Unfortunately the film had none of the grandeur of it's predecessor, and the script, by Ruth Rose was abysmal. Robert Armstrong, who played the hero in King Kong, returns to the island looking for a comparable attraction, apparently not having learned anything from his previous experience, and discovers 'Little Kong.' This baby Kong would have made his illustrious father roll over in his presumably giant grave - a mere twenty feet tall, he has the instincts of amiable puppy. The effects were impressive, but the overall result was disappointing.
There's no doubt that The Son of Kong is an inferior film to it's famous predecessor, but Brosnan's summary makes me wonder if he's actually ever seen it. For instance, Carl Denham (Armstrong) doesn't return to Skull Island looking for a "comparable attraction," but rather goes there hoping to find an ancient treasure that Helstrom, a down on his luck Norwegian skipper and the film's main antagonist, has told him about. . Kong Junior is, indeed, a much more friendlier creature than his chest pounding, bad tempered old man, but if the filmmakers would have made him a ferocious beast, then the film would merely be a rehash of the first film. Finally, Junior isn't twenty feet tall, but twelve feet. In his movie guide book, Leonard Maltin gives the film two and a half stars, which is about right. It's not a remarkable movie, but it is entertaining.
As for the script being "abysmal," I'd say that given the circumstances, Ruth Rose churned out a fairly adequate screenplay. After the success of King Kong, the sequel was rushed into production and made for less than half the budget of the first film. These budgetary lapses are fairly noticeable; Junior doesn't appear until the 42 minute mark (it's a 69 minute movie), and the Skull Island scenes are isolated to a small section of the island. In King Kong, we were treated to many exciting scenes of Denham and company trekking through the dense jungle and bumping into all sorts of prehistoric life. In The Son of Kong, the prehistoric life has a knack for wandering into Junior's territory. The Son of Kong is a mini-adventure, completely lacking the epic scope of the first film.
However, there are two things are I find extremely interesting about The Son of Kong that most film historians tend to overlook:
1) Carl Denham's character arc.
The Son of Kong takes place a month after the events in the first film and Carl Denham is up to his neck in lawsuits. This experience has made him a more humbler person. In the first film, he was an extremely reckless filmmaker, who often regarded Ann Darrow as prop, rather than an actual human being. He didn't have a single, compassionate bone in his body; all he could think about was how swell everything would look on film. He's so single minded in his obsession to bring entertainment to the masses that he doesn't even harbor any sort of romantic feelings towards Ann Darrow (despite her being an attractive blonde) and is fairly indifferent when she and Jack Driscoll fall in love. In The Son of Kong, Denham has learned from his mistakes and when he finds Hilda alone in Bakang, mourning the death of her father, he does everything he can to cheer her up. When he finds Junior trapped in quicksand, his initial reaction is not one of fear, but of saving the clumsy gorilla from certain death. He knocks over a tree and Junior uses it to pull himself out. After Junior has injured his finger battling a giant bear, Denham (at Hilda's urging) bandages up the finger, such an act of kindness would have been foreign to the old Carl Denham.
2) Helen Mack.
I'm going to say it, The Son of Kong has a better leading lady than it's predecessor. I understand that Fay Wray's performance as Ann Darrow (or rather her screaming) is fairly iconic, but Helen Mack is much better actress. In the first film, Ann Darrow's character development essentially ends at the midway point, she falls in love with Jack and that's about it. It can be argued that Ann Darrow is more of a plot device than an actual character, as she's the reason Kong rampages through New York at the end. Ann's role in the second half of the film is that of a nonstop screamer (which is understandable given that the she is being carried around by a giaint ape), while Hilda remains brave throughout, often urging Denham to help Kong Junior.
Hilda is a much more interesting heroine; she's first introduced as the star attraction of a rundown circus managed by her alcoholic father. She plays a guitar and sings a song called the "Runaway Blues," which is greeted with complete indifference by the small audience. Helen Mack specialized in playing feisty females (she's absolutely wonderful as Harold Lloyd's tough as nails sister in The Milky Way) and The Son of Kong is no exception. When Denham and Englehorn leave Dakang, Hilda stows away on board, partly because she has "nowhere else to go," but mainly to be around Denham. Robert Armstrong is old enough to be Helen Mack's father, but the romance in The Son of Kong is fairly believable; Denham is quite possibly the first person to offer any words of kindness (and encouragement) to Hilda in a long, long time, therefore it makes sense that she would take a liking to him. They are kindred spirits, both of them have essentially lost everything; Denham is in complete debt at the beginning of the film and is facing being indicted by the grand jury, Hilda loses her father and the rundown circus she's called home for many years (it goes up in a fire). Yet, despite these obstacles both characters keep fighting on, never looking back. Though, the romance itself is fairly chaste, they don't even share an onscreen kiss. Then again, romance (and women) aren't exactly Denham's forte, he slowly learns the ropes as the movie progresses.
Because it was decided to make Kong Junior a good guy, the film is fairly lacking in the villain department; the closest thing we get is Captain Helstrom and he's fairly inept. It is revealed that Helstrom is the Norwegian skipper that sold Denham the map to Kong's island and since then his life has taken a turn for the absolute worse; he has lost his ship, is penniless, and is stranded in the Dutch Port in Bakang. He accidentally kills Hilda's father in a drunken brawl, which in the process burns down the circus tent (and Hilda's home). Hilda threatens to report him to the Dutch magistrate, which only fuels his desire to get away. He stumbles upon Denham and Englehorn at a bar, and then makes up a story of a lost treasure (unaware that there really is a treasure on Skull Island) as a way to get off the island. However, Helstrom has no desire to go to Skull Island, once aboard Englehorn's ship (The Venture), he starts talking to the crew and leads them in a mutiny against Englehorn. Denham, Hilda, Englehorn, and Charlie are set adrift in a lifeboat, while Helstrom and the crew look on. However, Helstrom's reign as captain is short lived, after the crew refuses to obey his orders, he pulls a gun on them, but is overpowered and thrown overboard. Denham and company pick him up, albeit reluctantly, and row their way to Skull Island. Once on Skull Island, Helstrom really is given nothing to do. He also has a fairly anti-climatic death; the sight of Junior frightens him and he runs towards the lifeboat, however, as he is ready to shove off, a giant serpent emerges from the water and devours him.
What The Son of Kong lacks, and what it's predecessor did so well, is the grand build up. The original King Kong effectively builds up to Kong's first appearance; he's first brought up in a conversation between Denham and Captain Englehorn. We first get a hint at his physicality, when we view the great wall for the first time. Why is the wall so big? What is it shielding the natives' from? The natives are holding a ceremony, where they sacrifice one of their virginal girls to be Kong's "bride." Then there's Kong's first appearance; we first sense his presence when we hear footsteps on the soundtrack, then the sound of trees being pushed over, and, finally, a load roar. After all this build up, Kong finally emerges from behind the trees and we (along with poor Ann Darrow) overwhelmed by the sheer size of this gorilla. There's a practically no build up in The Son of Kong, the closest thing we have is when Charlie, the Chinese cook, says to Denham early in the film, "I guess next time you leave big monkey alone, huh." Junior's introduction is fairly unremarkable; Denham and Hilda literally stumble upon him as he struggles to get out of a quicksand. Going by Denham's reaction, he doesn't seem a bit surprised that there is miniature Kong running amuk. It's also extremely odd how the filmmaker choose to introduce Junior from a stylistic stand point; there is a long shot of Denham and Hilda as they climb up an ancient stairwell, then the film cuts to a three way shot of Helstrom, Charlie, and Englehorn as they converse with each other. Helstrom tries to apologizes for leading a mutiny against Englehorn, but Englehorn will have none of it. Then it cuts back to a long shot of the top of the stairwell, with Junior's heading bobbing up and down in the background, the rest of his body obscured by the stairwell. Denham and Hilda walk into frame and after a few seconds, they finally notice Junior. It's curious how very little build up there is to Denham's discovery of Kong Junior. A more effective way would have had the camera follow Denham and Hilda up the stairs and then have Junior's head pop into frame once they reached the top of the staircase (it's what Ishiro Honda did twenty years later in Godzilla).
The specials effects by Willis O' Brien are, just the like the first film, dated, but incredibly fun and often effective. Practically all of the movie's action is crammed into the film's last half hour; Junior fights not one, but two monsters, a giant bear and a dinosaur-like creature. The interaction between Junior and the actors is extremely well done, and often seamless, in it's execution. When Junior is battling the giant bear, Denham and Hilda look on from the background. The eye line of the actors perfectly matches the action that is unfolding in the foreground. Of course, the audience is not paying attention to either of the actors in this scene, their eyes are entirely focused on the fight, but it does show that at least the filmmakers put an actual effort into making the film, as opposed to being lazy and coasting on the goodwill of the predecessor.
While Hilda and Denham have front row tickets to one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time, Englehorn and company get trapped in a cave fissure by a nasty Styracosaurus. Helstrom is extremely cowardly in this scene, trembling in absolute fear while hiding behind Charlie.
Monster fans tend to whine about the decision to make Junior a friendly ape and are aghast at his comedy routines. It's never bothered me one bit, largely because I went into Son of Kong with relatively low expectations; the only reviews I ever read were negative, so when I saw for the first time in 1993 (age 14) I was pleasantly surprised. Is it a vastly inferior film to it's predecessor? Most definitely! Is it a bad movie? Most definitely NOT! If you catch it in the right frame of mind, it's rather enjoyable (and rather sweet) 70 minutes. Of course, I'm biased as I believe that Helen Mack is one of the most underrated actresses of all time and tend to enjoy practically everything I have seen her in. Not to mention, the sight of Kong Jr. beating the crap out of a giant bear still manages to bring out the child in me.
Credits
Cast: Robert Armstrong (Carl Denham), Helen Mack (Hilda Peterson), Frank Reicher (Captain Englehorn), John Marston (Captain Helstrom), Victor Wong (Charlie), Ed Brady (Bo'sun Red), Lee Kohlmar (Mickey), Noble Johnson (Native Chief), Gertrude Short (Reporter), Kathrin Clare Ward (Mrs. Hudson).
Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Screenplay: Ruth Rose
Running Time: 69 min.
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