There’s another Godzilla and King Kong movie on the way. While I’ve always been a much bigger fan overall of Godzilla, King Kong has also been there for most of the part of my life that’s been spent watching movies. The story of both monsters however, regardless of who you like more in a King Kong or Godzilla debate, begins with the 1933 King Kong.
An immediate box office success for its special effects and empathetic portrayal of the giant ape Kong, the film’s weight and sense of spectacle can be found in just about every giant monster movie that came after it. This certainly includes Godzilla.
Yet King Kong as a character hasn’t had the best run of movies. The 1933 King Kong has seen a few remakes, sequels, and even the reboot Kong: Skull Island. Some of them (Skull Island) are fantastic, well-made, and entertaining monster movies. Others are at least arguably a mixed bag (the 1976 and 2005 remakes).
And then there’s the cocaine-fueled madness of King Kong Lives. Good or bad, that utterly bonkers movie exists on its own deranged terms. Same for the Toho-produced showdown from 1962, although I don’t think cocaine was involved there.
The 1933 King Kong is generally regarded as the best of the bunch, though. The others might have deeper stories or improved special effects from the Great Depression times, but the ’33 Kong is still being shown in theaters and held up as an example of timeless blockbuster cinema. 90th anniversary screenings have been held all over the world. Kids still like this movie, so there’s more to King Kong’s endurance as a popular movie than just nostalgia.
Sure, the movie is pretty creaky in places, but the energy put forth by an enthusiastic cast and a tight script are still potent elements to what makes King Kong work. There’s sincere entertainment value in performances by Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, and of course the original scream queen herself Fay Wray. It’s Wray’s performance that still succeeds where arguably every remake of this story has failed, creating a human component to this story that enhances everything around it. Her performance here is every bit as important to King Kong’s iconic status as the big ape himself.
The special effects are really the star of the show though. Their age has not diminished their appeal. Stop-motion animation is still being done to this day, and it’s still finding an audience. It’s not a huge leap to say that King Kong’s special effects haven’t lost any relevancy. Even in the era of CGI turning more movies than not into clean, indistinguishable sludge, more people than you might think are watching something like the 1933 King Kong and appreciating its artistry.
I certainly appreciate the movie’s ability to still transfix me well into my 30s. It’s still quite simply at its heart and soul a fun movie to just sit down and watch. Its sense of spectacle is impossible to deny, and it seems to prove that sometimes simple really is best. Every Kong movie that came after the original King Kong has forgotten this fact to one degree or another.
After more classic movies? More MTSBYD awaits.
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