King Kong (1933)

King Kong (1933)

Starring: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and Bruce Cabot.

Directed By: Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack.

Plot: Carl Denham is an ambitious film maker who is notable for filming in exotic locations, and he has a new project in mind.  He has plans to take a boat to an unknown location to film a movie, but the studio won't let him until he finds a leading lady.  Luckily, as he's walking down the street, he stumbles into Ann Darrow, who just happens to be beautiful as well as in need of a job, so she's given the part and they head off to sea.  After weeks of traveling, Denham eventually reveals the destination of the voyage, a mysterious place known as Skull Island, where there are legends of an enormous beast named Kong.  When they arrive at the island, they encounter a tribe of natives who worship Kong.  As soon as the natives see Ann, they decide to capture her and use her as a sacrifice, and kidnap her during the night.  When the crew try to bring her back, they find that Kong has already taken her.  Will they be able to brave the mysterious jungle of Skull Island and save Ann, or will they become monster chow?

Kong steals Ann.

Characters:  For such a beloved and renowned film, it's surprising how bland the characters are.  Virtually all of them are archetypes and none of them are entertaining enough for the audience to care about them.  They mostly act as tools to move the plot along, instead of real intriguing characters.

The crew observes the natives.

Carl Denham is ambitious, driven, and brave filmmaker, who will do anything to get a good shot.  He will lie and charm his way into situations that are good for him, but he has a good heart, and cares when his crew is in danger.  He's by far the most interesting character of the movie, despite being very underwritten.  His energy and enthusiasm for film making is infectious, and he adds many humorous moments in the film.  It definitely helps that Robert Armstrong is doing his absolute best with the material he's given.  However, by the second half of the film, he becomes less prominent, making him basically a background character for the rest of the film.

"Listen - I'm going out and make the greatest picture in the world. Something that nobody's ever seen or heard of. They'll have to think up a lot of new adjectives when I come back."

Ann Darrow is a beautiful and out-of-work woman who makes her big break when she joins Denham's production.  And that's about it.  Ann is one of the blandest characters I've ever seen in a movie.  All she does is stand around looking pretty, get captured, and scream when she's in danger.  That's it.  Fay Wray does a fine job portraying that, but it doesn't make the character any more interesting.  She makes Bella Swan look like a strong female character.  She's basically a plot device for Kong to capture and the men to save.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

Kong is a giant gorilla that spends his time taking women that the tribe sacrifices to him, as well as fighting dinosaurs and other beasts on the island.  He resorts to violence often, but he also has a softer, more naive side to him that comes out when he's with Ann.  What surprised me when I watched this film was that he's portrayed as a villain and a monster, instead of the sympathetic animal that he's known as today.  It's interesting to see him portrayed in this way, and it shows the sensibilities of the time.  

Kong brings Ann to a cave.

Writing; This film's writing is mixed to say the least.  The pacing is pretty slow during the first 45 minutes,since all there is to entertain the audience are the dull characters.  But as soon as Kong shows up, so does the action, which moves the movie along at a lightning fast speed and makes the film much more entertaining as a result.  As I said earlier, the characters aren't particularly well written, and many of their scenes feel stilted and forced.  There's one particularly cringe-worthy scene where Ann and a crew member named Jack (who had previously claimed to hate women) profess their love for each other after only about 5-10 minutes of screen time together.  Jack even says, "Say...I guess I love you", even though the only 'chemistry' they had was through Ann being annoying to him and Jack being misogynistic to her.  Of course they'd make a great couple!  

"I thought you didn't like women?"  "Yeah, but you're not women."

Speaking of misogyny, this film is full of it, especially in the first half.  The only reason Ann is chosen to join the crew is because she has a pretty face, and she's in need of a job.  Many of the crew members (especially Jack) claim that women only get in the way of being on a ship, and no one says anything to dispute it.  Finally, the only reason Kong seems to capture her is because she's pretty.  There's also quite a bit of racism in the film, especially when it comes to the natives of Skull Island.  They aren't the worst portrayal of indigenous people I've ever seen, but there are still some moments where modern audiences will cringe.  For example, the movie implies that the main reason the natives take Ann is because they believe that blond white women are the most beautiful kind women.  They are also treated like children, and are easily scared off by gunfire.  

The natives spot the explorers.

Production: By far the best thing about this film would have to be its production, specifically when it comes to Kong and the creatures he fights.  While the stop motion is far from perfect, it still holds up enough to still be entertaining.  The Kong puppet is very expressive, and his movements (while jerky) fit the character.  The fights with the prehistoric creatures are very well done, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed them.  Yes, the models are very inaccurate now, but in the 1930's this would've been just fine.  Plus, the inaccuracy of some of the creatures makes the fights more interesting.  For example, when Kong is in a cave, he fights a plesiosaur.  By making the plesiosaur move like a snake (which is something they did not do), the stakes are raised for Kong, as he has to deal with an enemy who can strangle him easily.

Kong vs. plesiosaur

Max Steiner's score is also very well done, creating a grand and scary tone that portrays the grand scale of the story very well.  Two of my favorite musical moments are the main theme and the native chant.  All of the sets are fantastic and they blend very well with the beautiful matte paintings.  The cinematography is pretty basic, with lots of static shots, but they show off the action well, so it's not that big of a deal.

Trivia:

• Kong's roar was a mix of a lion and a tiger's roar played backwards slowly.
• Many site this film's success as the reason RKO was able to avoid bankruptcy.
• The "Old Arabian Proverb" in the beginning was made up for the movie and written by Merian C. Cooper.
• It's thought that the idea of King Kong came from Merian C. Cooper when he had a dream about a giant gorilla attacking New York.

Final Verdict: I can see why King Kong has become a staple of American cinema.  It created a spectacle of which the world had never seen using entertaining action and cutting-edge special effects.  And while it may hold up in those aspects, in terms of characters and writing, it was found to be lacking.  The racist and sexist undertones are too cringe-worthy to be ignored and the characters are far too simplified and boring.  Overall, if you can make it through the first 45 minutes (which is where most of the problems lie), then you will be able to enjoy the fun action scenes.  If not, I'd give this one a pass.  

Next time, I'll try something a bit different, and compare two films with a very similar premise, and see which one comes out on top.

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