King Kong
Beauty conquered the beast!
King Kong (1933)
Production
Budget
$672 000
Revenue
$10 001 781
Director
Scenario
Merian C. Cooper
Author
Composer
Producer
Actors
Robert Armstrong
Carl Denham
Fay Wray
Ann Darrow
Bruce Cabot
Jack Driscoll
Frank Reicher
Captain Englehorn
Victor Wong
Ship's Cook Charlie
James Flavin
Mate Briggs
Sam Hardy
Charles Weston
Noble Johnson
Skull Island Native Chief
Short description
King Kong follows Carl Denham, a filmmaker who arranges an expedition to a remote island in search of a legendary creature. He brings along Ann Darrow, the actress he has cast as his leading lady, and Jack Driscoll, the ship's first mate. On the island they encounter a giant ape that the local inhabitants regard as a god, and Ann becomes the focus of the creature's attention. Denham eventually captures the animal and takes it back to New York, where he puts it on public display.
The film was directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack and released by RKO Radio Pictures in 1933, running 100 minutes. It came directly after their earlier adventure film The Most Dangerous Game, and the pair went on to make The Son of Kong the same year, followed by Dr. Cyclops and Mighty Joe Young. Robert Armstrong plays Denham, Fay Wray plays Ann, and Bruce Cabot plays Driscoll, with Frank Reicher and Victor Wong among the credited cast of 41.
Made on a modest budget, the film took about 10 million dollars worldwide, an unusually strong return for its era. Audiences rate it highly, with 7.9 out of 10 on IMDb from around 96,000 votes and 7.6 out of 10 on TMDB, while critics are more enthusiastic still, giving it 9.2 out of 10 across 116 reviews. Decades later it remains one of the defining adventure-fantasy films of early Hollywood.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the first shot of Kong and the airplane, the wingspan is consistent, but in another shot, the lower part of the plane's wings is shorter than the upper part.
- The original version of the film was released four times between 1933 and 1952, and each new release invariably included additional scenes. Only one filmed scene never saw the light of day. It depicts Kong dispatching four sailors by throwing them into a ravine to be torn apart by giant spiders. This scene was rightfully considered the most brutal in the entire film, and during preview screenings, some people left the theater after watching these particular shots.
- During its debut weekend, the film set a box office record, grossing $90,000.
- The fully restored version of the film has a runtime of 104 minutes.
- According to legend, reflected in the biographies of director Merian C. Cooper, he was inspired to create the image of King Kong by none other than a poem by Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky. In 1919-1921, Merian, as a pilot, flew as part of the Kościuszko Squadron, fighting on the side of Poland in the Polish-Soviet War. Once his plane was shot down, and he himself was captured and spent some time in a Russian prisoner-of-war camp, from which he later escaped, reached Latvia, received an award from the Poles, returned to the United States, worked as a civil aviation pilot, and became a director. While in captivity, he had to learn the basics of the Russian language. And a book helped him in his studies – the only one in the entire prisoner-of-war camp. Namely, 'Crocodile' by Korney Chukovsky. The third part of which contains the following lines: 'A wild gorilla / Stole the baby doll / And ran at a gallop / Along the pavement. / Higher, higher, higher, / Now she's on the roof. / On the seventh floor / She jumps like a ball.' The choice of aviation as the force that defeated King Kong is also considered significant – Merian was burdened by the failure in that aerial battle and thus took revenge on his enemies in an artistic form.
- When King Kong breaks through the gates, part of his body is visible through one of the trees.
- Stop-motion animation of the entire fight scene between Kong and the pterodactyl took seven weeks.
- In 1991, the film was added to the National Film Registry of the United States as having significant artistic value.
- During filming, the working title of the picture changed constantly. The following film title options were considered: “The Beast,” “The Ape,” “King Ape,” and “Kong.”
- During their first encounter, Ann's shadow is not reflected on the gorilla's chest.
- King Kong can easily climb over the wall that protects the natives from danger.
- Throughout the film's runtime, meticulous statisticians counted 40 corpses.
- The film was first shown in the USSR in 1970 at the "Illusion" cinema in Moscow.
- An enraged Kong grabs a native and puts their head in his mouth, but in another shot, he holds the native by the legs with his mouth.
- Numerous posters for the film stated the actual size of the giant gorilla – 50 feet (about 15 meters). Meticulous statisticians calculated that in the scenes on the island, Kong’s size approached 19 feet (about 5 meters), and in the city scenes – 25 feet (about 8 meters).
- When the natives flee from the enraged King Kong, one of them jumps from a hut, falls to the ground, and, catching his hair on a basket, loses his wig.
- Each King Kong model was approximately 45 cm tall.
- It is believed that the releasing company, RKO, avoided bankruptcy by timely releasing the film, which became a true hit number one.
- Fay Wray’s iconic scream of terror at the sight of King Kong (considered one of the best hysterical screams in film history) was not actually her own. It was voiced by another actress, Julia Haydon.
- As Ann and Jack descend the cliff, Ann is wearing shoes, but shortly after, she is barefoot.
- When the gorilla leaves the scene, the car of the escaping people does not have a windshield, but it appears later.
- The famous roar of King Kong is actually a combination of a lion and a tiger's roars played in reverse.
- King Kong is one of the first films where the entire visual sequence is accompanied by music. Previously, music was only included in the credits and rare episodes.
- 'S.S. Venture' – the ship on which King Kong was transported. A similar vessel was used in 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' (1997).
- Each airplane pilot was paid $10 for their participation in the project.
- One of the sailors falls into the abyss from a log shaken by Kong, and then reappears on the log.
- To produce the scene of Kong's battle with the Tyrannosaurus Rex, two real wrestlers were brought in, whose task was to accurately simulate the blows inflicted on each other by the two enormous creatures. After that, the animators took over.
- Significant part of the film was to be animated special effects, created with the help of Willis O’Brien, who also worked on the filming of ‘The Lost World’. For the first time in the history of cinema, he used the technique of superimposing live-action and animated footage, which allowed him to show both live actors and monsters depicted with puppets in the same frame.
- As part of the production of “Creation,” several models of prehistoric reptiles were created. However, the Great Depression intervened, and the project had to be shut down. To ensure that this long and painstaking work was not in vain, a decision was made to use these models in the production of “King Kong.”
- It is included in Entertainment Weekly's list of the greatest films of all time, ranking 47th.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
