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| King Kong (1933) |
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  (8/10)
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Runtime: 100 |
| Public Rating: 7.10 (62 votes) |
Director: Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Horror/Fantasy/Action |
Year: 1933 |
| Writer(s): James Ashmore Creelman, Ruth Rose, Merian C. Cooper (story), Edgar Wallace (story) |
| Distributor: RKO Pictures |
| Reviewed by: Mel Valentin |
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Among the horror/fantasy films of the early 20th-century, only a handful of films continue to entertain and frighten audiences consistently across the better part of a century. Any horror/fantasy list compiled by genre fans or critics would likely include The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein, and, The Wolfman. Although horror fans and critics might quibble over which films belong on the horror/fantasy list, few, if any, will argue against the inclusion of the original King Kong, a simple, crude, if nonetheless effective, tale about a giant gorilla, a girl (or rather a young woman), and an eventful, final meeting atop the Empire State Building between King Kong and several biplanes.
King Kong was the result of a unique collaboration between directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack (both were known for their nature documentaries) and visual effects pioneer Willis O'Brien. O'Brien used then state-of-the-art trick photography, miniatures and stop-motion animation (i.e., a wire-frame armature covered in simulated skin and fur is moved incrementally frame by frame to create the illusion of movement) to bring King Kong and his world to life. For King Kong, Willis O'Brien refined stop-motion animation techniques he first utilized for The Lost World in 1925, an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's popular dinosaurs-in-modern-times novel. Like King Kong, The Lost World centers on an expedition to an isolated, uncharted area (a plateau in South America in Doyle's novel, a South Pacific island in King Kong). Most likely, The Lost World provided Merian C. Cooper for the inspiration for King Kong. Cooper claimed he literally dreamed of a giant ape creating havoc in New York City. It took screenwriters James Ashmore Creelman, Ruth Rose, and Edgar Wallace (he died while writing the script, only receiving a story credit), to take Cooper's idea and craft into a fully developed screenplay.
King Kong's titular character doesn't appear until almost the halfway point of the film's running time. Before Kong makes his first, terrifying appearance, the screenplay takes its time to introduce the characters, develop their relationships, and build suspense around when Kong will appear, what he'll look like, and what he'll do. Loosely modeled on Cooper, Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), is the ostensible lead character. Denham is a showman/filmmaker, hoping to revitalize his flagging career by journeying to an uncharted, primitive island, capturing real-life monsters on film (there are rumors about a beast on the island), adding a romantic storyline, and coming back with a commercial hit (he does, but not in the way he imagines).
With time and, presumably, money running out, Denham is short one leading lady. The local talent agents refuse to work with him, leading Denham to scour a Depression-era Manhattan for his actress. Enter a destitute Ann Darrow (Fay Wray), an actress with limited experience (she's worked as an extra). Denham saves Ann from a tough jam, winning her gratitude if nothing else. It doesn't take long, however, before Denham convinces Ann to join him on the expedition (the offer of money and fame are too irresistible to resist). On board the ship, Ann strikes up a conversation with the gruff, unfriendly second-in-command, John 'Jack' Driscoll (Bruce Cabot), who complains about Ann's presence aboard the ship, even as he begins to fall for her.
Denham, Ann, Jack, and the crew of the ship, the Venture, make it to the island, Skull Island (in actually, the island has no name, but over time, critics and fans have given it that name as an easy reference point). Skull Island is covered in lush, overgrown vegetation, but its most distinctive feature isn't natural, it's man-made, a giant wall separating the islanders from the interior of the island, where, presumably, monsters (or another, fearsome tribe) live. Denham, Ann, Jack, and half the ship's crew arrive on the island just as the islanders (insert racist African stereotypes here) are performing a wedding ritual. Apparently, one woman is about to be sacrificed to their god, "Kong." The islander's witch doctor spies Ann, of course, and immediately offers a trade: six island women for Ann. Denham, Jack, and Ann refuse, returning to the ship.
Leaving the ship carelessly unguarded, the islanders kidnap Ann, setting up the much-anticipated first encounter between Kong (a combination of stop-motion animation and a giant practical effect) and his bride-to-be, Ann. She screams, and screams, and screams (Wray was picked for the role in large part because of her screaming activities). King Kong shifts into action mode, with Kong tramping back to his cliffside lair, fighting off several prehistoric monsters, including a Tyrannosaurus Rex, while Denham, Jack, and several men race through the jungle to save Ann from an obviously besotted Kong (how Kong intends to consummate his desire for Ann is a question best left unasked, although Kong is not above undressing Ann to get a better look at her physical attributes). Eventually, Kong and Ann are separated, with an angry Kong in hot pursuit, with the occasional stop to munch or stomp on fleeing islanders (it's almost as grisly and disturbing as it sounds).
All this leads to Kong's capture, an offscreen trip to New York City, and the disastrous first and last exhibition of Kong in chains to a packed audience of typically jaded New Yorkers. Kong runs amok, understandably treating everything that crosses his path as a threat, including an elevated train packed with unknowing Manhattanites. Kong eventually makes his way to the Empire State Building (at one time, the tallest building in the world and a marvel of architecture), where, in a scene that's become nothing short of iconic, he battles biplanes armed with machine guns to the death (directors Cooper and Schoedsack are featured in the insert shots of the pilots and their gunners).
After more than seventy years, King Kong, is still considered a horror/fantasy benchmark. Like the Universal horror films of the 1930s, King Kong works because it speaks to a mixture of childhood fears and anxieties, but more than that, to the often unspoken desire to assume the role of the monster, to exist outside the bounds of restrictive social conventions and rules. In other words, King Kong is less sympathetic figure (he is, but only post-capture) than a powerful, unrestrained figure out of nightmares and dreams that we can and do identify with. Some critics have gone as far as suggesting that Kong represents a temperamental two-year old, without fear or thought of future consequences. The answer, however, doesn't have to be mutually exclusive. Others will point to the groundbreaking, still impressive visual effects and the vicarious, visceral horror created by Willis O'Brien and his special effects crew.
King Kong isn't without its faults, including the crude storyline, cheesy dialogue (and line readings), and awkward, stiff performances (with the exception of Fay Wray's expressive acting that owes a great deal to the standards set during the silent film era). It's also difficult to dismiss the casual racism present in the portrayals of the African islanders or the Chinese cook. Then too there's the valuation placed on the blonde, fair-skinned Ann Darrow vs. the African woman (and women) intended as Kong's brides. Ann Darrow is unsurprisingly the pinnacle of feminine beauty, something the natives immediately acknowledge by offering six African women for Ann. Kong too becomes besotted with Ann from the moment he first sees her, further emphasizing Ann's skin color as a prerequisite for feminine beauty. Gender roles are, as expected, stereotypical, with Ann relegated to damsel-in-distress status, incapable of helping herself (or even thinking for herself).
King Kong is rife with plot holes and unanswered questions. For example, Denham’s decision to mount an expedition to the mythical Skull Island is, to be charitable, questionable. Denham wants to shoot his film on location, presumably for authenticity (it’s ironic, of course, that neither version is filmed in outdoor locations, with sets and background plates substituting for the real thing). Where did he get his financing for such a questionable enterprise is something neither version answers. Obviously, the primitive islanders don’t have the technology or sophistication to build the giant wall, at least not within recent memory (not to mention the giant gate that gives Kong easy access to the other side of the island). Plus, if Kong can climb the Empire State Building, why can't he simply climb over the significantly shorter wall separating him from the islanders? How old is King Kong? He’s treated like a god by the islanders, but given the typical lifespan of gorillas in the wild (30-50 years), the practice of sacrificing women to Kong must be recent (or is Kong the last of a long line of giant primates?).
Ultimately, King Kong is far from a perfect film, but its status as a horror/fantasy "classic" is unlikely to be challenged anytime soon. Fans and critics have and will continue to look beyond King Kong's story problems, awkward performances, or its regressive racial and gender politics, accepting its faults while acknowledging its power to engage and frighten contemporary audiences, especially the nostalgia factor for those of us who first saw King Kong as children. Peter Jackson has repeatedly called King Kong the singular inspiration for his filmmaking career (he first saw King Kongwhen he was nine). Whether Jackson's remake adds anything to the Kong mythos remains to be seen.
© Mel Valentin, 3rd December, 2005
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