King Kong
The image of the mighty King Kong holding Fay Wray atop the Empire State Building must be one of the most famous in the history of the cinema. Almost 75 years after the great ape's first appearance, Kong's popularity seems undiminished. He still appears frequently in games and toys you can buy - even in the lyrics of songs.
History
1933
Kong's first appearance was in the 1933 black and white movie King Kong. This was made by RKO and was writen by Edgar Wallace, Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman based on an idea by Merian C. Cooper who also co-directed. Although many of the ideas behind the movie had been around for years, the actual story itself was original and not based on any existing novel. Rather confusingly a novelisation of the film was actually released the year before the movie as part of the publicity campaign.The 1933 movie starred Bruce Cabot, Robert Armstrong and - of course - Fay Wray. The story involves a Holywood film crew from the Depression era who take a dangerous trip by sea in order to make a film on a remote island. On arriving at Skull Island they have encounters with natives and dinosaurs as well as meeting the mighty Kong. Kong is a giant gorilla revered by the natives as a god.
The original film was notable for its special effects. The stop-motion animation looks clunky now but was ground-breaking at the time.
Although usually portrayed as a "monster movie", King Kong is impressive for its subtext. It is an early example of Hollywood criticising itself for its habit of exploiting others - be they individuals, cultures or giant apes.
Kong is normally considered a monster yet is very much the victim of the story. He is a "gentle giant" brought against his will to America and made to perform. His gentle side is shown when he tries to protect Fay Wray.
Ultimately, "Twas beauty killed the beast".
Further Appearances
Following the original movie's success, Kong went on to appear in several other lesser films and meet other screen monsters such as Godzilla. Some of these are available to buy on DVD.The iconic image of Kong on the Empire State Building has also been referenced in a number of other surprising places including Terry Pratchett's novel Moving Pictures and even The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
There have so far been two remakes of the original movie. In 1976 Dino de Laurentis produced a version starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange. More recently Peter Jackson produced the 2005 remake featuring state of the art CGI effects and starring Jack Black, Adrien Brody and Ann Darrow. The DVD for the 2005 movie gives Kong the "scientific" name of Megaprimatus kong.