Monster movies produced in the early days of film tend to be hit or miss for me, although Universal is typically known for creating some of the most memorable that are difficult not to enjoy. On the other hand, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's King Kong might be one of the most instantly recognizable creatures in early film lore. Unfortunately, the reputation of this monster seems to proceed him as I found this film frankly quite boring and despite its groundbreaking use of stop-motion and practical effects, the writing was just really not all there. The only iteration of this character I have ever seen is in Kong: Skull Island and while I know that film is not the greatest starting point when it comes to an education on Kong, it was at least enjoyable. I found this original King Kong to be a very poorly-paced and dull outing, despite so many of its iconic scenes. There are so many parts of this movie that I adore and can understand the legacy of this film but in all honesty, it just does not hold up very well.
Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) is a lowly film director known for taking his cast and crew to isolated locations to make some of the strangest, jungle movies ever. He convinces a young woman named Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) to be his lead actress and they set off to find a supposedly deserted island harboring a dark secret: a monstrous monkey named Kong. This script, written by James Ashmore Creelman and Ruth Rose, has all of the little bits that make a story like this so wildly entertaining. Introducing human characters and their quest while bringing in a ginormous monster to interrupt their journey and ending with a final battle of sorts: this is what audiences first exposed to film wanted to see and that is exactly what they got. However, my main issues with this film are how poorly-directed it is and the characters themselves. Cooper and Schoedsack do a decent job with building this world and its story but the second act drags on for what seemed like an eternity. The first twenty minutes of this movie are great and the last twenty minutes are equally as exciting. The middle hour, however, lingers on their discoveries on the island and serves no real purpose other than to show the intensity of Kong and build a fear of him. Complete with racist stereotypes and some questionable dialogue writing, this entire middle section became dull very quickly and I think that they spent far too long showing off the effects. If I was a moviegoer back in 1933 experiencing this spectacle for the first time, I would be greatly impressed. But, alas, I am not and while Kong will remain forever iconic, it was hard to see past the flaws in its actual filmmaking, even for the time.
My other problem with this movie is that its characters never seem to develop. Denham begins and remains as the asshole who is only after Kong for the money. Darrow begins and remains as the naive actress who always ends up being the damsel in distress. We are introduced to this cast of characters right off the bat and the issue is that we know exactly who they are and where their intentions lie. There is little to no development and the focus on Kong only made the humans' stories that much more boring. One thing I do genuinely enjoy about the film's writing is that it contains a focus on the exploitation of animals and even for 1933, that seemed incredibly progressive. It was a strange message that never coherently came through but I appreciated the effort regardless. I also adored how this movie reveals itself as an almost "modern-day" Beauty and the Beast. Despite the obvious references to it such as the literal final line and blatant themes throughout, it was an interesting take on the story. A lot of the kidnapping choices and strange treatment of women is not the greatest part of the story, but I can at least appreciate what these writers were attempting. Combining these decent parts of the story with the stop-motion and practical effects proved to be a fantastic effort, however, as the design of Kong and the monsters on the island were actually breathtaking. Not only do they remain insanely creepy to this day, but especially to be made in the time that it was is just magnificent. Only the most clever of filmmakers and practical effects artists could have pulled these monsters off and I loved every shot contrasting the size of Kong with the minuteness of humans. While I might not have been completely sold on this story's execution, topping the movie off with one of the most legendary monster scenes ever was only the cherry on top of this visual delight.
King Kong is one of the most well-known monster titles in film history, as the image of the massive ape swinging on top of the Empire State Building might as well be ingrained in all of our brains. Despite how impressive this movie was back in 1933, I could not get the sloppy writing to outweigh my appreciation for its technicals. I completely understand why this film is so revered and I definitely comprehend its importance, but that does not make up for the fact that I just simply could not get engaged with this one.
My Rating: ★★½
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