King Kong (1933)
- Starring:
- Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- Director(s):
- Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper, (more
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- NR
- Category:
- Action / Adventure
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"How would you like to star opposite the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood?" Enticed by these words, brunette leading lady Fay Wray dyed her hair blonde and accepted the role of Ann Darrow in King Kong -- and stayed with the project even after learning that her "leading man" was a 50-foot ape. The film introduces us to flamboyant, foolhardy documentary filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), who sails off to parts unknown to film his latest epic with leading lady Darrow in tow. Disembarking at Skull Island, they stumble on a ceremony in which the native dancers circle around a terrified-looking young girl, chanting, "Kong! Kong!" The chief (Noble Johnson) and witch doctor (Steve Clemente) spot Denham and company and order them to leave. But upon seeing Ann, the chief offers to buy the "golden woman" to serve as the "bride of Kong." Denham refuses, and he and the others beat a hasty retreat to their ship. Late that night, a party of native warriors sneak on board the ship and kidnap Ann. They strap her to a huge sacrificial altar just outside the gate, then summon Kong, who winds up saving Ann instead of devouring her. Kong is eventually taken back to New York, where he breaks loose on the night of his Broadway premiere, thinking that his beloved Ann is being hurt by the reporters' flash bulbs. Now at large in New York, Kong searches high and low for Ann (in another long-censored scene, he plucks a woman from her high-rise apartment, then drops her to her death when he realizes she isn't the girl he's looking for). After proving his devotion by wrecking an elevated train, Kong winds up at the top of the Empire State Building, facing off against a fleet of World War I fighter planes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 104 mins
Complete Cast:
- Fay Wray - Ann Darrow
- Bruce Cabot - Jack Driscoll
- Sam Hardy - Charles Weston
- James Flavin - Second Mate
- Roscoe Ates - Photographer
- Dorothy Gulliver - Girl
- LeRoy Mason - Theater Patron
- Paul Porcasi - Fruit Vendor
- Frank Mills - Reporter
- Victor Wong - Charley the Cook
- Raymond Turner - Native
- Harry Tenbrook - Sailor
- Mme. Sul Te Wan - Handmaiden
- Russell Powell - Dock Watchman
- Etta McDaniel - Native Woman
- Ethan Laidlaw - Mate
- Dick Curtis - Crewman
- Robert Armstrong - Carl Denham
- Frank Reicher - Capt. Englehorn
- Noble Johnson - Native Chief
- Steve Clemento - Witch King
- Reginald Barlow - Engineer
- Vera Lewis - Theater Patron
- Carlotta Monti - Girl
- Sandra Shaw - Woman Dropped by Kong
- Merian C. Cooper - Flight Commander
- Blackie Whiteford - Sailor
- Jim Thorpe - Native Dancer
- Charles Sullivan - Sailor
- Ernest B. Schoedsack - Chief Observer
- Gil Perkins - Sailor
- George MacQuarrie - Police Captain
- Lynton Brent - Reporter
- Director(s):
- Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper
- Writer(s):
- Ruth Rose, James Ashmore Creelman
- Producer(s):
- Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- NR(Mild Violence)
- Categories:
- Action / Adventure
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1998 - King Kong - American Film Institute - 100 Greatest American Movies
- 1990 - King Kong - Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry
