113-439: Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong . Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. She has been dubbed one of the early " scream queens ". After appearing in minor film roles, Wray gained media attention after being selected as one of
226-486: A DH-4 bomber pilot with the United States Army Air Service during World War I . On September 26, 1918, his plane was shot down. The plane caught fire, and Cooper spun the plane to suck the flames out. Cooper survived, although he suffered burns, injured his hands, and was presumed dead. German soldiers saw his plane landing and took him to a prisoner reserve hospital. The death certificate on this page
339-405: A 4-minute overture added, bringing the overall running time to 104 minutes. Somewhat controversially, King Kong was colorized for a 1989 Turner Home Entertainment video release. The following year, this colorized version was shown on Turner's TNT channel. After the 1956 re-release, the film was sold to television (first being broadcast March 5, 1956). In 1984, King Kong was one of
452-841: A Soviet prisoner of war camp where the writer Isaac Babel interviewed him. He escaped just before the war was over and made it to Latvia . For his valor he was decorated by Polish commander-in-chief Józef Piłsudski with the highest Polish military decoration, the Virtuti Militari . During his time as a POW, Cooper wrote an autobiography: Things Men Die For . The manuscript was published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in New York (the Knickerbocker Press) in 1927. However, in 1928, Cooper regretted releasing certain details about "Nina" (probably Małgorzata Słomczyńska) with whom he had relations outside of wedlock. Cooper asked Dagmar Matson, who had
565-499: A Yellow Ribbon (1949). Cooper's films at Argosy reflected his patriotism and his vision of the United States. Argosy negotiated a contract with RKO in 1946 to make four pictures. Cooper was able to make Grass a complete picture. Cooper also produced and directed Mighty Joe Young , which recruited Schoedsack as director. Cooper visited the set of the film every day to check on progress. Cooper left Argosy Pictures to pursue
678-749: A distinguished career as the founder of the Kościuszko Squadron during the Polish–Soviet War and was a Soviet prisoner of war for a time. He got his start in film as part of the Explorers Club , traveling the world and documenting adventures. He was a member of the board of directors of Pan American Airways, but his love of film took priority. During his film career, he worked for companies such as Pioneer Pictures , RKO Pictures , and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . In 1925, he and Ernest B. Schoedsack went to Iran and made Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life ,
791-679: A documentary about the Bakhtiari people . Merian Caldwell Cooper was born in Jacksonville, Florida , to lawyer John C. Cooper and Mary Caldwell. He was the youngest of three children. At age six, Cooper decided that he wanted to be an explorer after hearing stories from the book Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa . He was educated at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and graduated in 1911. After graduation, Cooper received
904-417: A dream that a giant gorilla was terrorizing New York City. When he awoke, he recorded the idea and used it for the film. He was going to have a giant gorilla fight a Komodo dragon or other animal, but found that the technique of interlacing that he wanted to use would not provide realistic results. Cooper needed a production studio for the film, but recognized the great cost of the movie, especially during
1017-730: A few films. Cooper was the executive producer for Ford's The Searchers (1956). For his military service in Poland, Cooper was awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari (presented by Piłsudski ), and Poland's Cross of Valour . In 1927, Cooper was one of 19 prominent Americans who were given the title of "Honorary Scouts" by the Boy Scouts of America for "... achievements in outdoor activity, exploration and worthwhile adventure ... of such an exceptional character as to capture
1130-473: A film at RKO , Carl Denham ( Jack Black ) replies, "Cooper, huh? I might have known." Cooper helped the Whitney cousins form Pioneer Pictures in 1933, while he was still working for RKO. He was named vice president in charge of production for Pioneer Pictures in 1934. He would use Pioneer Pictures to test his technicolor innovations. The company contracted with RKO in order to fulfill Cooper's obligations to
1243-465: A film should begin with a "slow dramatic buildup that would establish everything from characters to mood ..." so that the action of the film could "naturally, relentlessly, roll on out of its own creative movement", and thus chose not to begin the film with a shot of Kong. The iconic scene in which Kong is atop of the Empire State Building was almost canceled by Cooper for legal reasons, but
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#17328836903861356-572: A finished sequence. A device called the surface gauge was used in order to keep track of the stop-motion animation performance. The iconic fight between Kong and the Tyrannosaurus took seven weeks to be completed. O'Brien's protégé, Ray Harryhausen , later worked with him on several films. The backdrop of the island seen when the Venture crew first arrives was painted on glass by matte painters Henry Hillinck, Mario Larrinaga, and Byron L. Crabbe. The scene
1469-528: A former aviator who served as an officer in the United States Army Air Service and Polish Air Force . In film, his most famous work was the 1933 movie King Kong , and he is credited as co-inventor of the Cinerama film projection process. He was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1952 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Before entering the movie business, Cooper had
1582-586: A giant ape dubbed Kong who is offered a beautiful young woman as a sacrifice. King Kong opened in New York City on March 2, 1933, to rave reviews, with praise for its stop-motion animation and score. In 1991, it was deemed "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry . It is ranked by Rotten Tomatoes as
1695-519: A lasting impact on the film industry worldwide and inspired other genre films such as Mighty Joe Young , The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms , Creature from the Black Lagoon , Mothra , and Jurassic Park . The film was also one of the biggest inspirations for Godzilla , with Tomoyuki Tanaka (the creator of Godzilla ) stating, "I felt like doing something big. That was my motivation. I thought of different ideas. I like monster movies, and I
1808-407: A megaphone and playing it at a slow speed. For the huge ape's footsteps, Spivak stomped across a gravel-filled box with plungers wrapped in foam attached to his own feet, while the sounds of his chest beats were recorded by Spivak hitting his assistant (who had a microphone held to his back) on the chest with a drumstick. Spivak created the hisses and croaks of the dinosaurs with an air compressor for
1921-557: A member of the board of directors of Pan American Airways. During his tenure at Pan Am, the company established the first regularly scheduled transatlantic service. While he was on the board, Cooper did not devote his full attention to the organization; he took time in 1929 and 1930 to work on the script for King Kong . By 1931, he was back in Hollywood. He resigned from the board of directors in 1935, following health complications. Cooper said that he thought of King Kong after he had
2034-516: A movie studio." On February 3, 2002, Roger Ebert included King Kong in his " Great Movies " list, writing that "In modern times the movie has aged, as critic James Berardinelli observes, and 'advances in technology and acting have dated aspects of the production.' Yes, but in the very artificiality of some of the special effects, there is a creepiness that isn't there in today's slick, flawless, computer-aided images... Even allowing for its slow start, wooden acting, and wall-to-wall screaming, there
2147-404: A native village, separated from the rest of the island by an enormous stone wall with a large wooden gate. They witness a group of natives preparing to sacrifice a young woman termed the "bride of Kong". The intruders are spotted and the native chief stops the ceremony. When he sees the blonde-haired Ann, he offers to trade six of his tribal women for the "golden woman". They refuse him and return to
2260-661: A naturalized citizen of the United States in May 1935. Wray died in her sleep of natural causes on the night of August 8, 2004, in her apartment on Fifth Avenue Manhattan. She is interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. Two days after her death, the lights of the Empire State Building were lowered for 15 minutes in her memory. In 1989, Wray was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award . Wray
2373-512: A postage stamp. King Kong (1933 film) King Kong is a 1933 American pre-Code adventure romance monster film directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack , with special effects by Willis H. O'Brien and music by Max Steiner . Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures , it is the first film in the King Kong franchise . The film stars Fay Wray , Robert Armstrong , and Bruce Cabot . The film follows
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#17328836903862486-749: A prestigious appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy , but was expelled during his senior year for "hell raising and for championing air power". In 1916, Cooper worked for the Minneapolis Daily News as a reporter, where he met Delos Lovelace . In the next few years, he also worked at the Des Moines Register-Leader and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . In 1916, Cooper joined the Georgia National Guard to help chase Pancho Villa in Mexico. He
2599-639: A puppet in Kong's hand to projected footage of Ann sitting. The scene where Kong fights the Tanystropheus in his lair was likely the most significant special effects achievement of the film, due to the way in which all of the elements in the sequence work together at the same time. The scene was accomplished through the use of a miniature set, stop-motion animation for Kong, background matte paintings, real water, foreground rocks with bubbling mud, smoke, and two miniature rear screen projections of Driscoll and Ann. Over
2712-411: A racial exploitation film as it implicitly depicted black women having sex with gorillas, and baby offspring that looked more ape than human. The film was an immediate hit, and by some estimates, it was one of the highest-grossing films of the 1930s at over $ 4 million. Although Cooper never listed Ingagi among his influences for King Kong, it has long been held that RKO greenlighted Kong because of
2825-423: A system of colored lights and could be used for wider shots. It was used in the scene where Kong is shaking the sailors off the log, as well as the scene where Kong pushes the gates open. The Williams process did not use bipacking , but rather an optical printer , the first such device that synchronized a projector with a camera, so that several strips of film could be combined into a single composited image. Through
2938-415: A translucent screen behind him where a projector would project footage onto the back of the translucent screen. The translucent screen was developed by Sidney Saunders and Fred Jackman , who received a Special Achievement Oscar. It was used in the scene where Kong and the Tyrannosaurus fight while Ann watches from the branches of a nearby tree. The stop-motion animation was filmed first. Fay Wray then spent
3051-400: A twenty-two-hour period sitting in a fake tree acting out her observation of the battle, which was projected onto the translucent screen while the camera filmed her witnessing the projected stop-motion battle. She was sore for days after the shoot. The same process was also used for the scene where sailors from the Venture kill a Stegosaurus . O'Brien and his special effects crew also devised
3164-606: A video game titled Donkey Kong , starring a character with similarities to Kong, was released. In 1991, the film was deemed "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry . In 1998, the AFI ranked the film #43 on its list of the 100 greatest movies of all time. The film's stop motion effects by Willis H. O'Brien revolutionized special effects, leaving
3277-417: A way to use rear projection in miniature sets. A tiny screen was built into the miniature onto which live-action footage would then be projected. A fan was used to prevent the footage that was projected from melting or catching fire. This miniature rear projection was used in the scene where Kong is trying to grab Driscoll, who is hiding in a cave. The scene where Kong puts Ann at the top of a tree switched from
3390-544: Is also available on two different UK King Kong DVDs, while the colorized version is available on DVD in the UK and Italy. Warner Home Video re-released the black and white version on VHS in 1998 and again in 1999 under the Warner Bros. Classics label, with this release including the 25-minute 1992 documentary. In 2005, Warner Bros. released its digital restoration of King Kong in a US 2-disc Special Edition DVD, coinciding with
3503-434: Is set in 1933, as in the original film. Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. made Kong: Skull Island (2017), which serves as part of a cinematic universe , MonsterVerse , followed by the sequels Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024). Merian C. Cooper Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker, actor, and producer, as well as
Fay Wray - Misplaced Pages Continue
3616-404: Is something ageless and primeval about King Kong that still somehow works." In the 19th and early 20th century, people of African descent were commonly represented visually as ape-like, a metaphor that fit racist stereotypes further bolstered by the emergence of scientific racism . Early films frequently mirrored racial tensions. While King Kong is often compared to the story of Beauty and
3729-461: Is unable to secure an actress for a female role he has been reluctant to disclose. In the streets of New York City , he finds Ann Darrow and promises her "the thrill of a lifetime". The Venture sets off, during which Denham reveals that their destination is in fact an uncharted island with a mountain the shape of a skull . He alludes to a mysterious entity named Kong, rumored to dwell on the island. The crew arrive and anchor offshore. They encounter
3842-584: The American Geographical Society . In 1924, Cooper joined Schoedsack and Marguerite Harrison who had embarked on an expedition that would be turned into the film Grass (1925). They returned later the same year. Cooper became a member of the Explorers Club of New York in January 1925 and was asked to give lectures and attend events due to his extensive traveling. Grass was acquired by Paramount Pictures . Cooper and Schoedsack's first film gained
3955-524: The Dunning process and the Williams process , in order to produce the effect of a traveling matte. The Dunning process, invented by cinematographer Carroll H. Dunning, employed the use of blue and yellow lights that were filtered and photographed into the black-and-white film. Bi-packing of the camera was used for these types of effects. With it, the special effects crew could combine two strips of different films at
4068-504: The Eighth Wonder of the World !" Ann and Jack join him on stage, surrounded by press photographers. The ensuing flash photography causes Kong to break loose as the audience flees in terror. Ann is whisked away to a hotel room on a high floor, but Kong, scaling the building, reclaims her. He makes his way through the city with Ann in his grasp, wrecking a crowded elevated train and begins climbing
4181-440: The Empire State Building . Jack suggests to police for airplanes to shoot Kong off the building, without hitting Ann. Four biplanes take off; seeing the planes arrive, Jack becomes agitated for Ann's safety and rushes inside with Denham. At the top, Kong is shot at by the planes, as he begins swatting at them. Kong destroys one, but is wounded by the gunfire. After he gazes at Ann, he is shot more, loses his strength and plummets to
4294-516: The FilmStruck streaming service. King Kong had numerous VHS and LaserDisc releases of varying quality prior to receiving an official studio release on DVD. Those included a Turner 60th-anniversary edition in 1993 featuring a front cover that had the sound effect of Kong roaring when his chest was pressed. It also included a 25-minute documentary, It Was Beauty Killed the Beast (1992). The documentary
4407-646: The Great Depression . Cooper helped David Selznick get a job at RKO Pictures , which was struggling financially. Selznick became the vice president of RKO and asked Cooper to join him in September 1931, although he had only produced three films thus far in his career. Cooper began working as an executive assistant at age thirty-eight. He officially pitched the idea for King Kong in December 1931. Shortly after, he began to seek actors and build full-scale sets, although
4520-591: The Wisdom II . As part of the journey, he traveled to Abyssinia, or the Ethiopian Empire , where he met their prince regent, Ras Tefari, later known as Emperor Haile Selassie I . The ship left Abyssinia in February 1923. On their way home, the crew narrowly missed being attacked by pirates, and the ship was burned down. His three-part series for Asia was published in 1923. After returning home, Cooper researched for
4633-511: The " WAMPAS Baby Stars " in 1926. This led to her being contracted to Paramount Pictures as a teenager, where she made more than a dozen feature films. After leaving Paramount, she signed deals with various film companies, being cast in her first horror film roles, in addition to many other types of roles, including in The Bowery (1933) and Viva Villa! (1934), both of which starred Wallace Beery . For RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. , Wray starred in
Fay Wray - Misplaced Pages Continue
4746-477: The 1952 re-release, Variety estimated the film had earned an additional $ 1.6 million in the United States and Canada, bringing its total to $ 3.9 million in cumulative domestic (United States and Canada) rentals. Profits from the 1952 re-release were estimated by the studio at $ 2.5 million. On Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 112 reviews , with an average rating of 9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, " King Kong explores
4859-485: The 201st Squadron. He attended flying school in Issoudun . While flying with his friend, Cooper hit his head and was knocked out during a 200-foot plunge. After the incident, Cooper suffered from shock and had to relearn how to fly. Cooper requested to go to Clermont-Ferrand to be trained as a bomber pilot. He became a pilot with the 20th Aero Squadron (which later became the 1st Day Bombardment Group ). Cooper served as
4972-613: The Air Service after the war; he helped with Herbert Hoover 's U.S. Food Administration that provided aid to Poland. He later became the chief of the Poland division. From late 1919 until the 1921 Treaty of Riga , Cooper was a member of a volunteer American flight squadron, the Kościuszko Squadron , which supported the Polish Army in the Polish-Soviet War. On July 13, 1920, his plane was shot down, and he spent nearly nine months in
5085-748: The Assam-Burma-China Ferrying Command. This marked the beginnings of The Hump Airlift. Colonel Cooper later served in China as chief of staff for General Claire Chennault of the China Air Task Force , which was the precursor of the Fourteenth Air Force . On October 25, 1942, a CATF raid consisting of 12 B-25s and 7 P-40s, led by Colonel Cooper, successfully bombed the Kowloon Docks at Hong Kong. He served from 1943 to 1945 in
5198-409: The Beast , many film scholars have argued that the film was a cautionary tale about interracial romance , in which the film's "carrier of blackness is not a human being, but an ape." Cooper and Schoedsack rejected any allegorical interpretations, insisting in interviews that the film's story contained no hidden meanings. In an interview, which was published posthumously, Cooper actually explained
5311-705: The Blu-ray was repackaged with three unrelated films in a 4 Film Favorites: Colossal Monster Collection. At present, Universal holds worldwide rights to Kong's home video releases outside of North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. All of Universal's releases only contain the earlier, 100-minute, pre-2005 restoration. The film was a box-office success, earning about $ 5 million in worldwide rentals on its initial release, and an opening weekend estimated at $ 90,000. Receipts fell by up to 50% during
5424-571: The Other Hand . In her later years, Wray continued to make public appearances. In 1991, she was crowned Queen of the Beaux Arts Ball, presiding with King Herbert Huncke . She was approached by James Cameron to play the part of Rose Dawson Calvert for his blockbuster Titanic (1997) with Kate Winslet to play her younger self, but she turned down the role, which was subsequently portrayed by Gloria Stuart in an Oscar -nominated performance. She
5537-509: The Polish army and was the most expensive Polish film prior to World War II . After World War II, all copies of the film found in Poland were destroyed by the Soviets. After returning from overseas in 1921, Cooper got a job working the night shift at The New York Times . He was commissioned to write articles for Asia magazine. Cooper was able to travel with Ernest Schoedsack on a sea voyage on
5650-751: The Prodigal Parent" (1958); "The Case of the Watery Witness" (1959), as murder victim Lorna Thomas; and "The Case of the Fatal Fetish" (1965), as voodoo practitioner Mignon Germaine. In 1959, Wray was cast as Tula Marsh in the episode "The Second Happiest Day" of Playhouse 90 . Other roles around this time were in the episodes "Dip in the Pool" (1958) and "The Morning After" of CBS's Alfred Hitchcock Presents . In 1960, she appeared as Clara in an episode of 77 Sunset Strip , "Who Killed Cock Robin?" Another 1960 role
5763-622: The Rick McKay documentary film Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There , where she was honored with a "Legend in Film" award. In her later years, she visited the Empire State Building frequently; in 1991, she was a guest of honor at the building's 60th anniversary, and in May 2004, she made one of her last public appearances at the ESB. Her final public appearance was at the premiere of
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#17328836903865876-638: The Southwest Pacific as chief of staff for the Fifth Air Force 's Bomber Command. At the end of the war, he was promoted to brigadier general . For his contributions, he was also aboard the USS Missouri to witness Japan's surrender. Cooper and his friend and frequent collaborator, noted director John Ford , formed Argosy Productions in 1946 and produced such notable films as Wagon Master (1950), Ford's Fort Apache (1948), and She Wore
5989-465: The Wilderness (1927), also with Merian C. Cooper , and Rango (1931), both of which prominently featured monkeys in authentic jungle settings. Capitalizing on this trend, Congo Pictures released the hoax documentary Ingagi (1930), advertising the film as "an authentic incontestable celluloid document showing the sacrifice of a living woman to mammoth gorillas." Ingagi is now often recognized as
6102-660: The World , but by the early 1940s, her appearances became less frequent. She retired in 1942 after her second marriage but due to financial exigencies she soon resumed her acting career, and over the next three decades, Wray appeared in several films and appeared frequently on television. Wray portrayed Catherine Morrison in the 1953–54 sitcom The Pride of the Family with Natalie Wood playing her daughter. Wray appeared in Queen Bee and The Cobweb , both released in 1955. Wray appeared in three episodes of Perry Mason : "The Case of
6215-548: The age of 16, when she landed a role in a short historical film sponsored by a local newspaper. In the 1920s, Wray appeared in the silent film The Coast Patrol (1925), as well as uncredited bit parts at the Hal Roach Studios . In 1926, the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers selected Wray as one of the " WAMPAS Baby Stars ", a group of women whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. She
6328-449: The attention of Jesse Lasky , who commissioned the duo for their second film, Chang (1927). They also produced the film The Four Feathers , which was filmed among the fighting tribes of the Sudan. These films combined real footage with staged sequences. From 1926 to 1927, Cooper discussed with John Hambleton the plans for Pan American Airways , which was formed in 1927. Cooper was
6441-480: The bottom-line example of Ingagi and the formula that "gorillas plus sexy women in peril equals enormous profits." King Kong is well known for its groundbreaking use of special effects, such as stop-motion animation , matte painting , rear projection and miniatures , all of which were conceived decades before the digital age. The numerous prehistoric creatures inhabiting the Island were brought to life through
6554-438: The company, including She and The Last Days of Pompeii . Cooper later referred to She as the "worst picture I ever made." After these disappointments, Pioneer Pictures released a short film in three-strip technicolor called La Cucaracha , which was well-received. The film won an Academy Award in 1934. Pioneer released the first full-length technicolor film, Becky Sharp in 1935. Cooper helped to advocate and pave
6667-462: The deeper meaning of the film. The inspiration for the climactic scene came when, "as he was leaving his office in Manhattan, he heard the sound of an airplane motor. He reflexively looked up as the sun glinted off the wings of a plane flying extremely close to the tallest building in the city... he realized if he placed the giant gorilla on top of the tallest building in the world and had him shot down by
6780-543: The documentary film Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There in June 2004. Wray married three times – to writers John Monk Saunders and Robert Riskin and the neurosurgeon Sanford Rothenberg (January 28, 1919 – January 4, 1991). She had three children: Susan Saunders, Victoria Riskin, and Robert Riskin Jr. After returning to the US after finishing The Clairvoyant she became
6893-502: The eyes and mouth to simulate a living monster. These shots can be identified immediately in two ways: the action is very smooth (not stop-motion jittery) and the footage is extremely sharp and clear because of the size of the subject being photographed. Murray Spivack provided the sound effects for the film. Kong's roar was created by mixing the recorded vocals of captive lions and tigers , subsequently played backward slowly. Spivak himself provided Kong's "love grunts" by grunting into
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#17328836903867006-480: The film "may look a little foolish to us (not to mention racist, sexist and, shall we say, symbolically naive) but it still packs a visceral wallop", while Ryan Britt felt that critics were willing to overlook the film's problematic aspects as "just unattractive byproducts of the era in which the film was made...that the meta-fictional aspects almost excuse some of the cultural insensitivity". In 2013, an article entitled "11 of The Most Racist Movies Ever Made," described
7119-437: The film a fascinating adventure. John Mosher of The New Yorker called it "ridiculous," but wrote that there were "many scenes in this picture that are certainly diverting." The New York World-Telegram said it was "one of the very best of all the screen thrillers, done with all the cinema's slickest camera tricks." The Chicago Tribune called it "one of the most original, thrilling and mammoth novelties to emerge from
7232-487: The film she is most identified with, King Kong (1933). After the success of King Kong , she made numerous appearances in both film and television, retiring in 1980. Wray was born on a ranch near Cardston, Alberta , to parents who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , Elvina Marguerite Jones, who was from Salt Lake City, Utah , and Joseph Heber Wray, who was from Kingston upon Hull , England . She
7345-485: The film's natives "as subhuman, or primate... (not) even have a distinct way of communicating..." The article also brought up the racial allegory between Kong and black men, particular how Kong "meets his demise due to his insatiable desire for a white woman". The film has since received some significant honors. In 1975, Kong was named one of the 50 best American films by the American Film Institute . In 1981,
7458-548: The film's negative or release prints with the excised footage, and the cut scenes were considered lost for many years. In 1969, a 16mm print, including the censored footage, was found in Philadelphia. The cut scenes were added to the film, restoring it to its original theatrical running time of 100 minutes. This version was re-released to art houses by Janus Films in 1970. Over the next two decades, Universal Studios undertook further photochemical restoration of King Kong. This
7571-462: The first films to be released on LaserDisc by the Criterion Collection , and was the first movie to have an audio commentary track included. Criterion's audio commentary was by film historian Ron Haver in 1985 Image Entertainment released another LaserDisc, this time with a commentary by film historian and soundtrack producer Paul Mandell. The Haver commentary was preserved in full on
7684-414: The former and his own vocals for the latter. The vocalizations of the Tyrannosaurus were additionally mixed in with puma growls while bird squawks were used for the Pteranodon. Spivak also provided the numerous screams of the various sailors. Fay Wray herself provided all of her character's screams in a single recording session. The score was unlike any that came before and marked a significant change in
7797-436: The greatest horror film of all time and the fifty-sixth greatest film of all time . A sequel, Son of Kong , was made the same year as the original film, and several more films have been made, including two remakes in 1976 and 2005 . In New York Harbor , filmmaker Carl Denham , known for wildlife films in remote exotic locations, is chartering Captain Englehorn's ship, the Venture, for his new project. However, he
7910-482: The history of film music. King Kong's score was the first feature-length musical score written for an American "talkie" film, the first major Hollywood film to have a thematic score rather than background music, the first to mark the use of a 46-piece orchestra and the first to be recorded on three separate tracks (sound effects, dialogue, and music). Steiner used a number of new film scoring techniques, such as drawing upon opera conventions for his use of leitmotifs . Over
8023-510: The imagination of boys". The other honorees were Roy Chapman Andrews , Robert Bartlett , Frederick Russell Burnham , Richard E. Byrd , George Kruck Cherrie , James L. Clark , Lincoln Ellsworth , Louis Agassiz Fuertes , George Bird Grinnell , Charles Lindbergh , Donald Baxter MacMillan , Clifford H. Pope , George Palmer Putnam , Kermit Roosevelt , Carl Rungius , Stewart Edward White , and Orville Wright . In 1949, Mighty Joe Young won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, which
8136-434: The interaction between the humans and the creatures of the island seem believable. The most simple of these effects were accomplished by exposing part of the frame, then running the same piece of the film through the camera again by exposing the other part of the frame with a different image. The most complex shots, where the live-action actors interacted with the stop-motion animation, were achieved via two different techniques,
8249-411: The manuscript, to buy all the copies of the book possible. Matson found almost all 5,000 copies that had been printed. The books were destroyed, while Cooper and Matson each kept a copy. An interbellum Polish film directed by Leonard Buczkowski , Gwiaździsta eskadra (The Starry Squadron), was inspired by Cooper's experiences as a Polish Air Force officer. The film was made with the cooperation of
8362-689: The modern day legend of the Loch Ness Monster . American Film Institute Lists The film and characters inspired imitations and installments. Son of Kong , a sequel was fast-tracked and released the same year of the first film's release. In the 1960s, RKO licensed the King Kong character to Japanese studio Toho which made two films, King Kong vs. Godzilla , the third film in Toho's long-running Godzilla series , and King Kong Escapes , both directed by Ishirō Honda . These films are mostly unrelated to
8475-536: The most modern of weapons, the armed airplane, he would have a story of the primitive doomed by modern civilization." The film was initially banned in Nazi Germany , with the censors describing it as an "attack against the nerves of the German people" and a "violation of German race feeling". However, according to confidant Ernst Hanfstaengl , Adolf Hitler was "fascinated" by the film and saw it several times. The film
8588-423: The movie. However, more objective sources maintain that the scene merely slowed the film's pace. Despite the rumor that Cooper kept a print of the cut footage as a memento, it has never been found. In 2021, film historian Ray Morton stated in an interview that, after looking through the films shooting schedule, he found no evidence the sequence was ever filmed. In 1963, Cooper argued unsuccessfully that he should own
8701-432: The only survivors. After Kong slays a Tyrannosaurus to save Ann, Jack continues to follow them while Denham returns to the village. Upon arriving in Kong's mountain lair, Ann is menaced by a serpent-like Elasmosaurus , which Kong also kills. When a Pteranodon tries to fly away with Ann, and is killed by Kong, Jack saves her and they climb down a vine dangling from a cliff ledge. When Kong starts pulling them back up,
8814-537: The original and follow a very different style. In 1976, producer Dino De Laurentiis released a modern remake of King Kong , following the same basic plot, but moving the setting to the present day and changing many details. The remake was followed by a 1986 sequel King Kong Lives . In 1998, a loosely-adapted direct-to-video animated version, The Mighty Kong , was distributed by Warner Bros. In 2005, Universal Pictures released another remake of King Kong , co-written and directed by Peter Jackson , which
8927-418: The pre-production phase of the film, she became unavailable. Wray was approached by director Merian C. Cooper to play the blonde captive of King Kong; the role of Ann Darrow for which she was paid $ 10,000 ($ 200,000 in 2023 dollars) to portray. The film was a commercial success and Wray was reportedly proud that the film saved RKO from bankruptcy. Wray continued to star in films, including The Richest Girl in
9040-457: The process of Cinerama . He became the vice president of Cinerama Productions in the 1950s and was also elected a board member. After failing to convince other board members to finance skilled technicians, Cooper left Cinerama with Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney to form C. V. Whitney Productions. Cooper continued to outline movies to be shot in Cinerama, but C. V. Whitney Productions only produced
9153-406: The rights to King Kong ; later in 1976, judges ruled that Cooper's estate owned the rights to King Kong outside the movie and its sequel. Selznick left RKO before the release of King Kong , and Cooper served as production chief from 1933 to 1934 with Pan Berman as his executive assistant. In the 2005 remake of King Kong , upon learning that Fay Wray was not available because she was making
9266-530: The same time, creating the final composite shot in the camera. It was used in the climactic scene where one of the planes attacking Kong crashes from the top of the Empire State Building, and in the scene where natives are running through the foreground, while Kong is fighting other natives at the wall. On the other hand, the Williams process, invented by cinematographer Frank D. Williams , did not require
9379-452: The screenplay was not yet complete. The screenplay was delivered to Cooper in January 1932. Schoedsack contributed to the film, focusing on shooting scenes for the boat sequences and in native villages, leaving Cooper to shoot the jungle scenes. In February 1933, the title for the film was registered for copyright. Throughout filming there were creative battles. Critics at RKO argued that the film should begin with Kong. Cooper believed that
9492-399: The second week of the film's release because of the national "bank holiday" declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's during his first days in office. During the film's first run it made a profit of $ 650,000. Prior to the 1952 re-release, the film is reported to have worldwide rentals of $ 2,847,000 including $ 1,070,000 from the United States and Canada and profits of $ 1,310,000. After
9605-546: The ship. That night, after the ship's first mate, Jack Driscoll , admits his love for Ann, the natives kidnap Ann from the ship and take her through the gate and onto an altar, where she is offered to Kong , who is revealed to be a giant gorilla -like beast. Kong carries a terrified Ann away as Denham, Jack and some volunteers give chase. The men encounter living dinosaurs ; a charging Stegosaurus , which they manage to kill, but are attacked by an aggressive Brontosaurus and eventually Kong himself, leaving Jack and Denham as
9718-455: The sonofabitch ourselves." Cooper personally cut a scene in King Kong in which four sailors are shaken off a rope bridge by Kong, fall into a ravine, and are eaten alive by giant spiders. According to Hollywood folklore, the decision was made after previews in January 1933, during which audience members either fled the theater in terror or talked about the ghastly scene throughout the remainder of
9831-405: The soul of a monster – making audiences scream and cry throughout the film – in large part due to Kong's breakthrough special effects." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Variety thought the film was a powerful adventure. The New York Times gave readers an enthusiastic account of the plot and thought
9944-474: The streets below; Jack reunites with Ann. Denham heads back down and is allowed through a crowd surrounding Kong's corpse in the street. When a policeman remarks that the planes got him, Denham states, "Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast." Personnel taken from King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon From Fay Wray to Peter Jackson. King Kong producer Ernest B. Schoedsack had earlier monkey experience directing Chang: A Drama of
10057-461: The theatrical release of Peter Jackson 's remake . It had numerous extra features, including a new, third audio commentary by visual effects artists Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston , with archival excerpts from actress Fay Wray and producer/director Merian C. Cooper . Warners issued identical DVDs in 2006 in Australia and New Zealand, followed by a US digibook-packaged Blu-ray in 2010. In 2014,
10170-432: The two drop into the water below; they flee through the jungle back to the village, where Denham, Englehorn, and the surviving crewmen await. Kong, following, breaks open the gate and relentlessly rampages through the village. Onshore, Denham, determined to bring Kong back alive, renders him unconscious with a gas bomb. Shackled in chains, Kong is taken to New York City and presented to a Broadway theatre audience as "Kong,
10283-416: The use of stop-motion animation by Willis H. O'Brien and his assistant animator, Buzz Gibson. The stop-motion animation scenes were painstaking and difficult to achieve and complete after the special effects crew realized that they could not stop because it would make the movements of the creatures seem inconsistent and the lighting would not have the same intensity over the many days it took to fully animate
10396-405: The use of the optical printer, the special effects crew could film the foreground, the stop-motion animation, the live-action footage, and the background, and combine all of those elements into one single shot, eliminating the need to create the effects in the camera. Another technique that was used in combining live actors and stop-motion animation was rear-screen projection. The actor would have
10509-547: The way for the ground-breaking technology of technicolor, as well as the widescreen process called Cinerama . Selznick formed Selznick International Pictures in 1935, and Pioneer Pictures merged with it in June 1936. Cooper became the vice president of Selznick International Pictures that same year. Cooper did not stay long; he resigned in 1937 due to disagreements over the film Stagecoach . After resigning from Selznick International, Cooper went to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in June 1937. A noteworthy project that Cooper
10622-458: The years, Steiner's score was recorded by multiple record labels and the original motion picture soundtrack has been issued on a compact disc. The Production Code 's stricter decency rules were put into effect in Hollywood after the film's 1933 premiere and it was progressively censored further, with several scenes being either trimmed or excised altogether for the 1938-1956 rereleases. These scenes were as follows: RKO did not preserve copies of
10735-463: The years, some media reports have alleged that in certain scenes Kong was played by an actor wearing a gorilla suit . However, film historians have generally agreed that all scenes involving Kong were achieved with animated models, except for the "closeups" of Kong's face and upper body which are dispersed throughout the film. These shots were accomplished by filming a "full size" mechanical model of Kong's head and shoulders. Operators could manipulate
10848-468: Was The Most Dangerous Game (1932), co-starring Joel McCrea . The production was filmed at night on the same jungle sets that were being used for King Kong during the day, and with Wray and Robert Armstrong starring in both movies. The Most Dangerous Game was followed by the release of Wray's best remembered film, King Kong . According to Wray, Jean Harlow had been RKO's original choice, but because MGM put Harlow under exclusive contract during
10961-538: Was a financial failure. It also gave Wray her first lead role. Wray stayed with Paramount to make more than a dozen films and made the transition from silent films to " talkies ". After leaving Paramount, Wray signed with other film studios. Under these deals, Wray was cast in several horror films, including Doctor X (1932) and Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933). However, her best known films were produced under her deal with RKO Radio Pictures . Her first film with RKO
11074-528: Was a special guest at the 70th Academy Awards , where the show's host Billy Crystal introduced her as the "Beauty who charmed the Beast." She was the only 1920s Hollywood actress in attendance that evening. On October 3, 1998, she appeared at the Pine Bluff Film Festival, which showed The Wedding March with live orchestral accompaniment. In January 2003, the 95-year-old Wray appeared at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival to celebrate
11187-418: Was at the time under contract to Universal Studios , mostly co-starring in low-budget Westerns opposite Buck Jones . The following year, Wray was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures . In 1926, director Erich von Stroheim cast her as the main female lead in his film The Wedding March , released by Paramount two years later. While the film was noted for its high budget and production values, it
11300-464: Was based on a 1942 release print with missing censor cuts taken from a 1937 print, which "contained heavy vertical scratches from projection." An original release print located in the UK in the 1980s was found to contain the cut scenes in better quality. After a 6-year worldwide search for the best surviving materials, a further, fully digital restoration utilizing 4K resolution scanning was completed by Warner Bros. in 2005. This restoration also had
11413-732: Was called home in March 1917. He worked for the El Paso Herald on a 30-day leave of absence. After returning to his service, Cooper was appointed lieutenant; however, he refused the appointment hoping to participate in combat. Instead, he went to the Military Aeronautics School in Atlanta to learn to fly. Cooper graduated at the top of his class. In October 1917, six months after the American entry into World War I , Cooper went to France with
11526-551: Was honored with a Legend in Film award at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Wray was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6349 Hollywood Blvd. She received a star posthumously on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto on June 5, 2005. A small park near Lee's Creek on Main Street in Cardston, Alberta , her birthplace,
11639-575: Was influenced by King Kong." Daiei Film , the company which later produced Gamera and Daimajin and other tokusatsu films distributed the 1952 re-released edition of King Kong in 1952, making it the first post-war release of monster movies in Japan. The company also distributed The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms in Japan in 1954, and these distributions presumably influenced productions of both Godzilla and Gamera franchises. It has been suggested by author Daniel Loxton that King Kong inspired
11752-689: Was involved in was the fantasy film War Eagles . The film, which would have used extensive special effects, was abandoned in approximately 1939 and never finished. Cooper was to return to the Army Air Force. Cooper re-enlisted and was commissioned a colonel in the U.S. Army Air Forces . He served with Col. Robert L. Scott in India. He worked as logistics liaison for the Doolittle Raid . Thereafter, Cooper and Scott worked with Col. Caleb V. Haynes at Dinjan Airfield. They all were involved in establishing
11865-458: Was kept in the film because RKO bought the rights to The Lost World . Overlapping with the production of King Kong was the making of The Most Dangerous Game , which began in May 1932. Cooper once again worked with Schoedsack to produce the film. In the 1933 version of King Kong , Cooper and co-director Ernest B. Schoedsack appear at the end, piloting the plane that finally finishes off Kong. Cooper had reportedly said, "We should kill
11978-506: Was later criticized for racist stereotyping of the natives and Charlie the Cook, played by Victor Wong , who upon discovering the kidnapping of Ann Darrow, exclaims "Crazy black man been here!". The film has been noted for its depiction of Ann as a damsel in distress (In her autobiography, Wray even felt that Ann's screaming was too much). However, Nick Hilton in The Independent stated that
12091-512: Was named Fay Wray Park in her honor. The small sign at the edge of the park on Main Street has a silhouette of King Kong on it, remembering her role in King Kong . A large oil portrait of Wray by Alberta artist Neil Boyle is on display in the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod, Alberta. In May 2006, Wray became one of the first four entertainers to be honored by Canada Post by being featured on
12204-541: Was one of six children and was a granddaughter of LDS pioneer Daniel Webster Jones . Her ancestors came from England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Her family returned to the United States a few years after she was born; they moved to Salt Lake City in 1912 and moved to Lark, Utah , in 1914. In 1919, the Wray family returned to Salt Lake City, and then relocated to Hollywood , where Fay attended Hollywood High School . In 1923, Wray appeared in her first film at
12317-402: Was presented to Willis O'Brien, the man responsible for the film's special effects. Cooper was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1952. His film The Quiet Man was nominated for Best Picture that year, but lost to Cecil B. DeMille 's The Greatest Show on Earth . Cooper has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , though his first name is misspelled "Meriam". Cooper
12430-597: Was sent to Cooper's family. The Army had believed him killed but he was captured by the Germans and taken as a Prisoner of war (POW). Cooper's father received a letter from Merian around the time the death certificate arrived. Merian C. Cooper sent the copy back to the Army with the notation on top "In the language of Mark Twain Your death has been greatly exaggerated." Captain Cooper remained in
12543-559: Was that of Mrs. Staunton, with Gigi Perreau as her daughter, in the episode "Flight from Terror" of The Islanders . Wray appeared in a 1961 episode of The Real McCoys titled "Theatre in the Barn". In 1963, she played Mrs. Brubaker in The Eleventh Hour episode "You're So Smart, Why Can't You Be Good?". She ended her acting career with the 1980 made-for-television film Gideon's Trumpet . In 1988, she published her autobiography On
12656-432: Was the father of Polish translator and writer Maciej Słomczyński . He married film actress Dorothy Jordan on May 27, 1933. They kept their marriage a secret from Hollywood for a month before it was reported by journalists. He suffered a heart attack later that year. In the 1950s, he supported Joseph McCarthy in his crusade to root out Communists in Hollywood and Washington, D.C. Cooper supported Barry Goldwater in
12769-423: Was then composited with separate bird elements and rear-projected behind the ship and the actors. The background of the scenes in the jungle (a miniature set) was also painted on several layers of glass to convey the illusion of deep and dense jungle foliage. The most difficult task for the special effects crew to achieve was to make live-action footage interact with separately filmed stop-motion animation – to make
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