Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Son of Kong Blu-ray Movie Review

Monkey Shines

Reviewed by Michael Reuben October 26, 2015

Screenwriter David Koepp has said that the most frequent complaint about his script for Jurassic Park is: "It took too long to get to the island!" The same could be said of Ruth Rose's screenplay for The Son of Kong, a sequel that RKO Pictures rushed into production for a Christmas release just nine months after the success of its now-iconic 1933 King Kong. Rose, who was part of Kong's original writing team, knew from the outset that she couldn't possibly top the original film's famous set pieces, especially given the time constraints and a budget that was half of what the studio spent on Kong. So she wrote comical adventures instead. Even the serious moments were meant to be played tongue-in-cheek, and both the cast and producer/director Ernest B. Schoedsack seemed to understand that. (Co-producer/director Merian C. Cooper reportedly lost interest after he learned about the lower budget.) Even the titular character joins in the clowning.

Son of Kong was only modestly successful, and it isn't well-regarded. Still, even though Warner is including it in its Special Effects Collection, the film is best enjoyed for the lengthy prologue during which the characters "take too long to get to the island", because Ms. Rose wrote some inspired dialogue for them to deliver, especially the failed impresario played by Robert Armstrong, who reportedly preferred the sequel to the original, because he found the character more interesting after he'd crashed and burned.

Son of Kong is one of the few films to address the likely aftermath of the many fantasies of destruction in which Hollywood lets audiences indulge. A month after the great ape's New York debut turned into a catastrophic rampage, showman Carl Denham (Armstrong) remains behind closed doors in his rooming house, besieged by process servers bearing lawsuits. Tipped off by a friendly process server named Mickey (Lee Kohlmar) that he is about to be indicted by a grand jury, Denham flees New York aboard the Venture, the same ship that brought Kong back from Skull Island, still under the command of Captain Englehorn (Frank Reicher). Returning to the Far East, the two men attempt to earn a living carrying cargo, but business is poor. Without saying much, both partners find their thoughts drifting back to what they now call "Kong's Island".

Their appetite is whetted in the port of Dakang, where they encounter a shady Norwegian captain, Nils Helstrom (John Marston). It was Helstrom who first gave Denham the map showing the location of Kong's Island. Helstrom now tempts them with tales of a fabulous treasure on the island, but he's lying to obtain passage before the Dutch magistrate arrives to hear a criminal complaint against him for killing Peterson (Clarence Wilson), the elderly proprietor of a struggling circus show. Peterson's daughter, Hilda (Helen Mack), who sang in the show, correctly believes that Helstrom killed her father in a drunken argument. Helstrom's fabrication gets him passage aboard the Venture, and Hilda too becomes part of the complement making a second voyage to Kong's Island. If there was ever any doubt that Son of Kong is a comedy, the manner in which Hilda joins the treasure hunters, and the revelation of her presence by their Chinese cook, Charlie (Victor Wong), provides a definitive answer.

(It should be noted that the name "Hilda" appears only in the credits. Helen Mack's character is listed as "Helene" in the advertisements for her father's show, and she is called "kid" by Denham. Helstrom doesn't call her anything.)

The theme of aftermath continues when the treasure hunters reach Kong's Island. The inhabitants repel them, blaming the destruction of their village on Denham's first intrusion when he captured Kong. This leaves the group with few alternatives, since they have been ejected from the Venture by a mutiny that Helstrom instigated in the hope of commandeering the ship. Hoist by his own petard, the Norwegian scoundrel has been ejected along with Denham and the rest. As the group wanders on the perilous far side of the island, Denham and Hilda are stunned to find a 12-foot-tall albino ape that Denham immediately decides is the Son of Kong. Rescued from quicksand by his new acquaintances, the younger ape becomes their protector and defender as they try to survive.

Son of Kong recapitulates several moments from the original film, including Kong Jr.'s battles with various attacking predators, but the sequences are minor compared to those in King Kong. The most impressive display is a huge earthquake that shakes the entire island near the end and provides the story with its equivalent of an Empire State Building finale. And unlike King Kong, the sequel provides Carl Denham with a happy ending.

Son of Kong Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Son of Kong was shot by the same team of cinematographers that photographed King Kong: Eddie Linden, J.O. Taylor and Vernon Walker. Like much of the RKO library now owned by Warner, the source elements were not well preserved by RKO, and significant restoration effort was required by Warner's Motion Picture Imaging facility to bring this new 2k scan up to what Warner considers acceptable standards for Blu-ray. As with any other effects-laden film from this era, Son of Kong is loaded with shots featuring multiple layers of optical superimposition, a process which unavoidably degrades the image. As the film switches back and forth between scenes with and without opticals, the level of detail shifts noticeably. Blu-ray's superior resolution accentuates the difference, but that difference is part of the original film.

Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is a fine representation of Son of Kong. Judged by the shots without any kind of effects, the black-and-white image is sharp and detailed without the kind of electronic trickery that was often used to overcome the limitations of the DVD format (notably artificial sharpening and contrast boosting). Blacks are solid, variations of gray are well-delineated, and the grain pattern appears natural. Effects shots vary in quality, depending on which "layer" was the last to be superimposed. These kind of variations remained the bane of effects films until the advent of digital compositing in the 1990s, some sixty years after Son of Kong.

Consistent with Warner's recent abandonment of low bitrates, Son of Kong has been mastered with average rate of 32.84 Mbps, and the compression has been carefully done so that no digital artifacts are added to the existing analog byproducts of the optical effects.

Son of Kong Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Son of Kong's original mono track has been encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA mono. Within the limitations of the source material, it sounds quite good. Dialogue and effects are clearly delivered, as is the score by legendary film composer Max Steiner (Casablanca). There are no pops, clicks or other distortion, and hiss is minimal, but the dynamic range is limited, which is only to be expected from a recording of this vintage.

Son of Kong Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Other than a trailer (480i; 1.37:1; 1:47), the disc has no extras. Warner's 2005 DVD was similarly featureless.

Son of Kong Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If the original King Kong had not already been released on Blu-ray, it would probably make a more suitable candidate for inclusion in the Special Effects Collection than this sequel, because those effects are iconic. Still, there is room for Son of Kong, and MPI's presentation is impressive. Recommended.