Son of Kong [DVD] [1933] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Though in no way can this compete in any way with the dynamic chills and melodramatic thrills of it's illustrious predecessor, this just-over-an-hour-long quickie works well enough, if simply classed within it's own terms: ie a non-fat, efficient comic-strip diversion of a movie.

Some fantasy fans deride this film, [KONG junior is a white albino, and a 'mere' 12 feet tall]which is often played for laughs, and many of the original KONG cast members [excluding WRAY] are present and correct, and unlike most sequels, this actually feels like a legitimate continuation of the original saga-----with the overall atmosphere and technique wholly consistent with 'KING KONG'.

The lesser budget shows, however,and NOBLE JOHNSON'S witchdoctor appearence is brief and unimpressive compared to the splendid spectacle of the original. Armstrong's role is expanded, however, with good use put to hard-boiled, cynical wisecracks, especially in the first half, which is esentially build-up.

The film really shifts into gear around mid-point, and from here on, excellent dimensional special effects come to the fore, with mini-KONG battling a bear and a sea-serpent-like beast. There isn't a great deal of WILLIS O'BRIEN'S trademark characteristics on show here, and reportedly he wasn't too enamored with the overall concept, and rarely discussed this movie at all in later years [tragically, around this time, his wife experienced severe mental problems, and shot dead WILLIS' two young sons, before failing to shoot herself]; and the bulk of the actual animation [which works fine]was apparantly undertaken by BUZ GIBSON and others.

There features an early example of a climatic volcano eruption, which is skilfully handled.T here is a very tragic ending.

Helen Mack looks nothing like FAY WRAY, but retains a sprightly, smouldering charm, even if she appears too young for the middle-aged DENHAM'S love interest.

All in all, a vital, compeling fantasy, somewhat scaled down from the magnificent original, but excellent viewing for monster movie fans, and of the KONG saga in particular. Y ou won't be disappointed, as long as you are not looking for a re-run of 'KING KONG.'

I have always been a fan of these films & have seen this once before, but never forgot it
I wanted to buy it for so long, but could never find it in Region 2 format.
The film is still as enjoyable now as it was then. Thank you

The Son of Kong was famously billed as `A Serio-Comic Phantasy,' with the emphasis on the comic. Thrown together quickly and cheaply and released the very same year as the original, it's not quite as terrible as its reputation but it is terribly conventional, with none of the original's mythic qualities - a 12-foot gorilla on an island just isn't the same as a 40-foot one in New York. Cannily realising that audiences' sympathies had been firmly with Kong, they play up the cute angle this time round but sadly Kong Jr is a particularly moronic creation, a comic simpleton whose sole defining characteristic is supposedly adorable stupidity, even shrugging at the camera at one point.

The initial set-up is fun, finding Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) in hiding from an army of process servers disguised as peddlers, blind men and street musicians and facing indictment for the millions of dollars of damage that Kong has done to New Yorkers and their city. Heading for the Indies with Frank Reicher's Captain Englehorn and Helen Mack's bad singer (her father had, you guessed it, a monkey act), only to be cast adrift off the shore of Skull Island after their literally Bolshie crew mutiny ("Row, ya blasted bourgeois. Ya got a nice day for it!"). But unlike the original, this is all set up - and pretty ambling setup at that - and little payoff. By the time they save the not-so big lummox from quicksand and earn his undying devotion, the film's two-thirds over. Monsters are thin on the ground, with only a large bear and a dragon getting much screen time in the inevitable but not that exciting fights with the white g'rilla, with a sea monster and a triceratops only making brief appearances before the island starts to sink in an earthquake, with Junior making the ultimate sacrifice to save his new friends. The effects aren't as detailed or the models as good this time round (though it is amusing to spot a background plate of birds in the jungle that later turned up in the party scene in Citizen Kane), and there's a distinct backlot feel to it all. No crown for this Kong, I'm afraid. But then they do say that children of famous parents rarely live up to expectations...