Nonureva Really Surprised!

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Woodyanders Granted, this immediate sequel doesn't possess the same raw power and resonance as the original, but it still manages to work quite well as a pleasing lighthearted adventure romp that picks up right where the first one left off and provides a disgraced and regretful Carl Denham (a fine and engaging performance by Robert Armstrong) a golden opportunity to redeem himself after he stumbles across Kong's adorable albino offspring while searching for treasure on Skull Island.Director Ernest B. Schoedsack keeps the entertaining story moving along at a brisk pace, stages the monster fights with rip-roaring gusto, and pulls out all the stirring stops for the exciting earthquake finale. Frank Reicher lends sturdy support as the stalwart Captain Englehorn, the fetching Helen Mack adds plenty of charm and spark as perky aspiring singer Hilda, Victor Wong supplies amusing comic relief as loyal Chinese cook Charlie, and Ed Brady cuts a suitably hateful figure as no-count troublemaker Red. Unfortunately, John Marston hams it up to a painful degree as surly drunk Helstrom. Willis O'Brien's superb stop-motion animation effects deliver a wondrous wealth of neat creatures, with Kong Jr. rating as an exceptionally cute, sweet, and gentle fellow. Max Steiner's robust score does the rousing trick. A nice little film.

Red-Barracuda After the huge success of King Kong, RKO produced a quick cash in that was so quickly made it was released the same year as the original! With this speed in mind it's perhaps not too surprising to learn that Son of Kong is nowhere close to the standard of its predecessor. In it, the adventuring entrepreneur Carl Denham flees New York after the King Kong debacle that he was responsible for and ends up back at Skull Island. Needless to say he soon encounters the son of Kong.It's quite strange for a sequel to even acknowledge the financial lawsuits that follow the mayhem caused by the monster in the previous film. But oddly and charmingly, this one not only does but even goes as far as to make it a narrative springboard for the subsequent adventure. Unfortunately the film-makers decided to replace the horror aspects of the first film with comedy. So the tone of the movie is more playful than threatening, which is to its detriment ultimately. It seems pretty obvious that this film must have been squarely aimed primarily at kids. Unlike his dad, the giant ape in this one seems to really like humans which kind of takes away some of the plot dynamics; although in truth once we meet Kong the action doesn't really move far from the one location. This probably ties in with the quickness of the production; once we finally get to Skull Island we find Kong easily and don't move once we do. It's a shame as it dilutes the adventure aspect somewhat. Nevertheless, Kong does get to fight a dinosaur and a giant bear and the stop-motion animation from Willis O'Brien is still more than decent. It ends on a big scale but kind of stupid climax.Son of Kong can best be described as a charming movie. It's got a fair few shortfalls, particularly in its very basic screenplay. But it is very short so plot weaknesses aren't too painful to bear and it never gets boring. It's certainly no classic but its good fun overall.

utgard14 Following the events of King Kong, director Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) finds himself being sued right and left for all the damage Kong did. To add to his troubles, he discovers a grand jury is about to indict him so he sets sail with Captain Englehorn (Frank Reicher). These are the only two of the main cast members from the first film to return. Eventually the two run across the man who sold Denham the map to Skull Island and he tells Denham there is treasure on the island that they left behind when they captured Kong. So they all return to Skull Island, along with a pretty stowaway (Helen Mack). Once there, they find an albino "Little Kong," the son of Kong from the first picture.Obviously this was a rushed production. It was written, shot, and released the same year as King Kong. In many ways it feels like a B movie. It takes over forty minutes of this barely over an hour movie for Little Kong to show up. Out of those forty minutes, there's maybe ten or fifteen minutes of necessary story. The rest is filler. When Little Kong does show up, it's not that impressive. He's played mostly for laughs, at times resembling the Bumble from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! But he does have some nice fight scenes with dinosaurs and a giant bear.Robert Armstrong reportedly liked this movie more than King Kong. If that's true then it probably speaks to Mr. Armstrong's vanity since he got to be the romantic leading man and hero for this one. He's likable and his performance is fine but Carl Denham being made into the hero is one of the many problems with this movie. Denham's rough edges are what made him such a good character in the first film. Softened up, he's a rather bland character and a poor fit for leading man. Helen Mack is no Fay Wray but she's very attractive and does about as well as can be expected given the weak script. Willis O'Brien's special effects are not surprisingly the highlight of the picture. Ernest B. Schoedsack returns to direct, although noticeably without Merian C. Cooper, who is only an executive producer on this one.Doing sequels is tricky business, then and now. Even more so when you're following up one of the greatest films of all time. The truth is King Kong didn't need any sequels. But greed always wins out in Hollywood. Is Son of Kong a bad sequel? Yes, of course. I don't see how that could be disputed. Is it a bad movie? Not really. It's watchable and even entertaining in spots. But the specter of its predecessor is always looming over it.

AaronCapenBanner Robert Armstrong and Frank Reicher return as Carl Denham and Captain Englehorn in this rushed sequel to "King Kong". Denham, now broke and besieged by lawsuits over the Kong destruction, accepts an offer from the Captain to join him on a trip to the East Indies as traders. In the Dutch port of Dakang, they meet a young singer(played by Helen Mack) who will later stow away on their ship, which is now headed back to Skull Island to search for a rumored treasure. When they arrive, they are surprised to find a pint-sized version of Kong(son apparently) who is quite friendly, and saves them from a giant bear attack. They find the treasure, but the island sinks as a consequence, threatening all their lives... OK sequel is still reasonably entertaining, though lacks the scope and ambition of the first. F/X are good, and film is fun, if too rushed, especially the climax, though the ending is still satisfying.