King Kong (1933)

 

With the upcoming release of the new Godzilla vs. Kong, I thought it would be fun to revisit the past King Kong movies, starting with the classic 1933 original film. The film is a groundbreaking precursor to the sort of Blockbuster filmmaking that dominates multiplexes today. It pioneered such impressive effects work as stop motion animation, rear projections, and matte paintings to tell it's story. But does King Kong still hold up after all these years? For the most part, yes it actually does. 

Filmmaker Carl Denham (played by Robert Armstrong) is assembling a crew for his most ambitious project yet, a journey to an uncharted island that is said to be host to a horrifying monster known as Kong. He is amassed a crew of men to help with this expedition, set to depart on a steamer ship named the Venture. He's just missing a leading lady for his film. In a chance encounter, he meets the down on her luck Ann Darrow (played by Fay Wray). Promising the adventure of a lifetime, he convinces her to join them on their expedition. The journey to the island is largely uneventful, as Ann meets the ship's first mate Jack Driscoll (played by Bruce Cabot) and sparks begin to fly between the two. Upon their arrival on the island, they discover a village built outside a huge stone wall with two large wooden doors, securely locked with a large bolt. The villagers are engaged in a ritual for a woman designated as the "Bride of Kong". The Chief of the tribe is enraged that Denham and his crew has interrupted their ritual, but upon seeing Ann offers to trade six of his women for her to offer her up to Kong instead. Naturally Denham refuses and they leave, returning to the Venture, anchored just offshore. However, that night the villagers sneak aboard the boat and kidnap Ann. She is taken back to the island and past the large wooden gates to be tied up to two posts. Soon enough, the giant ape Kong makes his grand entrance, terrifying Ann. Of course, Kong unties her and takes her back into the jungle with him. Realizing Ann is missing, Carl, Jack and the rest of the crew leave the boat and follow in hot pursuit, setting in motion a series of events that will culminate with Kong being taken back to America and the famous final showdown atop the Empire State Building. 

As the story goes, the story of King Kong was born out of director Merian C. Cooper's lifelong fascination with Gorillas. He fashioned the original story, imagining adventurers encountering a mammoth gorilla and even imagining the climax at the Empire State Building in New York. Cooper collaborated on the final script first with James Ashmore Creelman and later Horace McCoy and Ruth Rose. For the required effects to bring Kong to life, they turned to famed stop motion animator Willis O'Brien, mixed with animatronics and puppetry of Kong's head, shoulders and chest, as well as right arm where he would be holding on to Fay Wray. The combined effects work was groundbreaking for it's time and even though they have certainly aged in the digital age, there is still something compelling about the effects work. The story itself remains timeless and thrilling as ever. However, the portrayal of certain characters such as the villagers and an Asian crewmember known as Charlie (played by Victor Wong) that have perhaps not aged as well. Of course, the film's depictions of the various prehistoric creatures the characters encounter on the island are laughably inconsistent with how they are believed to be today, especially as both a Stegosaurus and a Brontosaurus attempt at different points to devour the characters. 

Fay Wray has always been synonymous with King Kong as she established herself as one of cinema's preeminent Scream Queens and it was a well earned title as that is pretty much all she does once she meets Kong during her time on the Island. It does get a bit repetitious as the film goes on. Kong sets Ann down to do something, a dangerous creature shows up (a T. Rex, a giant snake, a Pterodactyl), Ann screams, Kong drops everything and comes fight the beast to rescue her. She is the definition of damsel in distress in this film, but in the beginning part of the film as we get to know her, Wray does give Ann a certain plucky ambition that certainly helps get the audience on her side. Robert Armstrong gives filmmaker Carl Denham as sort of reckless ambition that makes his character a bit more interesting. He just wants to travel to the island to make his documentary film, but seems curiously unconcerned with the people who get hurt in the process or even the people who get hurt or killed once Kong breaks free in New York. Bruce Cabot does reasonably well as stalwart hero Jack Driscoll, unafraid to run into the jungle alone to rescue Ann if he has to. He doesn't really have much chemistry with Fay Wray and their romance seems a bit shoehorned in by the studio (because it was). Still, it's a minor element of the film.         

Still, after all the years, the original King Kong still holds up despite the more dated aspects, as a genuinely thrilling adventure film. As I settle into the film and get used to the effects work and get used to their unique charms, I find myself getting pulled into the story. Where the incredible animation for Kong actually works and I find myself feeling genuine emotion as he fights the various Skull Island monsters, or the Bi-Planes atop the Empire State Building. It all still works as long as you allow yourself to go along with it. It's a film I still enjoy watching both to appreciate the ingenuity of the effects as well as the filmmaking itself.