Upon its release in 1933,
King Kong immediately became a pop culture phenomenon. Within a
few months, Walt Disney had already parodied the film in the Mickey Mouse short The Pet Store, and
before the year was over a sequel to the original film appeared,
The Son of Kong. Much of
the talent from the first film returned - producer Merian C. Cooper, director Ernest B. Shoedsack,
screenwriter Ruth Rose, stop motion animator Willis O'Brien, composer Max Steiner, etc.—but the epic
scope, freshness and sense of danger that made the original so memorable are largely missing.
Instead,
The Son of Kong is a modest production more about the human characters than giant
apes or dinosaurs. With its short running time, it feels at times more like an extended epilog than
a true sequel. Although dismissed by some as an unworthy follow-up, the film has a charm of its own
that can be enjoyed on Warner Home Video's handsome new DVD.
The story: Inundated by lawsuits and about to be indicted by a grand jury in the wake of
King
Kong's rampage through Manhattan, Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) flees New York with the help of
his loyal friend Captain Englehorn (Frank Reicher). The two sail the Venture to Dakang, where they
run into Nils Helstrom (John Marston), the Norwegian skipper who gave Denham the map to Skull
Island, Kong's home. Anxious to leave Dutch jurisdiction, Helstrom tells Denham and Englehorn a
tale of a fabulous treasure hidden on Skull Island, and the three men agree to mount an expedition.
At sea, the crew discovers another new passenger: Hilda (Helen Mack), a recently orphaned young
woman whom Denham had befriended in Dakang. She is disturbed to see Helstrom on board, for he is
responsible for her father's death. Worried that he will be turned in to the authorities at the
first port, Helstrom incites a mutiny and has Denham, Englehorn, Hilda and Charlie the cook (Victor
Wong) put off the ship near Skull Island, only to find himself tossed overboard as well by the
rebellious crew. On the island, Denham is astonished to discover a 12-foot tall albino ape -
The
Son of Kong. Feeling guilty over Kong's death, he rescues the little one from some quicksand,
and finds himself with a grateful simian bodyguard protecting him from the myriad dangers that lurk
in the jungle.
Given
King Kong's enormous box office success, it is not surprising that RKO chose to make a
sequel; what is perhaps surprising is that they chose to make it a modestly budgeted, rushed affair
running a scant 69 minutes. The reasons are simple. Kong may have been a big hit that saved the
studio, but it was a costly film that took a long time to make because of the elaborate effects
work. It was also a highly unusual film; would audiences care for another, similar movie, or was it
a one-time novelty? Since none of the other studios attempted their own stop-motion giant monster
epic, Hollywood must have felt that Kong was something of a fluke. With no one willing to gamble
that Kong's success could be duplicated, the sequel inevitably became a cheap attempt to cash in
while the original was still fresh in the public consciousness.
Lacking the budget for a sprawling adventure,
The Son of Kong's script limits the big effects
scenes to the film's final third, and puts its emphasis on romance and humor instead of thrills. In
the original Kong, the viewer doesn't mind waiting for the delayed entrance of the title character
because the film does a good job creating mystery and suspense over what is to be found on Skull
Island, and what the mysterious "Kong" might be. In Son, there's no mystery and little suspense.
In the opening scenes Denham and Englehorn are just drifting aimlessly, and at times it feels as if
the plot is doing the same. Shoedsack manages to inject a bit of atmosphere into the Dakang
sequences in spite of the modest backlot sets, but overall the opening half of the film feels
padded, as if the filmmakers are desperately trying to generate enough footage to qualify as a
feature. A lot of screen time is spent establishing Hilda, her problems and her romance with
Denham. Helen Mack is cute and charming in the role, but this material feels like it belongs in a
"B" melodrama, not a
King Kong sequel. When our heroes at last reach Skull Island, hope that
the original's sense of wonder will return quickly fade when the title character is introduced and
played for laughs. At one point Little Kong even does a Stan Laurel-like "take", looking at the
camera, scratching his head and shrugging his shoulders.
Although it's easy to find
The Son of Kong disappointing, it's also a hard film to dislike.
It's lightweight, breezy, and reunites us some old friends from
King Kong. As embodied by
Robert Armstrong, Carl Denham is a very appealing lead character. He never lets himself be defeated
by his troubles. In spite of having lost everything, he's willing to believe that something better
is always waiting around the next corner if one is willing to go look for it. (His attitude is all
the more admirable when one remembers that the film was made in the depths of the Great Depression.)
He may seem more than a little naïve when he falls for Helstrom's treasure story, but we like his
adventurous spirit.
Skull Island may lack the mystique here that it had in the first film, but it's still a fun place to
revisit for devoted Kong fans. (A sense of nostalgia can help one forgive many a weakness in a
film.) Prehistoric menaces encountered this time consist of a Styracosaurus (cut out of the original
film, but given a second shot at stardom here), a cave bear, a fanciful dragon-like dinosaur
(misidentified as a brontosaurus in the DVD chapter menus) and a sea monster. The effects work may
not groundbreaking or revolutionary, but the stop-motion animation is technically very accomplished
and still enthralling fun to watch. The best action sequence is little Kong's fight with the cave
bear, a fast-paced battle featuring pro wrestler-type moves. The dragon-monster is a more colorful
opponent and sure to be a favorite with kids, but the scene tends to remind one of the superior
Kong-Allosaurus fight in the original. As for little Kong himself, one may wince at the decision to
make him a comic figure, but O'Brien and his crew invest him with a great deal of character. His
childlike curiosity comes across particularly well, as when he cautiously peeks in on Denham and
Hilda cuddling by a campfire. The overall excellence of the effects is even more impressive when
one considers the rushed production schedule, and the fact that O'Brien suffered a personal tragedy
during the making of the film: his ex-wife shot and killed their two sons. There is an
oft-reprinted photo of the great animator taken during the making of
The Son of Kong in which
his face is etched with inexpressible sorrow. There is a prominent tear in the photo; O'Brien
ripped it in half because he couldn't stand to look at it.
Over time,
King Kong became a victim of its own success, with film elements becoming lost or
damaged. Less popular and thus not subjected to endless reissues,
The Son of Kong has
survived the years in better condition, and Warner Home Video's DVD looks and sounds excellent for a
film of this vintage. The only special feature is a dupey and tattered theatrical trailer. The
disc is available by itself, or as part of the
King Kong Collection along with the original
and
Mighty Joe Young.
For more information about
The Son of Kong, visit
Warner Video.
by Gary Teetzel
