Carl Denham: "And now, ladies and gentlemen, before I tell you any more, I'm going to show you the greatest thing your eyes have ever beheld. He was a king and a god in the world he knew, but now he comes to civilization merely a captive -- a show to gratify your curiosity. Ladies and gentlemen, look at Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World!"
Classic adventure film, released in 1933. It was directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack (who both had cameos at the end of the movie. Cooper played the pilot of the plane that finally brings Kong down, while Schoedsack played his gunner). It was written by James Ashmore Creelman and Ruth Rose, based on a story by Cooper and Schoedsack. The groundbreaking special effects were by Willis O'Brien and Harry Redmond, Jr., and the executive producer of the picture was David O. Selznick.
The movie starred Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham, the leader of the expedition, Bruce Cabot as Jack Driscoll, the first mate, and Fay Wray in a star-making turn as Ann Darrow. All three are part of an expedition to a mysterious island where they find dinosaurs galore and a giant gorilla who the natives call Kong. The natives plan to sacrifice Ann to Kong, but he takes a liking to her and takes her back to his cave in the jungle. The ship's crew rescues her, then subdues Kong with gas bombs. The big gorilla is taken to New York City, where Denham hopes to make a mint exhibiting the beast on Broadway. But the ape breaks free and rampages through the city. He finds Darrow again and climbs with her to the top of the Empire State Building. After he is shot by numerous swooping airplanes, he sets Darrow down, then plummets to his death.
"King Kong" was wildly successful upon its release (it was said that many viewers believed that Kong was a real giant ape -- they didn't believe it was possible that he was fake), and the film was released multiple times between 1933 and 1952. Each new release saw new cuts made to the original movie, and while most of the clipped scenes were restored in 1971, one of the outtakes has never been found. In this scene, after Kong shakes some sailors off a log bridge and into a ravine, they are attacked and eaten by giant spiders. But Cooper felt that the spider sequence disrupted the picture too much, since audiences either left the theater afterwards or talked about nothing else for the rest of the movie. So Cooper removed the sequence himself and, presumably, destroyed that portion of the film.
This cannot be emphasized enough: if you have not seen "King Kong" yet, it is worth your time to find it, rent it, and watch it. Though it is somewhat dated by today's standards, for the most part, it holds up beautifully. The scenes with Kong battling dinosaurs and climbing the Empire State Building are classics, and the first images we see of Kong emerging from the jungle are still amazing. Even after all these years, it's still scary, it's still exciting, it still makes you believe. Special effects technology has been improved in the ensuing decades, but the skill, craftsmanship, and art behind this movie have never been surpassed; you know that Kong is an 18-inch-tall stop-action puppet, but you can tell what he's thinking, you know why he's thinking it, and by the time the end credits roll, you feel sympathy and affection for him. That's the sign of great acting, folks.
"King Kong" was followed by a sequel called "The Son of Kong," a poorly-received remake in 1976, a more worthwhile remake at the end of 2005, and an immense number of guest appearances, spoofs, and tributes in a vast number of other movies and TV shows.
Police Lieutenant: "Well, Denham, the airplanes got him."
Carl Denham: "Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast."
Some research from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)
More rave reviews: Walter says: "You know, I watched this today for the first time, and I was expecting to be pretty bored, but you're right, it was AWESOME. Everything about it was just so enjoyable. I couldn't believe the amount of gratuitous monkey-on-dinosaur action."