King Kung Fu

First of all, there's not much kung fu in this movie. It's just a guy in an ape suit and goofy comedy. Don't get me wrong, I was expecting an ape suit and something silly... but... it was too silly, and it was not half the action movie I hoped for.

It could have been a fun movie but it was too desperately trying to be funny. Over-acting, spoof characters, cartoony sound effects and cheesy comedic music...those are all things that make me squirm and want to look anywhere else than on the screen. I tried to keep focused but failed, and during the movie I read newspaper, browsed record shop, made more tea to stay awake, planned how to build shelves for my movies, browsed ratings I have given to other movies, thought other annoying movies I'd rather be watching instead, and some boring chores on my to-do list...then I always quickly came back for the movie but it felt like a difficult task to finish.

There's not much plot, and the whole thing about the movie is that if you like the particular overtly silly tone of it, then you like it... but I didn't. If you happen to like slapstick and 70s' camp a lot, then you'll probably get more out of it.

As the producer of King Kung Fu, I marvel at the comments about this being "Worst Film Ever". For the correct information, please know that KKF actually played in 11 theaters around the country. Also while standing in the lobby of two theaters the audience laughed their tails off during the film. They then commented that it was "corny". It has been sold to Japan, Taiwan, and Poland. It was shot on 43 locations and has over 40 speaking parts. It was shot in SimianScope. King Kung Fu is the unforgettable story of a Chinese gorilla who knows Karate. After beating up his master (a Kung Fu Master)he is shipped to the U.S. as a gift by the embarrassed master. On the way to New York, he is put on display in Wichita, Kansas where two out of work reporters set him free with plans to "capture" him and get jobs. Police Captain J.W. Duke,(who resembles a certain Western Movie star)and his first officer Pilgrim, get involved in the city wide chase along with Rae Fey and a host of others. The gorilla and the girl end up on top of the tallest building in Wichita, a Holiday Inn. It is full of clichés, spoofs, and a cast of truly memorable characters for a lot of viewing fun. If you laugh at the opening titles when it says "Filmed in SimianScope" then you'll laugh all the way thru the movie. We started in 1974 and released the movie in 1987. (ran out of money several times)If you can accept the fact that it is a guy in a gorilla suit (who by the way does not talk) you can enjoy the film. (a stream of consciousness voice does not mean the gorilla talks). Hey, it's a G rated movie. It was one of two released in 1987. The other one was a Benjie Movie. Take a chance. Bob Walterscheid

My review was written in June 1990 after watching the movie on King Gemini video cassette.

This Wichitamade oddity is old-fashioned spoof recommended to fans of cornpone humor. G-rated opus was completed in 1987 and is awaiting distribution.

Filmmaker Lance Hayes shows a genuine affection for old movies, his main homage here being to the 1933 classic "King Kong". Strained storyline has China sending to America a gorilla trained in the martial arts as part of a cultural exchange program. He escapes from captivity, takes a liking to pretty blonde Maxine Gray (as "Rae Fey") and ascends the town's tallest building, a Holiday Inn.

This puerile entertainment is easy to watch though out of step with today's sensational approach. Targets of satire range from the David Carradine "Kung Fu" tv series (the ape is called Jungle Jumper instead of Weed Hopper), tv newscasts and John Wayne movies. Tom Leahy does an okay Duke impression, but looks more like Leo V. Gordon than the targeted superstar.

Bumbling comedy team of Tim McGill and Billy Schwartz gets some laughs, though their costuming and styling makes film look like an early '70s production, Gray manages to provide some alluring pulchritude without threatening pic's G tag.

Finale features extremely poor stop-motion animation to simulate the gorilla's fall from the roof onto a helicopter. John Balee wearing the apesuit is unimpressive.

This is not a Hollywood blockbuster; in fact it's a B movie for sure. But I've always been a fan of classic b monster movies like Godzilla and stuff. This movie is hilarious and I have to say I really enjoyed it, being that the movie was set in my hometown might have been a contributing factor though.

This movie is pure spoof. If you like King Kong, Kung Fu, slapstick comedy and B Movies than I'd say this is right up your alley. As I said I'm from Wichita, where this movie was shot, and one thing I can tell you, I'm familiar with like 95 percent of the locations that were shot in this movie.

I didn't realize how much the skyline of Wichita had changed since the 1970s. There was a decent amount of buildings missing. Because the weren't built yet. I know one of them that was missing was the Epic Center, the city's tallest building, whereas in this movie, it's the Holiday Inn, which is no longer a Holiday Inn; but rather an Apartment Complex on Douglas Street.

Anyway, give it a watch. B movies are so bad they're good so you should like this. Another good B movie that is so bad it's good is "Feeders" from 1996. Check it out.

First of all, let me be completely transparent and admit that I used to watch the actor who played the John Wayne "inspired" character, Tom Leahy, when I was a kid in the '70s on the local TV station where he played "Major Astro"....one of those afternoon shows where the host plays cartoons for the kids after school. That is how I ran across this movie, looking up stuff on "Major Astro", so I may be a bit bias.

This is a campy spoof of kung-fu movies and King Kong movies. I almost imagine the idea was born in a small bar in Wichita over a few too-many rounds of Coors. The combination of the titles of "King Kong" and "Kung Fu" into "King Kung Fu" was probably first and the rest was spawned by that.

I enjoyed this flick, from the opening scenes where the gorilla snatches the banana from his sensi's hand (obviously inspired by the opening credits to the TV show "Kung Fu"...you know...."snatch the pebble from my hand, Grasshopper", only the gorilla's name is "Jungle Jumper") all the way to the end. It is low-budget and doesn't take itself too seriously (or seriously at all). When I recommend this movie to others, I tell them it's somewhat on the same seriousness as "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". If you like that one, you'll probably enjoy this one.