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(Black and White & Colour versions of opening credit scene.)
One of the greatest fantasy adventures ever made, KING KONG has deservedly attained legendary status over the years, and no remake or Japanese rip-off ever came close to capturing the original film's sense of wonder. The classic Beauty and the Beast fable, KONG opens with documentary filmaker Robert Armstrong plucking Fay Wray from the Depression-era breadline to cast her as the lead in his new movie
The problem is she has to travel with him and his filmmaking crew to the remote, uncharted Skull Island, a place inhabited by prehistoric beasts and ruled over by a huge ape called KONG. Wray's beauty entrances the monstrous monkey and Armstrong uses this attraction to lure the creature into captivity. Back in New York, KONG escapes and causes mass destruction before climbing the Empire State Building for an appointment with movie immortality. A terrific script, fine acting and Willis O'Brien's amazing stop-motion effects combine to produce sheer movie magic. O'Brien gave Kong so much personality, much more than any CGI could ever produce.
The film saved the Company RKO from bankruptcy, but they didn't show it any respect when reissuing it in 1938 in a cut form. Gone were scenes of Kong chewing and crushing human beings, and a racy sequence where the curious ape strips Fay Wray of her clothing. These scenes were restored in the 60's, but the legendary "Spider pit" sequence remains tantalisingly unavailable. The script was begun by master British mystery writer Edgar Wallace and finished after his sudden death by Ruth Rose (wife of director Ernest B.Schoedsack) and James A. Creelman.
100 mins.
