Son of Kong
Less than a year after their film, “King Kong,” became a box-office smash, Merian Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack, and visual effects wizard Willis O’Brien returned with a sequel, “Son of Kong.” (And we thought turnaround for sequels was fast now.) This is definitely not an example of going bigger for the second film, and needless to say, it’s not really better.
Robert Armstrong reprises his role as Carl Denham, and the action starts a month after Kong destroyed New York, and met his fate on top of the Empire States Building. Now, he’s broke, and facing numerable lawsuits. However, the captain of the ship that took him to Skull Island (Frank Reicher) has a proposition for him to hit the open sea, which he accepts gladly. As they stop off at a port, Denham meets the person who pointed him to Kong’s island in the first place (John Marston), only this time, he tells tales of treasure he hoped to search for, one day. And so, it’s back to Skull Island, and after they pick up a stowaway (Helen Mack), they find themselves ready for new adventure when they discover Kong Jr. Of course, that begs the question of what happened to Mother Kong, but I guess she was a deadbeat who up and left at the first sign of responsibility.
For all of its silliness, “Son of Kong” has an endearing quality that is hard to ignore, especially when O’Brien’s effects take center stage in the second half of the film. This is where he, Cooper, and Schoedsack are most at home, and the movie is quite enjoyable in a goofy sort of way. And thankfully, it only lasts 69 minutes, which means any pain over the absurdity of the premise is short-lived. Still, there’s good reason the film was all but forgotten for a long time, except by the people who made later creature features in Japan, and America as well. I’m still glad that I’m able to watch it now, after Warner Bros. released this film with the classic original when they finally brought it out on DVD in 2005. My mom bought me the set with both films, as well as the original “Mighty Joe Young,” that year for my birthday, and though it’s hardly a good film, “Son of Kong” is one I have no problem keeping in my collection for years to come.
