Monster Movie of the Week: Son of Kong (1933)

SON OF KONG (1933)
Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Genre: Jungle Adventure

THE MOVIE

The original King Kong is such a well-known classic that it is often surprising to people to learn that it actually had a sequel which was released later the same year. Son of Kong is nowhere near as good of a movie as its predecessor but it is an interesting artifact from a movie industry that was relatively unsophisticated when it came to marketing and building "franchises" based on popular movies. There is something almost tentative about Son of Kong, as it really is an early attempt at a sequel. It is almost as thought the filmmakers weren't sure how or if they should even be doing a follow up to the massive hit that was Kong.

In the aftermath of Kong's New York rampage, promoter Carl Denham is rightly blamed for the destruction and is being sued by numerous parties for bringing Kong to the city. Denham takes off on a business venture with Captain Englehorn. Ultimately these two returning characters hook up with a couple of new characters (including a female stowaway) and end up chasing treasure on Skull Island, the creature infested "Lost World" where they first encountered King Kong. It turns out there is another giant gorilla on the island, this time a juvenile albino and the titular Son of Kong.

After many close calls and the discovery of the lost treasure of Skull Island, our heroes escape with the help of Kong as the island collapses on itself during a violent earthquake. The son of Kong dies heroically while saving Carl Denham, in a bitterly ironic ending. Although, Kong movies are not known for their happy resolutions.

The movie is an interesting time capsule, with its references to "the war" and its pre-Cold War references to socialism. Halfway through the movie, the crew of The Venture stages a kind of worker's revolt and not only toss out their captain but his usurper as well, having decided that they were done with captains. We never find out what happens to this floating banana republic.

Carl Denham is an interesting protagonist for a movie. How much you are able to tolerate him is directly related to how much you buy into the mythology of America, which values recklessly ambitious capitalists. Back in the day, audiences might have been able to overlook the man's character flaws, but in 2011, he is a weird choice for a heroic protagonist. Before the movie even starts, he has captured and exploited a rare animal which broke loose and killed dozens of people and caused an incredible amount of property damage. At the start of this movie, he skips town to flee all of the lawsuits that he has been served with and goes seeking treasure. Finally, he causes the death of yet another giant gorilla. I mean, if anyone is the villain in this story it is Denham.


THE MONSTERS/EFFECTS

Little Kong is only about half the size of his dad and has white fur to distinguish him from his pop. He is also presented in a much more "comical" way than King Kong in a cloying son of Godzilla sort of way, since Son of Kong is on the whole a less serious movie than its predecessor. Little Kong is tasked with a lot of awkward physical comedy. This is especially discordant considering his fate at the end of the movie.


Despite his dorky moments, Little Kong does get into a couple of good fights with both a cave bear and some kind of quadrupedal carnivorous dinosaur. The stop motion animation is still handled by the great Willis O'Brien and is top notch. Both of these fights are well choreographed.


MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE

The end of the film is actually quite moving but, again, it is jarring due to the tone of much of the rest of the movie. All in all, Son of Kong doesn't really come together like it should.

HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY

Available on DVD.

TRAILER


Patrick Garone
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