The Original King Kong

1933’s “King Kong” is the most famous and loved movie in all of history; due to its directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack who created a stunning new form of filming that changed the face of the movie industry forever.

King Kong is about a young film maker named Carl Denham, a man who finds just the right actress he desired for his next film. The actress was a homeless woman, named Ann, who was living her life stealing off the streets of New York. The women is offered a job that will be the “chance of a lifetime” if she starts work immediately. Ann was brought aboard a boat shortly after she meets Jack. The ship reaches an island that Denham has been searching for. The island is inhabited by natives who are sacrificing one of the women to the monster, King Kong. The natives have built a wall that protects their half of the wall. The natives steal Ann believing that she is the perfect sacrifice with her “gold hair”. When Kong is displayed, he is in fact a small model braced with metal and covered with rabbit fur, but when placing both a small shot of Ann in the corner of the screen Kong appears much larger. Kong then leaves with Ann screaming. It’s up to Jack and his crew to save the damsel in distress. The men fight prehistoric monsters in spectacular new special effects. When Jack reaches Ann at the top of Kong’s lair they both fall into the waters below. When the two characters make it back to the native village a large battle takes place against Kong. When Denham knocks Kong out with gas he says that he plans to bring Kong to New York to make money, “People will pay to see King Kong, The Eighth Wonder of the World.” King Kong is then shown in front of a live audience only to break out of his restraints. Once Kong escapes he carries Ann to the top of the Empire State Building. At the top, he quickly feels trapped with no place to go. This scene uses a shot of the real building and city and throws in a second reel that overlaps the building so it appears there really is a giant ape climbing the building. There are also four planes that are in the footage. The top of the building is a stage that in miniature and in actual size. When King Kong climbs the tower, the intensity of the music increases. The music stops suddenly when there is nowhere to run to. The shots switch to different stages depending on what the action is. When Kong is shown holding Ann she is simply a small rag doll. When Kong places Ann down on the balcony the film stops and shows a scene of the actress with just a large arm above her. The four planes then start shooting at King Kong, the camera being placed into the cockpit with each fly by. Blood spilling and bullets flying, the ape swings his arm out and takes out a plane. The actors playing the parts of the pilots were the two directors. In this scene, Kong is slowly dying through the eyes of the human pilots was to create a sympathy for the ape. Before Kong dies he rubs his hands on Ann’s cheek to emphasize love. Kong then falls. The cream is a long shot of the Empire State Building, showing Kong fall. The movie ends with a crowd of people sounding the dead king in the streets. Kong is not show well because it would be to violet for movies in 1933. A police officer confronts Denham, “Well Denham, the airplanes got’em.” Denham the replays in a verbal motr, “It wasn’t the airplanes, it was beauty killed the beast.”

The movie as a whole is masterful in its production. Brilliant acting with a great setting and a great story only added to this. The filming of stop motion of dolls was a first in the movie business for special effects. I personally loved this movie and always enjoy hearing the epic tale of King Kong.