lot of people getting stepped on and some lady that wasn’t Ann getting tossed to the ground like a rag doll. 

If you watch a lot of older flicks, a lot of them feel like everyone is over-acting and this is no exception, but for its day the performances are actually pretty solid. The dialog however is not for the PC crowd who might be sent into convulsions over some of John’s callous statements to Ann. He’s basically a jerk. One thing I do like about this over the 1976 version is that at least Fay Wray seems to be able to stand up straight. Not something that can be said about Jessica Lange in the 1976 version. Carl Denham the film crews director was played by Robert Armstrong whose acting in this is almost comically over jealous. I mean this dude is almost satirical and maybe purposely so. 

As a kid, I was completely fascinated by the dinosaurs and crazy fight scenes with Kong. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one fond of the actual Kong design. The model used in the film was 22” tall and ended up selling at an auction for $203,000 back in 2009. Kong’s vocalizations are a bit over the top and he definitely comes across as more a gorilla with a lion's roar. I do remember thinking this was a bit bizarre as a kid, but it’s kind of a cool touch now. KING KONG fights everything, he steps on everyone, its just all pretty freaking cool. 

If you are a fan of spectacle, giant creatures, and adventure, this is a really fun older flick. What we got on screen for this flick was a triumph in an era where there just wasn’t anything like this. The movie made $90,000 on its opening weekend which was a box office record at the time. I have to give this a 6 out of 7. It’s not perfect, but it’s still the 2nd best solo KING KONG film of all time. 

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