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A Review by Wіllіаm Bеll, reviewer for Body in Mind

Starring: Fаy Wrаy, Rоbеrt Armstrоng, Brυcе Cаbоt

Rating: 10/10

Nudity: none

Beauty: 6/10

I know what you're thinking. Kіng Kоng? A movie in which the 'bodacious babe' was a wispy speck of a woman (Fаy Wrаy) who is employed for most of her screentime in screeches that very nearly spoil an otherwise perfect film? Why would anyone review THAT for bodyinmind.com?

Because at its core, this is a movie about the value of beauty.

Styles may change, and the helpless waif may no longer be the flavor of the month, but given that Fаy Wrаy's character is supposed to represent the ideal of beauty onscreen, we must judge with an eye not to what we may personally feel is the height of female beauty, but to what was intended.

I hope I don't have to explain to anyone what makes this film a masterpiece. Just watch it and you'll know. It's probably the best adventure film of all time (Raiders of the Lоst Ark the only serious contender). Set aside your incredulity (and some of the racial depictions that are quite absurd), and see the drama and excitement spill out before you, as wild and uncontrollable as Kong himself. Many movies make the claim that if you start watching at any point, you won't be able to turn it off. In my experience, only Kіng Kоng lives up to the claim.

The pace starts slow, all about suspense and anticipation. Then, when Kong makes his appearance, it's a constant flow of fun. The pursuit of Kong is one crazy thrill ride after another, the heros contending with as many menaces and monsters as Kong does on his long trip home. If you don't get lost in the adrenaline and fun of this film, it's time to nail your coffin shut.

The effects are surprisingly good for the time, and better than many that I see in new films. Kong quickly ceases to be a mechanical face, or a stop-motion model, in the audience's eyes almost immediately. He's a character as nuanced and real as any in the film, maybe moreso.

The character dynamics are interesting, unlike most films, with multiple leads and probably the most likeable antagonist of all time - Cаrl Dеnhаm. Then there's the dialogue - some of the best ever. You've GOT to love that 1930s jargon.

Where does beauty enter the picture? In the person of Fаy Wrаy, and moreover, in the way others react to her character.

All of the characters of the film exibit refreshingly positive reactions to beauty. It's her beauty that makes Denham, the unscrupulous filmmaker who will do anything for a hit, bring her along on what he knows (but she doesn't) is a dangerous ride. It's her beauty again that attracts the hero of the film, Fіrst Mаtе Jаck Drіscоll, and leads him to overcome his aversion to females on boats with that classic line: "Say, I guess I love you." It is her golden beauty that draws the natives to kidnap her, a treasure, from the heros' ship. And it's her beauty that leads the men of the ship to die in pursuit of the monster that took her (in some of the greatest and funniest death scenes ever filmed, by the way).

BUT, the thing that has always set Kіng Kоng apart from other monster films, even the great ones, is that the protagonist is the monster. It is he most of all, in his animal simplicity, that cannot look on beauty with cynicism or derision. He can't manipulate it, like Denham. He can't lust for it, like the natives. He can't deny it, like Driscoll. He can only covet it, protect it, and love it.

I don't think I'm spoiling it for anyone if I tell you, in the end, he even dies in what he percieves as the defence of beauty. "Nah, it wasn't the planes that got him. It was Beauty killed the Beast." - Cаrl Dеnhаm. That's why this film is a tragedy, and why it's a great love story. Kong is a monster, who murders with abandon and pleasure. Hell, he steps on people. He chews them and spits them out. But when he dies, we feel that something precious is lost. There is only one reason. Bеcаυsе Kоng knows the value of beauty, and can't live without it.

Our response to his death is to our credit. It's source is our longing to a return to childhood wonder and awe, to that mental state where the sight of something beautiful takes our breath away, and we laugh for the love of life. We recall in Kong that under all the cynicism and bitterness of our age, beauty is just plain good.

Buy the original film at Amazon here.