O Filho de King Kong

Son of Kong certainly is NOT in the same class as its predecessor King Kong. It lacks that film's inventiveness, creativity, dark mood, and overall horror, yet it is a fine film in its own right. Where King Kong was horrific, Son is charming. It never really takes itself quite as serious as Carl Denham and the captain from the first film leave New York for fear of lawsuits. They end up back on Skull Island with a cute stowaway(played convincingly by Helen Mack), the ship's cook(Victor Wong) and an unscrupulous captain. The better part of the film is the interaction with Robert Armstrong(as Denham again) and Mack with the pint-sized(in comparison to his daddy) Kong. Again we are given natives(briefly) and prehistoric creatures. Baby Kong is adorable and shows how he and his father were thinking creatures as opposed to the mechanical killing of giant reptiles. A nice little film!

No one ought to expect lightning to strike twice. No one ought to expect a sequel to King Kong, easily one of the greatest films of all times, to be that great, especially one cranked out in only 8 months, as this one was. Plus, the budget of this one was less than 1/3 the budget of the original. This is why the special effects are so few (and so much less than those of the original). Still, Son of Kong is some fun RKO entertainment. Robert Armstrong is back as Carl Denham, and he is good, although a little weary after his adventures in the first one (it has been a month since Kong died). Fay Wray does not return, and they have replaced her character with a stowaway girl played by Helen Mack. No, she's no Fay Wray, but she's cute and likable. Charlie, the Chinese cook, is back with a bigger part. Although he seems nothing more than a racial stereotype now, for the time his role was probably seen in a better light. He may speak pigeon-English, but he's seen as a human being by the other characters.

The son of Kong is unfortunately more humanized than Kong was (they tried to make him seem more like a curious animal, which I think was the right decision), but he's a chip off the old block, at least when it comes to monster fighting. The animation is cruder, but it is passable. It's a decent flick that runs at only 70 minutes. Don't expect too much more. 7/10

It's one month after the King Kong fiasco and Carl Denham can't get a break from the relentless stream of reporters and lawsuits hounding him. Kong might have caused a lot of damage and killed a few people, but don't you think that Denham is awfully sorry about it all? And was it really his fault that the chains weren't strong enough? Well, actually it was, and with a grand jury about to rule against him, Denham decides it's time for a long ocean voyage.

Poor Denham must've done something to insult Poseidon, though, because no matter how much he wants to avoid it, he gets blown right back to Skull Island. This time he's looking for a treasure, but when the ungrateful natives force him to land on a remote part of the island, he immediately stumbles upon the orphaned Son of Kong. He knows this because of the obvious family resemblance. We never do find out what happened to Mrs. Kong.

The original was the greatest special effects film ever made, and for reasons more than just the outstanding effects. Any attempt to duplicate this, particularly in a quickly made sequel, could not possibly have come close and would have been nothing more than a shameless attempt to make some quick cash. In other words, a typical Hollywood sequel. The creators of Son wisely do not make this attempt. Instead, using the original's subtle satire of the film industry as its starting point, "Son of Kong" becomes a broad parody of Hollywood movies in general and of the original "King Kong" itself.

At one hour and 10 minutes, this movie is exactly the right length of time. No gag or idea is drawn out for even a moment longer than it is capable of sustaining. The special effects are still excellent, but are now secondary to the antics of the characters, including the comic mugging of Kong Jr. himself. Make no doubt about it, this film is no "King Kong" - but it's not a typical Hollywood sequel either.

If I hazarded a guess, I would say that Son Of Kong came about because David O. Selznick had a lot of leftover footage from the first film and that footage from King Kong did not go to waste when King Kong became the enormous hit it was. This was a sequel that almost demanded to be made.

Labor Day back in New York during my childhood could have been nicknamed Ape Day because inevitably WOR television which was the RKO station ran King Kong, Son Of Kong and Mighty Joe Young. The King, his offspring and Terry Moore's pet entertained a whole new generation of kids for years on that day.

After all the damage that King Kong wreaked upon New York and with everybody and his mother suing Robert Armstrong all the poor guy wants to do is get away from everything, especially process servers. He boards a tramp steamer back to the South Seas from whence he got King Kong. Along with him is Helen Mack who also has reasons to skip out of civilization.

They come upon Frank Reicher the captain who took them to King Kong's island along with John Marston. Interestingly enough the best part of the film is the mutiny led by Ed Brady and John Marston who understandably don't want any part of that island any more. Why this became such an issue for a proletarian uprising is beyond me, still I always get a great sense of satisfaction when the proletariat seaman decide they don't want a captain whether its Reicher or Marston and cast him adrift with the rest of the stranded castaways. It's one of the best examples of defending anarchism I've ever seen on the screen.

Of course on the island Armstrong, Mack and the rest meet up with a discontented native population who say things have gone to pot since their deity King Kong was taken away. Armstrong meets up with a 12 foot offspring of the 50 foot father and he bonds with the baby Kong. I've often wondered where Mama Kong was in all of this.

Anyway RKO made sure there would be no future Kong sequels, but for those who have never seen this film I'm not saying how. Even after over 70 years, King Kong and The Son Of Kong still have the power to entertain. These films will never date.

Brought out within the same year, the quickly handled sequel "The Son of Kong" would pale in comparison to its milestone original, but would remain enjoyably lightweight with a more prominent comic tone and consisting of a mildly robustness to the action. Too bad it just goes on to rush things, then actually thinking it out because the story isn't as compelling as it could have been. Little creativity shows, despite its stringy sub-plots. The story follows on from "King Kong", as promoter/producer Carl Denham finds himself in a lot of hot water for introducing Kong to New York. So to escape the lawsuits and reporters, he and the sea captain end heading out to sea. Although things change when they're told there's treasure on Skull Island, and before coming across this they encounter a miniature Kong.

After an amusing opening (Denham hiding out) it only goes on to feel like its slogging it out in an stretched out manner, until the lively nature picks up (when they reach Skull island --- which takes them quite awhile) and then it breezes by in no time. Kong's son doesn't have that menace and uncontrollable aggression like father… instead it has a child's temperament; curious, lovable and friendly. Due to that there's little in the way of dark moments and the suspense is faintly structured, with a more playful style winning out and these three stooges antics is even played up to the camera. *Shrug*. Nonetheless the interactions especially between Denham and baby Kong remains charming, if goofy. Even the wrestlemania between Kong and prehistoric beasties can be diverting, if lacking the punch. The likable Robert Armstrong, Frank Reicher and Victor Wong effortlessly reprise their roles. Helen Mack is okay as the female siren. Ernest B. Schoedsack's steadfast direction is measurably controlled due to obvious time/budget constrictions, but decent animation FX is used for Kong.