Source of all three fabulous movie posters - link.
Okay, I know some of you haven't seen this little known sequel to KING KONG, but I have and so I thought I'd mention it in passing. Well, it is 'forgotten (or overlooked) films' day over at Todd Mason's blog and as usual, I'm reminding you to check in and see what other forgotten or overlooked films, television and/or other audio/visuals other bloggers are talking about today. We're a cunning bunch.
SON OF KONG (1933) is a film directed by Ernest B. Schoesdack, screenplay written by Ruth Rose and starring Robert Armstrong and Helen Mack. In my view, the film is notable for a couple of reasons:
Armstrong and Mack make a nice couple.
1) Robert Armstrong was not normally the star of any film, he usually played the second or third lead. Here he acquits himself splendidly as Carl Denham, the guy responsible for foisting King Kong on NYC. AND he even gets the girl at the end.
2) The screenplay was written by a woman. (Never heard of her. I wonder if she ever wrote any other films.)
The story: It's about a month after the disastrous events outlined in King Kong and Denham feels mighty bad about the whole thing. Well, who wouldn't? At any rate, he's being hounded by lawsuits right and left (results of Kong destruction) and so decides to board a ship with his pal Captain Englehorn (Frank Reicher) and set sail into the night. But making a living shipping cargo is not what it's cracked up to be.
Somewhere in the South Seas Denham and his pal come across a seedy traveling show full of performing monkeys run by an old man and his beautiful daughter, Hilda (Helen Mack). In quick succession, the old man is killed in a drunken brawl with the same notorious captain who'd originally sold Denham the map to Kong island. Uh-oh. Talk about coincidences.
This surly guy now insists that there was a big treasure on Kong Island and - hold onto your hats - it's still there for the taking. UH-OH!
Well, before you can say don't do it, boys, this motley group is off to Kong Island to search for treasure. But not before a mutiny on board their ship forces our hero and his small group (including the beautiful Hilda who has stowed aboard) to wade ashore by themselves onto Kong Island where they will find - guess who?
Now you may wonder who the mama of this enormous baby might be and when on earth he was born and all that sort of logistic whatnot - since his dad was shipped off to Manhattan to die falling off the Empire State building a while back. But one can surmise that he came into the world at some point when Daddy Kong was still having fun harassing the natives. But to whom? Where was the doting mama during all this? Who can tell. At any rate, there he is, Song of Kong, adorably welcoming Carl Denham and his friends to the island and, more importantly, holding no grudges.
Well, after several Baby Kong vs. some prehistoric monster set-to's, the island volcano decides to erupt and put an end to all this foolishness.
A fun film with a not so fun ending which I hated (as I did the ending of King Kong), but I am a big fan of Robert Armstrong and for he and he alone, I recommend this absurdity of a movie.
Armstrong would show up in 1949 in yet another movie featuring a giant ape, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG with Terry Moore and Ben Johnson - my favorite of all the ape movies primarily because it has a happy ending for ALL concerned.
