King Kong (1933)
Average Rating: 9/10
Reviews Counted: 53
Fresh: 52 | Rotten: 1
King Kong explores the soul of a monster -- making audiences scream and cry throughout the film -- in large part due to Kong's breakthrough special effects.
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 0
King Kong explores the soul of a monster -- making audiences scream and cry throughout the film -- in large part due to Kong's breakthrough special effects.
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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 86,430
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Movie Info
"How would you like to star opposite the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood?" Enticed by these words, brunette leading lady Fay Wray dyed her hair blonde and accepted the role of Ann Darrow in King Kong -- and stayed with the project even after learning that her "leading man" was a 50-foot ape. The film introduces us to flamboyant, foolhardy documentary filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), who sails off to parts unknown to film his latest epic with leading lady Darrow in tow.
Jan 1, 1933 Wide
Nov 22, 2005
RKO Pictures
Watch It Now
Cast
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Fay Wray
Ann Darrow -
Robert Armstrong
Carl Denham -
Bruce Cabot
Jack Driscoll -
Frank Reicher
Capt. Englehorn -
Sam Hardy
Charles Weston -
Noble Johnson
Native Chief -
James Flavin
Second Mate -
Steve Clemento
Witch King -
Roscoe Ates
Photographer -
Reginald Barlow
Engineer -
Lynton Brent
Reporter -
Dick Curtis
Crewman -
Dorothy Gulliver
Girl -
Ethan Laidlaw
Mate -
Vera Lewis
Theater Patron -
George MacQuarrie
Police Captain -
LeRoy Mason
Theater Patron -
Etta McDaniel
Native Woman -
Carlotta Monti
Girl -
Gil Perkins
Sailor -
Paul Porcasi
Fruit Vendor -
Russell Powell
Dock Watchman -
Sandra Shaw
Woman Dropped by Kong -
Mme. Sul Te Wan
Handmaiden -
Charles Sullivan
Sailor -
Harry Tenbrook
Sailor -
Jim Thorpe
Native Dancer -
Raymond D. Turner
Native -
Blackie Whiteford
Sailor -
Victor Wong
Charley the Cook -
Merian C. Cooper
Flight Commander -
Frank Mills
Reporter -
Ernest B. Schoedsack
Chief Observer
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All Critics (53) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (1) | DVD (29)
"King Kong," as spectacular a bolt of celluloid as has thrilled audiences in a couple of sophisticated seasons, is the product of a number of vivid imaginations.
Wholly enjoyable.
Top CriticKong mystifies as well as it horrifies, and may open up a new medium for scaring babies via the screen.
Willis O'Brien did the stop-action animation for this 1933 feature, which is richer in character than most of the human cast.
The throbbing heart of the film lies in the creation of the semi-human simian himself, an immortal tribute to the Hollywood dream factory...
In many ways, Kong is still king.
Unfortunately, it was thought necessary to mitigate some of the predominant horror by introducing a human, all-too-human theme.
The grand-daddy of all monster movies.
...throbbing with metaphorical implications. The riveting, stop-motion battle between the great ape and a T. Rex is just a bonus.
One of the best adventure horror films ever made, an icon of pop culture with truly erotic and emotionally touching scenes between Fay Wray and the massive gorrilla
Violent but beloved old-school monster movie.
The film survives the decades because it embodies an archetypal myth rendered so powerfully that it eclipses any dated dialogue and tecnical flaws.
All these years on from its original release, King Kong still has a great claim to being the eighth wonder of the world.
'King Kong died for our sins.' It's a T-shirt seen recently in Seattle, worn by a teenager and illustrated with the original vintage image of the monster ape atop the Empire State Building.
It took eight years for the Eighth Wonder of the World to hit DVD. Everyone involved wanted to get it right, and there's no question that they succeeded.... you're bound to notice details you've never seen before.
One of those mad movies, like Moulin Rouge! or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, that fully justifies and deserves all the best and worst that can be said for or against them.
It's one of the rare, great works of art that stands up to endless repeated viewings, each time revealing something new.
If it could make legions of fans fall in love with it via chopped up and blurry television broadcasts, it must have been incredible [in 1933].
Audience Reviews for King Kong
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Police Captain: Well, Denham, the airplanes got him.
- Carl Denham: Oh no, it was beauty killed the beast.
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- Carl Denham: No, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.
-
- Carl Denham: It was beauty killed the beast.
-
- Ann Darrow: Do you always take the pictures you sell?
- Carl Denham: Ever since a trip I made to Africa. I'd have got a swell picture of a charging rhino, but the cameraman got scared. The darn fool, I was right there with a rifle! Seems he didn't trust me to get the rhino before it got him. I haven't fooled with a cameraman since; I do it myself.
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- Theater Patron: Hey, what's this show about, anyway?
- Theater Patron: I don't know - they say it's some big gorilla.
- Theater Patron: Oh, geez - ain't we got enough of them in New York?
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- Carl Denham: Don't be alarmed, ladies and gentlemen. Those chains are made of chrome steel.
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Latest News on King Kong
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Foreign Titles
- King King (1933) (UK)
- King Kong (1933) (CA)

