The Son of Kong (1933)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Ernest B. Schoedsack

Writer:

Ruth Rose (story)

Release Date:

22 December 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

SEE! The cannibals! The earthquake! The sea serpent! The fighting monsters of ages past!

Plot:

After the disastrous results of his last expedition, Carl Denham leaves New York aboard a ship to escape all the trouble...

Plot Keywords:

Mutiny | Island | King Kong | Fight | Fire

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Robert Armstrong	...	Carl Denham
Helen Mack	...	Helene Peterson
Frank Reicher	...	Captain Englehorn
John Marston	...	Captain Nils Helstrom
Victor Wong	...	Charlie, the Chinese Cook
Ed Brady	...	Bo'sun Red

Also Known As:

Son of Kong (USA) (trailer title)

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #1339)

Filming Locations:

Santa Catalina Island, Channel Islands, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Recordings of Fay Wray's screams from King Kong (1933) were used in this movie.

Quotes:

[Hilda sings Runaway Blues]
Carl Denham: Hey, she's got something there.
Englehorn: It certainly isn't a voice!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Jodie Foster/Brian Wilson (#2.9)" (1976)

Who's your daddy?

Exploitative cinema seemly is of all times… Even in the classic and respectable 30's, whenever a slick producer saw the chance of making extra money of a certain success-formula, he took it. And righteously so! Who could possibly blame director Ernest B. Schoedsack and his film crew for trying to gain some more dollars out the tremendous box office hit "King Kong", released only 8 months earlier? Unlike the milestone his daddy starred in, "Son of Kong" certainly isn't a must-see film, but it nonetheless remains an enjoyable, light-headed little film that still features all the nifty elements of its predecessor, only to a lesser degree. The mini-ape is still an engaging Willis O'Brien creation but his appearance is a lot more brief and comical. The story of this sequel supposedly takes place one month after King Kong climbed up the Empire State Building, and has Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong reprises his role) fleeing from all his New York creditors. He sails off to see and, along with a whole bunch of people that aren't worth introducing, he washes ashore Skull Island again where they encounter the son of King Kong. The film is never boring, but it's totally pointless and it can't seem to decide whether it wants to be adventurous or simply cute. Also, it's difficult to accept the character of Carl Denham as a hero all of a sudden, since he was the greedy bastard responsible for King Kong's downfall.

Oh, and another thing… I'm not a great biologist, but apes don't come crawling out of eggs as far as I know. So, assuming King Kong isn't a hermaphrodite, there should also be a Mother Kong somewhere! Where the hell is she? Wasn't her story interesting enough to tell? Is she such an atypical female that she decided to stay out of the picture during the cinematic adventures of both her man and son? Or maybe she went back to living with Mother-in-Law Kong when she noticed her husband fancied Fay Wray and followed her all the way to New York? Now that's something to think about!