Was it too much to expect lightning to strike twice the same year for giant-ape movies?
The greatness of "King Kong" lies partially in the way it brings together three mighty rivers of imagination of its day: Classic Hollywood, the exotica of Robert E. Howard-style storytelling pulp, and cutting-edge special effects. "Son Of Kong" takes some of that and adds light comedy for a sequel that almost works, but for the obvious greed of RKO in putting this one out too fast, just months after "King Kong" exploded in theaters around the world.
Not very long after the events of "King Kong," impresario Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) is suffering from the impact of bringing his giant ape to Manhattan Island. Not only did the beast kill dozens before dying himself, but he wrecked the kind of damage that makes for big headlines, and bigger lawsuits.
"I wish I left him on his island," Denham muses. "Old Kong, I'm sure paying for what I did to you."
But Kong has another ace up his sleeve, which gets played when Denham goes back to Kong's island haunt in search of treasure. There he finds Kong's son, a smaller (but still quite giant) white ape. Can Denham and his comrades do better by him than they did by his old man?
Everything that made "King Kong" great is in evidence in "Son Of Kong," albeit in reduced scale, as director Ernest B. Schoedsack and producer Merian C. Cooper had to rush this film to market with a shorter running time and smaller budget. It's almost like the studio was punishing them, and special effects whiz Willis O'Brien, for delivering such a box- office smash last time. Another member of the original "King Kong" creative team, writer Ruth Rose, crafts a script that emphasizes comedy over suspense, and manages a decent job for the first three-quarters.
When we meet Denham again, he's quite enjoyably under great stress, living in reduced circumstances in a boarding house under siege by crafty process servers. Armstrong was very hammy in the original "Kong," but tones down his performance here with welcome results. He's likable, subtle, and quite affecting, especially as he makes the acquaintance of a young woman named Hilda (Helen Mack) who leans on him after the sudden death of her father. Hilda has a background with trained monkeys that comes in handy as the picture develops.
If RKO had given "Son Of Kong" another year, you might have had a nice screwball comedy interlaced with monster-movie thrills. The notion Rose develops of a more likable giant ape to help Denham work through his survivor guilt is worthy, but entirely too pushed. Instead of an adventure that blossoms more or less naturally, the last twenty minutes are a mix of goofy action sequences and sudden plot twists designed to give the audience more scenes of monster miniatures in combat like they saw in "King Kong," and it feels undernourished.
Even the attempt to make "Son Of Kong" work comedically seems ill- advised, treating us to close-ups of the ape rolling its eyes when it gets knocked in the head and giving Denham a hand trying to get inside a hidden temple. Denham calls the creature "Little Kong," which seems strange given the thing is more than twice his size. But of course Denham is thinking of a creature that dwarfs even a 12-foot-high ape, and so are we.
Ultimately, that's the problem of "Son Of Kong;" it stands too close in the shadow of its illustrious predecessor. Even the existence of this film is often forgotten, while the later "Mighty Joe Young" is remembered. That's as it should be; "Mighty Joe" is a much better film, both as a fun romp and a worthy sequel to "King Kong." "Son Of Kong" employs new elements, like a monster to root for, a Denham we can like, and a lighter touch, and shows where "Mighty Joe" could go. But it lacks the craft and imagination to get there itself.
The greatness of "King Kong" lies partially in the way it brings together three mighty rivers of imagination of its day: Classic Hollywood, the exotica of Robert E. Howard-style storytelling pulp, and cutting-edge special effects. "Son Of Kong" takes some of that and adds light comedy for a sequel that almost works, but for the obvious greed of RKO in putting this one out too fast, just months after "King Kong" exploded in theaters around the world.
Not very long after the events of "King Kong," impresario Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) is suffering from the impact of bringing his giant ape to Manhattan Island. Not only did the beast kill dozens before dying himself, but he wrecked the kind of damage that makes for big headlines, and bigger lawsuits.
"I wish I left him on his island," Denham muses. "Old Kong, I'm sure paying for what I did to you."
But Kong has another ace up his sleeve, which gets played when Denham goes back to Kong's island haunt in search of treasure. There he finds Kong's son, a smaller (but still quite giant) white ape. Can Denham and his comrades do better by him than they did by his old man?
Everything that made "King Kong" great is in evidence in "Son Of Kong," albeit in reduced scale, as director Ernest B. Schoedsack and producer Merian C. Cooper had to rush this film to market with a shorter running time and smaller budget. It's almost like the studio was punishing them, and special effects whiz Willis O'Brien, for delivering such a box- office smash last time. Another member of the original "King Kong" creative team, writer Ruth Rose, crafts a script that emphasizes comedy over suspense, and manages a decent job for the first three-quarters.
When we meet Denham again, he's quite enjoyably under great stress, living in reduced circumstances in a boarding house under siege by crafty process servers. Armstrong was very hammy in the original "Kong," but tones down his performance here with welcome results. He's likable, subtle, and quite affecting, especially as he makes the acquaintance of a young woman named Hilda (Helen Mack) who leans on him after the sudden death of her father. Hilda has a background with trained monkeys that comes in handy as the picture develops.
If RKO had given "Son Of Kong" another year, you might have had a nice screwball comedy interlaced with monster-movie thrills. The notion Rose develops of a more likable giant ape to help Denham work through his survivor guilt is worthy, but entirely too pushed. Instead of an adventure that blossoms more or less naturally, the last twenty minutes are a mix of goofy action sequences and sudden plot twists designed to give the audience more scenes of monster miniatures in combat like they saw in "King Kong," and it feels undernourished.
Even the attempt to make "Son Of Kong" work comedically seems ill- advised, treating us to close-ups of the ape rolling its eyes when it gets knocked in the head and giving Denham a hand trying to get inside a hidden temple. Denham calls the creature "Little Kong," which seems strange given the thing is more than twice his size. But of course Denham is thinking of a creature that dwarfs even a 12-foot-high ape, and so are we.
Ultimately, that's the problem of "Son Of Kong;" it stands too close in the shadow of its illustrious predecessor. Even the existence of this film is often forgotten, while the later "Mighty Joe Young" is remembered. That's as it should be; "Mighty Joe" is a much better film, both as a fun romp and a worthy sequel to "King Kong." "Son Of Kong" employs new elements, like a monster to root for, a Denham we can like, and a lighter touch, and shows where "Mighty Joe" could go. But it lacks the craft and imagination to get there itself.