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((short description|1933 film directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack))
((Use mdy dates|date=February 2021))
((Infobox film
| name           = King Kong
| image          = Kingkongposter.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = ((Plain list|
* [[Merian C. Cooper]]
* [[Ernest B. Schoedsack]]
))
| producer       = ((Plain list|
* Merian C. Cooper
* Ernest B. Schoedsack
))
| screenplay     = ((Plain list|
* [[James Ashmore Creelman|James Creelman]]
* [[Ruth Rose]]
))
| story          = ((Plain list|
* [[Edgar Wallace]]
* Merian C. Cooper<ref name=afi>((AFI film|4005|King Kong))</ref>
))
| starring       = ((Plain list|
* [[Fay Wray]]
* [[Robert Armstrong (actor)|Robert Armstrong]]
* [[Bruce Cabot]]<!--billing per poster-->
))
| music          = [[Max Steiner]]
| cinematography = ((Plain list|
* Eddie Linden
* [[Vernon Walker]]
* [[J.O. Taylor]]
))
| editing        = Ted Cheesman
| distributor    = [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures]]
| released       = ((Film date|1933|3|2|[[New York City]]|1933|4|7|United States))
| runtime        = ((ubl|100 minutes|104 minutes (with [[overture]])<ref name="DVD">((cite AV media|title= King Kong|medium=DVD|publisher=[[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment]]|date=May 10, 2015))</ref>))
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $672,254.75<ref name="rko">* ((cite journal |first=Richard |last=Jewel |title=RKO Film Grosses: 1931–1951 |journal=Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television |volume=14 |issue=1 |year=1994 |page=39 |quote=1933 release: $1,856,000; 1938 release: $306,000; 1944 release: $685,000))
* ((cite web |title=King Kong (1933)&nbsp;– Notes |publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2690/King-Kong/notes.html |access-date=January 7, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216073610/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2690/King-Kong/notes.html |archive-date=December 16, 2019 |quote=1952 release: $2,500,000; budget: $672,254.75))</ref>
| gross          = $5.3 million<ref name="rko"/>
))
'''''King Kong''''' is a 1933 American [[Pre-Code Hollywood|pre-Code]] [[adventure film|adventure]] [[Horror film|horror]] [[monster film]]<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/387864/horror-history-king-kong-1933-is-now-88-years-old/|title=Horror History: KING KONG (1933) Is Now 88 Years Old|last=Sprague|first=Mike|work=[[Dread Central]]|date=April 7, 2021|access-date=September 9, 2021|archive-date=September 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909061650/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/387864/horror-history-king-kong-1933-is-now-88-years-old/|url-status=live))</ref> directed and produced by [[Merian C. Cooper]] and [[Ernest B. Schoedsack]], with special effects by [[Willis H. O'Brien]]. Produced and distributed by [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures]], it is the first film in the [[King Kong (franchise)|''King Kong'' franchise]]. The film stars [[Fay Wray]], [[Robert Armstrong (actor)|Robert Armstrong]] and [[Bruce Cabot]]. In the film, a giant ape dubbed [[King Kong]] captured from [[Skull Island (King Kong)|Skull Island]] attempts to possess a beautiful young woman.

''King Kong'' opened in New York City on March 2, 1933, to rave reviews. It is ranked by [[Rotten Tomatoes]] as the greatest [[horror film]] of all time<ref>((cite web |title=Best Horror Movies – King Kong (1933) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/best_horror_movies/1011615-king_kong/ |access-date=July 3, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401203419/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/best_horror_movies/1011615-king_kong/ |archive-date=April 1, 2010))</ref> and the fifty-sixth [[List of films considered the best|greatest film of all time]].<ref>((cite web |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/ |title=Top 100 Movies of All Time – Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=October 14, 2016 |archive-date=February 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180201110157/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/ |url-status=live))</ref> In 1991, it was deemed "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant" by the [[Library of Congress]] and selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]].<ref>Daniel Eagan, (2010). ''America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry.'' The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc, New York, NY p.22</ref><ref>((Cite web |last=Kehr |first=Dave |title=U.S. FILM REGISTRY ADDS 25 SIGNIFICANT MOVIES |language=en-US |website=Chicago Tribune |date=September 26, 1991 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-09-26-9103130465-story.html |access-date=July 20, 2020 |archive-date=June 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617031520/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-09-26-9103130465-story.html |url-status=live))</ref> A sequel, titled ''[[Son of Kong]],'' was fast-tracked and released the same year, with [[King Kong (franchise)|several more films]] made in the following decades, including two remakes that were made in [[King Kong (1976 film)|1976]] and [[King Kong (2005 film)|2005]] respectively, and a [[cinematic universe]] (dubbed the [[MonsterVerse]]) featuring Kong starting with ''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'' in 2017.

==Plot==
<!-- Please read this! Plot summaries for films on Wikipedia are recommended to be between 400-700 words. All edits es/genera names of the creatures are given in the authoritative book "King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson" by Ray Morton. Please do not change the names. Thank you -->
In [[New York Harbor]], filmmaker [[Carl Denham]], known for wildlife films in remote and exotic locations, charters Captain Englehorn's ship, the ''Venture,'' for his new project. However, he is unable to secure an actress for a female role he has been reluctant to disclose. Searching in the streets of [[New York City]], he finds Ann Darrow and promises her the adventure of a lifetime. The crew boards the ''Venture'' and sets off, during which the ship's first mate, [[Jack Driscoll (character)|Jack Driscoll]], falls in love with Ann. Denham reveals to the crew that their destination is in fact [[Skull Island (King Kong)|Skull Island]], an uncharted territory. He alludes to a mysterious entity named ''Kong,'' rumored to dwell on the island. The crew arrives and anchor offshore. They encounter 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 the ship.

That night, the natives kidnap Ann from the ship and take her through the gate and onto an altar, where she is offered to [[King Kong]], a giant [[gorilla]]-like beast. Kong carries a terrified Ann away as Denham, Jack and some volunteers enter the jungle in hopes of rescuing her. They encounter a living [[dinosaur]], a charging ''[[Stegosaurus]],'' which they manage to kill. Soon after, the crew runs into an aggressive ''[[Brontosaurus]]'' and eventually Kong himself, leaving Jack and Denham as the only survivors. After Kong slays a ''[[Tyrannosaurus|Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' that tried to eat Ann, Jack continues to follow them while Denham returns to the village for more men. Upon arriving in Kong's mountain lair, Ann is menaced by a snake-like ''[[Elasmosaurus]],'' which Kong also kills. While Kong is distracted killing a ''[[Pteranodon]]'' that tried to fly away with Ann, Jack reaches her and they climb down a vine dangling from a cliff ledge. When Kong notices and starts pulling them back up, the two drop into the water below. They run through the jungle and back to the village, where Denham, Englehorn, and the surviving crewmen are waiting. Kong, following, breaks open the gate and relentlessly rampages through the village. Onshore, Denham, now 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, Eighth Wonder of the World!" Ann and Jack are brought on stage to join him, surrounded by a group of press photographers. Kong, believing that the ensuing flash photography is an attack, breaks loose as the audience flees in horror. Ann is whisked away to a hotel room on a high floor, but Kong, scaling the building, soon finds her. He rampages through the city as Ann screams in his grasp; wrecking a crowded elevated train and eventually climbing the [[Empire State Building]]. At its top, he is attacked by four [[biplanes]]. Kong destroys one, but finally succumbs to their gunfire. He gazes at Ann one last time before falling to his death. Jack takes an elevator to the top of the building and reunites with Ann. Denham arrives and pushes through a crowd surrounding Kong's corpse in the street. When a policeman remarks that the planes got him, Denham tells him, "No, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast."

==Cast==
* [[Fay Wray]] as Ann Darrow
* [[Robert Armstrong (actor)|Robert Armstrong]] as [[Carl Denham]]
* [[Bruce Cabot]] as [[Jack Driscoll (character)|John "Jack" Driscoll]]
* [[Frank Reicher]] as Captain Englehorn
* [[Sam Hardy (actor)|Sam Hardy]] as Charles Weston
* [[Victor Wong (actor born 1906)|Victor Wong]] as Charlie
* [[James Flavin]] as Second Mate Briggs 
* [[Etta McDaniel]] as The Native Mother 
* [[Everett Brown]] as The Native In An [[Ape]] Costume 
* [[Noble Johnson]] as The Native Chief
* [[Steve Clemente]] as The Witch King

==Production==
((Expand section|date=February 2023))

===Crew===
((cast listing|
* [[Merian C. Cooper]] – co-director, producer
* [[Ernest B. Schoedsack]] – co-director, producer
* [[David O. Selznick]] – executive producer
* [[Willis H. O'Brien]] – chief technician
* [[Archie Marshek]] – production assistant
* [[Harry Redmond Jr.]] – special effects
* [[Murray Spivack]] – sound effects
* [[Van Nest Polglase]] – supervising art director 
* [[Clem Portman]] – sound recording mixer
* [[Mel Berns]] – chief makeup supervisor
))
Personnel taken from ''King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon From Fay Wray to Peter Jackson.''((sfn|Morton|2005|p=13))

===Development===
((Further|King Kong#Conception and creation))
[[File:T. rex old posture.jpg|left|thumb|[[Charles R. Knight]]'s ''[[Tyrannosaurus]]'' in the [[American Museum of Natural History]], on which the large [[Theropoda|theropod]] of the film was based<ref name=Goldner>Orville Goldner, George E Turner (1975). ''Making of King Kong: The Story Behind a Film Classic.'' ((ISBN|0498015106)). See also ''Spawn of Skull Island'' (2002). ((ISBN|1887664459))</ref>]]

''King Kong'' producer [[Ernest B. Schoedsack]] had earlier [[monkey]] experience directing ''[[Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness]]'' (1927), also with [[Merian C. Cooper]], and ''[[Rango (1931 film)|Rango]]'' (1931), both of which prominently featured monkeys in authentic jungle settings. Capitalizing on this trend, Congo Pictures released the [[Mockumentary|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 a racial [[exploitation film]] as it implicitly depicted black women having sex with gorillas, and baby offspring that looked more ape than human.<ref>Gerald Peary, [http://www.geraldpeary.com/essays/jkl/kingkong-1.html 'Missing Links: The Jungle Origins of King Kong' (1976)] ((Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130103102653/http://www.geraldpeary.com/essays/jkl/kingkong-1.html |date=January 3, 2013)) ''Gerald Peary: Film Reviews, Interviews, Essays, and Sundry Miscellany,'' 2004.</ref> 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 the bottom-line example of ''Ingagi'' and the formula that "gorillas plus sexy women in peril equals enormous profits."<ref>((cite news | first=Andrew | last=Erish | title=Illegitimate Dad of King Kong | date=January 8, 2006 | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/959395991.html?dids=959395991:959395991&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+8%2C+2006&author=Andrew+Erish&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.6&desc=Movies | access-date=July 6, 2017 | archive-date=March 14, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314080024/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/959395991.html?dids=959395991:959395991&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+8%2C+2006&author=Andrew+Erish&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.6&desc=Movies | url-status=dead))</ref>

===Special effects===
((more citations needed section|date=November 2016))
[[File:King Kong vs Tyrannosaurus.jpg|thumb|Promotional image featuring Kong battling the ''Tyrannosaurus'']]
''King Kong'' is well known for its groundbreaking use of special effects, such as [[Stop motion|stop-motion animation]], [[matte painting]], [[rear projection]] and [[miniature effect|miniatures]], all of which were conceived decades before the digital age.<ref>Wasko, Janet. (2003). ''How Hollywood Works.'' California: SAGE Publications Ltd. p.53.</ref>

The numerous prehistoric creatures inhabiting [[Skull Island (King Kong)|Skull Island]] were brought to life through the use of stop-motion animation by [[Willis H. O'Brien]] and his assistant animator, Buzz Gibson.<ref>Bordwell, David, Thompson, Kristin, Smith, Jeff. (2017). ''Film Art: An Introduction.'' New York: McGraw-Hill. p.388.</ref> 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 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 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.<ref>Harryhausen, Ray. (1983). Animating the Ape. In: Lloyd, Ann. (ed.) ''Movies of the Thirties.'' UK: Orbis Publishing Ltd. p.173.</ref>

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 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, the Dunning process and the [[Williams process]], in order to produce the effect of a traveling matte.<ref>Corrigan, Timothy, White, Patricia. (2015). ''The Film Experience.'' New York: Bedford/St. Martin's. pp.120–121.</ref> 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 the same time, creating the final composite shot in the camera.<ref>Harryhausen 172–173</ref> It was used in the climactic scene where one of the Curtiss Helldiver 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.((Citation needed|date=February 2023))

On the other hand, the Williams process, invented by cinematographer [[Frank D. Williams (cinematographer)|Frank D. Williams]], did not require 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 [[bipack]]ing, 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 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.<ref>Dyson, Jeremy. (1997). ''Bright Darkness: The Lost Art of the Supernatural Horror Film.'' London: Cassell. p.38.</ref>

[[File:KingKong001C.png|thumb|Colored publicity shot combining live actors with [[stop motion animation]]]] Another technique that was used in combining live actors and stop-motion animation was rear-screen projection. The actor would have a translucent screen behind him where a projector would project footage onto the back of the translucent screen.<ref name="Harryhausen 173">Harryhausen 173</ref> The translucent screen was developed by Sidney Saunders and [[Fred Jackman]], who received a Special Achievement Oscar. It was used in the famous 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 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]].((Citation needed|date=February 2023))

O'Brien and his special effects crew also devised 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.<ref name=" Harryhausen 173"/> 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 a puppet in Kong's hand to projected footage of Ann sitting.((Citation needed|date=February 2023))

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.((Citation needed|date=February 2023))

Over the years, some media reports have alleged that in certain scenes Kong was played by an actor wearing a [[gorilla suit]].<ref>((cite news|title=Charlie Gemora, 58, had King Kong role|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C07E2D71239EE32A25753C2A96E9C946091D6CF|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 20, 1961|access-date=February 10, 2017|archive-date=March 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318035303/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/08/20/archives/charlie-gemora-58-had-king-kong-role.html|url-status=live))((subscription required))</ref><ref>((cite news|last1=Greene|first1=Bob|author-link1=Bob Greene|title=Saying so long to Mr. Kong|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1990/11/27/page/113/article/saying-so-long-to-mr-kong|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=November 27, 1990|access-date=December 24, 2016|archive-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221232727/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1990/11/27/page/113/article/saying-so-long-to-mr-kong/|url-status=live))</ref> However, film historians have generally agreed that all scenes involving Kong were achieved with animated models,<ref>((cite book |last1=Glut |first1=Donald F. |url=https://archive.org/details/jurassicclassics00dona |title=Jurassic Classics: A Collection of Saurian Essays and Mesozoic Musings |publisher=McFarland |year=2001 |isbn=9780786462469 |location=Jefferson, NC |page=[https://archive.org/details/jurassicclassics00dona/page/192 192] |quote=Over the years, various actors have claimed to have played Kong in this [Empire State Building] scene, including a virtually unknown performer named [[Carmen Nigro]] (AKA Ken Roady), and also noted gorilla impersonator [[Charles Gemora]]... In Nigro's case, the claim seems to have been simply fraudulent, in Gemora's, the inaccurate claim was apparently based on the actor's memory of playing a giant ape in a never-completed ''King Kong'' spoof entitled ''The Lost Island.'' |author-link1=Donald F. Glut |url-access=registration))</ref><ref>((cite book |last1=Glut |first1=Donald F. |title=King Kong Cometh! |date=2005 |publisher=Plexus |isbn=9780859653626 |editor1-last=Woods |editor1-first=Paul A. |location=London |page=64 |chapter=His Majesty, King Kong - IV |quote=Cooper denied any performance by an actor in a gorilla costume in King Kong... Perhaps a human actor was used in a bit of forgotten test footage before the film went into production, but thus far the matter remains a mystery. |author-link1=Donald F. Glut))</ref> 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 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.

===Post-production===
[[File:RKO Keith's Theater ad - 24 March 1933, NW, Washington, DC.png|thumb|left|upright|Theatrical advertisement from 1933]]
[[Murray Spivack]] provided the sound effects for the film. Kong's roar was created by mixing the recorded vocals of captive [[lion]]s and [[tiger]]s, subsequently played backward slowly. Spivak himself provided Kong's "love grunts" by grunting into 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 the former and his own vocals for the latter. The vocalizations of the Tyrannosaurus were additionally mixed in with [[cougar|puma]] screams 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.((sfn|Morton|2005|pp=75–76))<ref>((cite book|author=Von Gunden, Kenneth|year=2001|title=Flights of Fancy: The Great Fantasy Films|publisher=McFarland|page=117|isbn=9780786412143))</ref>

The score was unlike any that came before and marked a significant change in 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 [[leitmotif]]s.<ref name="HelveringIowa2007">((cite book|last1=Helvering|first1=David Allen|author2=The University of Iowa|title=Functions of dialogue underscoring in American feature film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X6ngAr1WLFkC&pg=PA21|access-date=March 28, 2011|year=2007|isbn=978-0-549-23504-0|pages=21–22|archive-date=January 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105070019/http://books.google.com/books?id=X6ngAr1WLFkC&pg=PA21|url-status=live))</ref> Over the years, Steiner's score was recorded by multiple record labels and the original motion picture soundtrack has been issued on a compact disc.<ref>((cite web| url = http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/KingKong1933.htm| title = KING KONG - 75th anniversary of the film and Max Steiner's great film score| access-date = March 2, 2019| archive-date = March 6, 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044804/http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/KingKong1933.htm| url-status = live))</ref>

==Release==
[[File:King Kong Re-release Trailer.webm|thumb|Trailer for the 1938 re-release of ''King Kong'' (1:32).]]
[[File: Grauman's Chinese Theatre, by Carol Highsmith fixed & straightened.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]], where ''King Kong'' held its world premiere.]]

===Censorship and restorations===
The [[Motion Picture Production Code|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. These scenes were as follows: 
* The Brontosaurus mauling crewmen in the water, chasing one up a tree and killing him.
* Kong undressing Ann Darrow and sniffing his fingers.
* Kong biting and stepping on natives when he attacks the village.
* Kong biting a man in New York.
* Kong mistaking a sleeping woman for Ann and dropping her to her death, after realizing his mistake. 
* An additional scene portraying giant insects, spiders, a [[reptile]]-like predator and a tentacled creature devouring the crew members shaken off the log by Kong onto the floor of the canyon below was deemed too gruesome by RKO even by pre-Code standards, and thus the scene was studio self-censored prior to the original release. The footage is now considered lost forever, with the exception of only a few stills and pre-production drawings.((sfn|Morton|2005|pp=75–76))<ref>((cite web |last1=Wednesday |first1=WTM • |title=The Lost Scene from 1933's King Kong - the Spider Pit |url=https://www.neatorama.com/2018/12/12/The-Lost-Scene-from-1933-s-King-Kong-the-Spider-Pit/ |website=Neatorama |date=December 12, 2018 |access-date=January 28, 2020 |language=en |archive-date=January 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128131026/https://www.neatorama.com/2018/12/12/The-Lost-Scene-from-1933-s-King-Kong-the-Spider-Pit/ |url-status=live))</ref>

RKO did not preserve copies of 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 house]]s by [[Janus Films]] in 1970.((sfn|Morton|2005|pp=75–76)) Over the next two decades, [[Universal Studios]] undertook further photochemical restoration of ''King Kong.'' This was based on a 1942 release print with missing censor cuts taken from a 1937 print, which "contained heavy vertical scratches from projection."<ref>[http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/dcp/news/king-kong/43148 Millimeter Magazine article, 1 January 2006] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521015000/http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/dcp/news/king-kong/43148 |date=May 21, 2013)) Retrieved: March 15, 2012</ref> 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]] [[Image scanner|scanning]] was completed by [[Warner Bros.]] in 2005.<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.thedigitalbits.com/site_archive/articles/robertharris/harris102505.html "Robert A. Harris On King Kong"] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813142801/http://thedigitalbits.com/site_archive/articles/robertharris/harris102505.html |date=August 13, 2014)) Retrieved: March 15, 2012,</ref> This restoration also had a 4-minute [[overture]] added, bringing the overall running time to 104 minutes.

Somewhat controversially, ''King Kong'' was [[film colorization|colorized]] for a 1989 [[Turner Home Entertainment]] video release.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-02-17-8903060204-story.html |title=COLORIZED ''KING KONG'' MAY BUG FANS |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |first=Andy |last=Wickstrom |date=Feb 17, 1989 |access-date=Jul 26, 2022))</ref> The following year, this colorized version was shown on Turner's [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]] channel.<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2690/King-Kong/misc-notes.html "King Kong: Miscellaneous Notes" at TCM] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504153046/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2690/King-Kong/misc-notes.html |date=May 4, 2012)) Retrieved: March 15, 2012</ref>

===Television===
After the 1956 re-release, the film was sold to television (first being broadcast March 5, 1956).<ref>((cite journal|last1=Rainho|first1=Manny|title=This Month in Movie History|journal=Classic Images|date=March 2015|issue=477|page=26))</ref>

===Home media===
In 1984, ''King Kong'' was one of the first films to be released on [[LaserDisc]] by the [[Criterion Collection]], and was [[Audio commentary#History of audio commentaries|the first movie]] to have an [[audio commentary]] track included.<ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2005/08/24/if-dvd-killed-the-film-star-criterion-honors-the-ghost/|title=If DVD killed the film star, Criterion honors the ghost|date=August 24, 2005|website=The Denver Post|language=en-US|access-date=November 11, 2019|archive-date=November 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111123300/https://www.denverpost.com/2005/08/24/if-dvd-killed-the-film-star-criterion-honors-the-ghost/|url-status=live))</ref> Criterion's audio commentary was by film historian [[Ronald Haver|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 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 Home Entertainment|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 is also available on two different UK ''King Kong'' DVDs, while the colorized version is available on DVD in the UK and Italy.<ref>[http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=2930 DVDCompare.com: ''King Kong'' (1933)] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127021539/http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=2930 |date=November 27, 2011 )) Retrieved: April 8, 2012</ref> [[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.((Citation needed|date=February 2023))

In 2005, [[Warner Bros.]] released its digital restoration of ''King Kong'' in a US 2-disc Special Edition DVD, coinciding with the theatrical release of [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[King Kong (2005 film)|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.<ref>[http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/kingkong.htm DVDBeaver.com ''King Kong'' comparison] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417112537/http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare/kingkong.htm |date=April 17, 2012)) Retrieved: June 14, 2015</ref> In 2014, the Blu-ray was repackaged with three unrelated films in a ''4 Film Favorites: Colossal Monster Collection.'' At present, [[Universal Pictures|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.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

==Reception==

===Box office===
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 the second week of the film's release because of the national [[Emergency Banking Act|"bank holiday"]] declared by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s during his first days in office.<ref name="lords">((cite book |title=[[Lords of Finance]] |last=Ahamed |first=Liaquat |author-link=Liaquat Ahamed |date=2009 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=9780143116806 |page=[https://archive.org/details/lordsoffinanceba00aham/page/452 452] ))</ref> During the film's first run it made a profit of $650,000.<ref name="rko"/> 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.<ref name="rko"/> After the 1952 re-release, ''[[Variety (magazine)|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.<ref>((cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety189-1953-01#page/n361/mode/1up|title='Gone,' With $26,000,000, Still Tops All-Timers, Greatest Show Heads 1952|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 21, 1953|page=4))</ref> Profits from the 1952 re-release were estimated by the studio at $2.5 million.<ref name="rko"/>

===Critical response===
((Expand section|date=February 2023))

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on ((nowrap|112 reviews)), with an average rating of 9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''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."<ref>((cite web |title=King Kong |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1011615_king_kong |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=November 19, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=December 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091230104912/http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/1011615-king_kong/ |url-status=live ))</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a weighted average score of 90 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref name="metacriticfilm">((cite web |title=King Kong (1933) Reviews – Metacritic |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/king-kong-1933?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c |website=Metacritic.com |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-date=July 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729172556/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/king-kong-1933?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c |url-status=live ))</ref>

[[Variety (magazine)|''Variety'']] thought the film was a powerful adventure.<ref>((cite magazine |last=Bigelow|first=Joe|date=1933-03-06 |title=King Kong |magazine=Variety |url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117792322 |access-date=February 20, 2010))</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' gave readers an enthusiastic account of the plot and thought the film a fascinating adventure.<ref>Hall</ref> [[John Mosher (writer)|John Mosher]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' called it "ridiculous", but wrote that there were "many scenes in this picture that are certainly diverting."<ref>((cite magazine |last=Mosher |first=John |author-link=John Mosher (writer) |date=March 11, 1933 |title=The Current Cinema |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |location=New York |publisher=F-R Publishing Corporation |page= 56 ))</ref> 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."<ref>((cite magazine|date=March 7, 1933 |title=New York Reviews |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |location=Los Angeles  |page= 2 ))</ref> The ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' called it "one of the most original, thrilling and mammoth novelties to emerge from a movie studio."<ref>((cite news |date=April 23, 1933 |title=Monster Ape Packs Thrills in New Talkie |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |location=Chicago  |page=Part 7, p.8))</ref>

On February 3, 2002, [[Roger Ebert]] included ''King Kong'' in his "[[The Great Movies|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 is something ageless and primeval about ''King Kong'' that still somehow works."<ref>((Cite web|last=Ebert|first=Roger|date=February 3, 2002|title=King Kong movie review & film summary (1933)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-king-kong-1933|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130417055656/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-king-kong-1933|archive-date=April 17, 2013|access-date=December 13, 2020|website=[[RogerEbert.com]]|language=en))</ref>

===Criticism of racism===
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]].<ref>Grant, Elizabeth. (1996). 'Here Comes the Bride.' In: Grant, Barry Keith (ed.). The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film. Austin: University of Texas Press. P.373</ref> Early films frequently mirrored racial tensions. While ''King Kong'' is often compared to the story of ''[[Beauty and the Beast]],'' many film scholars have argued that the film was a [[cautionary tale]] about [[interracial relationships|interracial romance]], in which the film's "carrier of blackness is not a human being, but an ape."<ref name="GoffEberhardt2008">((cite journal|last1=Goff|first1=Phillip Atiba|last2=Eberhardt|first2=Jennifer L.|last3=Williams|first3=Melissa J.|last4=Jackson|first4=Matthew Christian|title=Not yet human: Implicit knowledge, historical dehumanization, and contemporary consequences.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=94|issue=2|year=2008|page=293|issn=1939-1315|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.94.2.292|pmid=18211178))</ref><ref>Kuhn, Annette. (2007). King Kong. In: Cook, Pam. (ed.) The Cinema Book. London: British Film Institute. P,41. and Robinson, D. (1983). King Kong. In: Lloyd, A. (ed.) Movies of the Thirties. Orbis Publishing Ltd. p.58.</ref>

Cooper and Schoedsack rejected any allegorical interpretations, insisting in interviews that the film's story contained no hidden meanings.<ref name="Erb2009">((cite book|author=Cynthia Marie Erb|title=Tracking King Kong: A Hollywood Icon in World Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pU7mnHBaqvQC|year=2009|publisher=Wayne State University Press|isbn=978-0-8143-3430-0|page=xvii|access-date=December 15, 2016|archive-date=August 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804014727/https://books.google.com/books?id=pU7mnHBaqvQC|url-status=live))</ref> In an interview, which was published posthumously, Cooper actually explained 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 the most modern of weapons, the armed airplane, he would have a story of the primitive doomed by modern civilization."<ref name="Haver1976">((cite magazine |last=Haver |first=Ron |date=December 1976 |title=Merian C. Cooper: The First King of Kong |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/153812357/American-Film-Magazine-December-1976 |url-status=dead |magazine=American Film Magazine |location=New York |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |page=18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802224054/https://www.scribd.com/document/153812357/American-Film-Magazine-December-1976 |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=June 7, 2019))</ref>

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.<ref>((Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/hitlers-kino-fuehrer-faible-fuer-garbo-oder-dick-und-doof-fotostrecke-132203.html|title=Hitlers Kino: "Führer"-Faible für Garbo oder Dick und Doof|first=SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg|last=Germany|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=December 2, 2015|access-date=August 27, 2019|archive-date=April 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404161903/http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/hitlers-kino-fuehrer-faible-fuer-garbo-oder-dick-und-doof-fotostrecke-132203.html|url-status=live))</ref>

===Legacy===
((Expand section|date=February 2023))
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, a video game titled ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|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]].<ref>Eagan 22</ref><ref>((Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing|url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110155821/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|archive-date=November 10, 2020|access-date=May 1, 2020|website=[[Library of Congress]]))</ref> In 1998, the AFI ranked the film #43 on its list of the 100 greatest movies of all time.((sfn|Morton|2005|pp=75–76))<ref>((Cite web|title=AFI's 100 YEARS...100 MOVIES|url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213041933/https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies/|archive-date=December 13, 2020|access-date=December 13, 2020|website=[[American Film Institute]]|language=en))</ref>

The film's [[stop motion]] effects by [[Willis H. O'Brien]] revolutionized special effects, leaving a lasting impact on the film industry worldwide and inspired other genre films such as ''[[Mighty Joe Young (1949 film)|Mighty Joe Young]]'', ''[[The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms]]'',<ref>((cite book |last=Rovin |first=Jeff |author-link=Jeff Rovin |title=The Encyclopedia of Monsters |location=New York |publisher=Facts on File |date=1989 |isbn=0-8160-1824-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo00rovi_0 |url-access=registration))</ref> ''[[Creature from the Black Lagoon]]'',<ref>((cite book|last1=Weaver|first1=Tom|title=The Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy |publisher= McFarland & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0786494187|page=30))</ref> ''[[Mothra (film)|Mothra]]'',<ref>''Memories of Ishiro Honda. Twenty Years After The Passing Of Godzilla's Famed Director'' by Hajime Ishida.'' [[Famous Monsters of Filmland]] #269''. Movieland Classics LLC, 2013. Pg. 20</ref> and ''[[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]]''.<ref>((cite book|last1=Mottram|first1=James|title=Jurassic Park: The Ultimate Visual History |publisher=Insight Editions |year=2021|isbn=978-1683835455|page=17))</ref><ref name="Earl doc">((cite video |title=The Making of Jurassic Park |author=[[James Earl Jones|Jones, James Earl]] (Host) |medium=VHS |publisher=Universal |year=1995))</ref> The film was also one of the biggest inspirations for ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|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 was influenced by King Kong."<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/04/movies/tomoyuki-tanaka-the-creator-of-godzilla-is-dead-at-86.html|title=Tomoyuki Tanaka, the Creator of Godzilla, Is Dead at 86|first=Sheryl|last=Wudunn|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 4, 1997|access-date=August 3, 2021|archive-date=December 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226183340/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/04/movies/tomoyuki-tanaka-the-creator-of-godzilla-is-dead-at-86.html|url-status=live))</ref>

It has been suggested by author Daniel Loxton that ''King Kong'' inspired the modern day legend of the [[Loch Ness Monster]].<ref>((Cite web |date=17 August 2014 |title=Did King Kong inspire Nessie? |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/did-king-kong-inspire-the-myth-of-the-loch-ness-monster/J5UR3D5VNKF6U6KQU6P76EYSJ4/ |access-date=9 January 2015 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en))</ref><ref>((Cite web |date=9 January 2015 |title=Nessie's starring role |url=https://theweek.com/articles/458704/nessies-starring-role |access-date=15 September 2023 |website=[[The Week]] |language=en))</ref>

'''American Film Institute Lists'''
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies]] – #43
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills]] – #12
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions]] – #24
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains]]<!---DO NOT DELETE THIS INFORMATION! -->:
** Kong – Nominated Villain <!---DO NOT DELETE THIS INFORMATION! -->
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes]]:
** "Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty that killed the Beast." – #84
* [[AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores]] – #13
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)]] – #41
* [[AFI's 10 Top 10]] – #4 Fantasy film

==Sequel and franchise==
((main |King Kong (franchise)))
The 1933 ''King Kong'' film and characters inspired imitations and installments. ''[[Son of Kong]],'' a direct sequel to the 1933 film was released nine months after the first film's release. In the early 1960s, RKO had licensed the King Kong character to Japanese studio [[Toho]] and produced two King Kong films, ''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]'' which was also the third film in Toho's long-running [[Godzilla (franchise)|'' Godzilla'' series]], and ''[[King Kong Escapes]],'' both directed by [[Ishirō Honda]]. These films are mostly unrelated to the original and follow a very different style.

In 1976, Italian producer [[Dino De Laurentiis]] released his version of ''[[King Kong (1976 film)|King Kong]],'' a modern remake of the 1933 film, following the same basic plot, but moving the setting to the present day and changing many details. The remake was followed by a sequel in 1986 titled ''[[King Kong Lives]].''

In 1998, the film also saw a loosely-adapted [[direct-to-video]] animated remake, ''[[The Mighty Kong]],'' directed by Art Scott, scored by the [[Sherman Brothers]] and distributed by [[Warner Bros.]]

In 2005, [[Universal Pictures]] released another remake of ''[[King Kong (2005 film)|King Kong]],'' co-written and directed by [[Peter Jackson]], which is set in 1933, as in the original film.

[[Legendary Pictures]] and [[Warner Bros.]] released a Kong reboot film titled ''[[Kong: Skull Island]]'' in 2017 which was directed by [[Jordan Vogt-Roberts]] and is the second installment of Legendary's ''[[MonsterVerse]],'' with a sequel ''[[Godzilla vs. Kong]]'' directed by [[Adam Wingard]] released in 2021, marking the second time Kong fights [[Godzilla]].

==See also==
((Portal|Film|Speculative fiction/Horror|United States))
* [[List of films featuring dinosaurs]]
* [[List of films featuring giant monsters]]
* [[List of highest-grossing films]]
* [[List of stop motion films]]
* [[1933 in film]]
* [[Skull Island (King Kong)|Skull Island]]
* ''[[Mighty Joe Young (1949 film)|Mighty Joe Young]]'' (1949)
* ''[[Ingagi]]'' (1930)
* ''[[Stark Mad]]'' (1929)
* ''[[The Lost World (1925 film)|The Lost World]]'' (1925)

==References==
((Reflist))

==Bibliography==
((Refbegin|30em))
* ((cite web |author=American Film Institute |author-link=American Film Institute |date=June 17, 2008 |title=AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46072 |access-date=February 20, 2010 |archive-date=June 19, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619034738/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46072 |url-status=dead))
* Annette, Kuhn. (2007). "King Kong." In: Cook, Pam. (ed.) The Cinema Book. London: British Film Institute. P,41. and Robinson, D. (1983). "King Kong." In: Lloyd, A. (ed.) Movies of the Thirties. Orbis Publishing Ltd.
* ((cite book |author=Doherty, Thomas Patrick |year=1999 |title=Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930–1934 |url=https://archive.org/details/precodehollywood0000dohe |url-access=registration |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=0231110944 |page=[https://archive.org/details/precodehollywood0000dohe/page/293 293]))
* Eagan, Daniel (2010). America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc, New York, NY p.&nbsp;22. ((ISBN|9780826429773)).
* ((cite web|last1=Ebert|first1=Roger|title=King Kong Movie Review & Film Summary (1933)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-king-kong-1933|website=RogerEbert.com|publisher=Ebert Digital LLC|access-date=July 24, 2016|date=February 3, 2002))
* ((cite book |author=Erb, Cynthia Marie |year=2009 |title=Tracking King Kong: a Hollywood Icon in World Culture|location=Detroit, MI |publisher=Wayne State University Press |pages=5–54 |isbn=9780814334300))
* ((cite news |author=Erish, Andrew |date=January 8, 2006 |title=Illegitimate Dad of King Kong |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/959395991.html?dids=959395991:959395991&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+8%2C+2006&author=Andrew+Erish&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.6&desc=Movies |access-date=February 20, 2010 |archive-date=March 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314080024/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/959395991.html?dids=959395991:959395991&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+8%2C+2006&author=Andrew+Erish&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.6&desc=Movies |url-status=dead))
* Grant, Elizabeth. (1996). "Here Comes the Bride." In Grant, Barry Keith (ed.), ''The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film.'' Austin: University of Texas Press.
* ((cite book |author=Goldner, Orville and George E. Turner |year=1975 |title=The Making of King Kong: The Story Behind a Film Classic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f8kqAQAAIAAJ |publisher=A.S. Barnes |isbn=0498015106))
* ((cite book |editor=Gottesman, Ronald and Harry Geduld |year=1976 |title=The Girl in the Hairy Paw: King Kong as Myth, Movie, and Monster |publisher=Avon |isbn=0380006103))
* ((cite news |author=Hall, Mordaunt |author-link=Mordaunt Hall |date=March 3, 1933 |title=King Kong |newspaper=The New York Times |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?title1=&title2=KING%20KONG%20%28MOVIE%29&reviewer=Mordaunt%20Hall&pdate=&v_id=27391 |access-date=February 20, 2010))
* ((cite book |author=Hall, Roger L.|year=1997 |author-link=Roger Lee Hall |title=A Guide to Film Music: Songs and Scores |url=http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/Filmmusicguide.htm| publisher=PineTree Press))
* ((cite book |author=Haver, Ronald |author-link=Ronald Haver |title=David O. Selznick's Hollywood |year=1987 |location=New York |publisher=[[Random House]] |isbn=9780517476659))
* ((cite web |title=King Kong Collection |website=Amazon UK |date=December 19, 2005 |url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000BA8EAW |access-date=February 20, 2010))
* ((cite book |editor=Lloyd, Ann |year=1983 |title=Movies of the Thirties |location=UK |publisher=Orbis Publishing Ltd.))
* ((cite book |editor=Maltin, Leonard |editor-link=Leonard Maltin |year=2007 |title=Leonard Maltin's 2008 Movie Guide |location=New York |publisher=Signet |isbn=9780451221865 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/leonardmaltins2000leon))
* ((cite book |last=Morton |first=Ray |title=King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon From Fay Wray to Peter Jackson|publisher=Applause Theatre & Cinema Books |location=New York City |year=2005 |oclc=61261236 |isbn=9781557836694))
* [[Claude Ollier|Ollier, Claude]]. (May–June 1965). "Un roi à New York (A King in New York)" ([[Tom Milne|Milne, Tom]], trans.), in Hillier, Jim (ed.), ''[[Cahiers du Cinéma]]: The 1960s: [[French New Wave|New Wave]], New Cinema, Reevaluating Hollywood,'' [[Harvard University Press]], 1986.
* ((cite web |author=Peary, Gerald |author-link=Gerald Peary |year=2004 |title=Missing Links: The Jungle Origins of King Kong |url=http://www.geraldpeary.com/essays/jkl/kingkong-1.html |access-date=February 20, 2010))
* ((cite web |title=King Kong (1933) |publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1011615_king_kong?|access-date=March 2, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091230104912/http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/1011615-king_kong/ |archive-date=December 30, 2009))
* ((cite web |author=United Press International |title=Empire State Building to Dim Lights in Remembrance of Actress Fay Wray |publisher=United Press International, Inc. |url=http://www.upi.com/topic/Fay_Wray/photos/pg-3/ |access-date=February 20, 2010))
((Refend))

==External links==
((Commons category|King Kong (1933 film)))
((Wikiquote))
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/king%20kong.pdf''King Kong''] essay by Michael Price on the [[National Film Registry]] website 
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC ''King Kong''] essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 ((ISBN|0826429777)), pages 205-207 
* [https://prdaficalmjediwestussa.blob.core.windows.net/images/2019/08/handv400.pdf List of the 400 nominated screen characters]
* ((IMDb title|0024216))
* ((AllMovie title|27391))
* ((Mojo title|kingkong))
* ((Rotten Tomatoes|king_kong))
* ((TCMDb title|2690))
* ((AFI film|4005))

((KingKong))
((Ernest B. Schoedsack))
((Edgar Wallace))
((AFI's 10 Top 10))
((Authority control))

[[Category:1933 films]]
[[Category:1933 horror films]]
[[Category:1930s fantasy adventure films]]
[[Category:1930s English-language films]]
[[Category:1930s monster movies]]
[[Category:American films with live action and animation]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American fantasy adventure films]]
[[Category:American monster movies]]
[[Category:American epic films]]
[[Category:Adventure horror films]]
[[Category:Censored films]]
[[Category:Films about dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Empire State Building in fiction]]
[[Category:Films scored by Max Steiner]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack]]
[[Category:Films directed by Merian C. Cooper]]
[[Category:Films about filmmaking]]
[[Category:Films adapted into comics]]
[[Category:Films adapted into plays]]
[[Category:Films adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:Films produced by David O. Selznick]]
[[Category:Films set in New York City]]
[[Category:Films set in the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:Films set on fictional islands]]
[[Category:Films set on ships]]
[[Category:Films using stop-motion animation]]
[[Category:Giant monster films]]
[[Category:King Kong (franchise) films]]
[[Category:Lost world films]]
[[Category:Fiction about pterosaurs]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:RKO Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Edgar Wallace]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Fiction about modern-day dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Race-related controversies in film]]
[[Category:1930s American films]]

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