ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Son of Kong (1933)
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Let's Create a Sequel!
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~ A Question for the Members: If RKO had been smart enough to appreciate both the talent of Willis O'Brien and the earning potential of a worthy sequel to King Kong, what might they have done with the "Son of Kong" concept?

~ Here's what I came up with.: What if Carl Denham realized that he was sitting on a gold mine?

The movie presents Carl Denham as being broke and hiding from his creditors in New York, because he's being sued for the damages caused by Kong.

Well, that's perfectly understandable — but it sure ain't an exciting idea.

However, Denham doesn't seem to realize that he possesses priceless information that can make him fabulously wealthy!

He and Captain Englehorn know the location of an uncharted island which contains a plethora of prehistoric animals which the global scientific community would pay a fortune to study!







Denham originally went to Skull Island to make a spectacular motion picture which featured wildlife, like the ones he was famous for. What he found on the island would indeed be the subject of a colossal movie he could exhibit all over the world and become fabulously wealthy.

So, let's disregard the foolish manner in which RKO overlooked this concept, and come up with a story that takes full advantage of it.

Denham goes to his creditors and tells them what he plans to do. He convinces them that he'll be able to settle all the law suits if they'll back his second exhibition to Skull Island, in return for a percentage of the profits he'll make from several highly successful motion pictures he'll release when he returns.

The bankers and creditors are sold on the idea, having heard the descriptions of the amazing adventure on Skull Island. They back Denham to the hilt.

And so, off we go again to the fabulous island of prehistoric creatures!





Dozens of paleontologist and big game hunters have paid large sums to join the expedition, along with multiple film crews who plan to get several hundred hours of amazing footage of Skull Island's unique ecosystem.

Imagine Denham's delight when he encounters Kiko (the name Forrest J. Ackerman christened him with in Famous Monsters of Filmland).





Denham realizes that he's found a much more manageable not-quite-so-giant ape he can take back and exhibit in a manner more like what we see in Might Joe Young, rather than the disastrous way King Kong was displayed.

The expedition is a rousing success, and Denham not only brings back Kiko, the scientists acquire several medium-sized dinosaurs and two larger ones — such as the dragon-like quadruped which Kiko fights in the movie. They also capture several adolescent pterodactyls.





Over a period of weeks the bright and friendly Kiko is trained to obey commands and do entertaining tricks. Meanwhile, the scientists and the financial backers make plans to put all the captured dinosaurs on display in a grand fashion.

Denham claims sole rights to Kiko, so he makes a lucrative deal with the promoters to include the Son of Kong in their upcoming extravaganza.
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From IMDB:

Merian C. Cooper had originally planned for Kong to be exhibited in Yankee Stadium, but later decided on a mid-town theater. Special Effects Chief Willis H. O'Brien drew a sketch of Kong breaking loose in the Stadium.





This idea is used in my fantasy version of Son of Kong, with Kiko performing several nights a week for a packed stadium, raking in the dough faster than you can say, "The 9th Wonder of the World!"

The dinosaurs are also displayed on the field in large cages, and prior to each of Kiko's performances the crowds are allowed to roam around like visitors at a zoo, viewing the various prehistoric beasts and watching their keepers feed them.

The two large dinosaurs are in separate cages which have been deliberately placed fairly close together so they'll roar and rage at each other, entertaining the crowd.

But during one of the periods when the crowds are circulating around the ball field, one of the "cave dragons" breaks out of its cage and attacks the cage holding the other one, trying to get at the animal inside. They throw themselves at each other with such force that the second cage also breaks open, and they begin to battle each other . . . while the screaming crowd flees the area in a blind panic!

As the titans engage in mortal combat, they damage several cages in which the smaller dinosaurs are enclosed, including the half-grown pterodactyls. These highly agitated pterosaurs struggle frantically to squeeze through an opening in the damaged cage.

Several small herbivorous dinosaurs in a pen-like structure get free when the fence around their area is damaged by the battling behemoths! Some of these pony-sized dinosaurs have furry outer coats, instead of dry reptilian skins — making them perfect for a dino-petting zoo!





But when their pen is breached, they escape and begin galloping around the field, terrifying the people. Denham races to Kiko's area of confinement just outside the stadium and enlists the large ape's help, leading him quickly back inside.

The two large dinosaurs are still fiercely fighting each other.

Weaving their way through the frantic scene, Kiko quickly follows the man to the pterosaurs' damaged cage. Denham directs Kiko to pound the section of the steel structure until it's closed again, preventing the flying creatures from escaping.

Amidst the chaos of the battle and the panicked people, Denham and Kiko manage to herd the frightened herbivores back into their pen (with a funny shot of Kiko actually tucking one under each arm and carrying them). Then Kiko restores the barrier before any of the creatures trample the terrified spectators.

Meanwhile, one of the dragon-like dinosaurs finally defeats his foe and then turns its attention to all the tasty-looking people it's been wanting to gobble up for weeks!

Just as a fleeing man is about to be eaten, Kiko comes valiantly to the rescue, and we get a battle royal which ranges across the stadium grounds while many people who remain up in the bleachers watch the mayhem below with mesmerized expressions.

Kiko finally slays the dragon and saves the day!

As he stands over the dinosaur's lifeless body, thousands of people in the stadium erupt into applause and cheers! Kiko smiles the way he did in the movie —





— and then he imitates Denham's gesture as the man stands next to him while gripping his hands together and shaking them over his head — the traditional "champion's celebration"!

Fortunately, this time Denham's responsibility pertains solely to Kiko, and since the ape was the hero, the famous filmmaker is not besieged with lawsuits as he was after King Kong.

And that, gentlemen, is MY idea of how to make a sequel!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Tim, I can't believe I let your wonderful post sit here for a year and a half without being noticed by me — or anybody else, apparently!

(Come on, guys! Show a little love for a valuable member of All Sci-Fi.)

Allow me to demonstrate just how rich with potential concepts the ideas in Tim's posts really is!
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Before I realized that the first part of Tim's comment above was not entirely serious, I formed a beautiful mental image of those "bus tours" he mentioned as they rolled through a motorized version of the Kong Gates that we see in the original movie!





The giant wooden doors would open up majestically to allow huge armored vehicles the size of Greyhound buses to roll out onto a nice paved road which wound through the jungle. The excited group of the tourists would busily snap photos through the thick glass windows!

At the front of each bus would be a lovely "Ann Darrow lookalike" who would deliver bright, chipper spiels over the PA system, calling the tourists attention to highlights along the way.





Here's an example what the ladies on these buses might say to keep the tourists.

"Oh look, folks! We're passing through area where the sailors from the S.S. Venture were attacked by an angry Stegosaurus! Luckily they were able to slay the charging beast just before it got to them!"





During the tour, gun turrets mounted on top of the fortified vehicles would occasionally fire off a volley into the jungle, just to scare the tourists. Afterwards the sexy blond tour guide would smile beautifully and say this.

"Oh my goodness! That was a close call! But don't worry, folks — our brave guards are always on the lookout for prehistoric monsters who might try to attack us!"

Periodically the tour buses would pass "dino feeding areas" where food would surreptitiously be left out for the dinosaurs. This would be timed to occur just prior to the passing of the armored tour buses. These area would therefore be frequented by the prehistoric creatures who would invariably engage is savage battles over the food!







Meanwhile, the hot blond tour guide would pretend to be delighted by the fact that her group just happened to be lucky enough to witness a primeval battle for survival in this prehistorical world!
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This entire thriving commercial enterprise would be able to provide exciting adventures for its delighted tourist on a daily basis — thereby generating ample funds which would be used to keep Dino World operating in the black for years, thus insuring the survival of these denizens from the dawn of time!

Good Lord, gentlemen . . . I could easily write the screenplays for two decades of sequels to King Kong, with adventures in Dino World occurring every few years between 1933 and the late 1940s!

By the early 1940s these stop motion extravaganzas would be in Technicolor, and the public would be lining up around the block to see the newest ones! Willis O'Brien and a young Ray Harryhausen would be the heads of an animation team composed of dedicated professionals — both young and old — who would work tirelessly to create stunning movies the public would adore!

These people would be the Pixar Animation Studios of the classic era, and they would dazzle the world with their movie magic!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Good thought. But maybe Denham couldn't afford the cost, or get permission to do all that the project required.

For example, he'd have to get a crew to skin the corpse (an unpleasant job while the corpse continued to rot). Then they have to dismember Kong in the street and haul away the rotting remains.

The hide would have to treated to prevent if from decomposing.

Next they'd have to build a steel framework to support the hide, and create replicas of some sections (perhaps out of plaster), such as the hands, feet, and the facial features, along with the hairless chest sections.

Kong would need cantaloupe-sized glass eyes. I suppose his actual teeth could be used.

After all the necessary work was done, Denham would have an exhibit that was too big to move around, unless it was designed to be disassembled.

The end result would indeed be an awesome thing to see, but creating it would be a monumental tasks. A comprise solution might be to just recreate the head, using the actual fur, but replicate the features.

He could also replicate the hand, and then charge people to sit in it for thirty seconds while a professional photograph took their picture!



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Hey, that's a wild thought!

They're artually doing that right now with Kong, Godzilla, and all those greatly improved versions of the lousy Japanese monsters.

Meanwhile, your post inspired me come up with this idea! Could we incorporate some of the ideas from O'Brien's War Eagles into the Skull Island sequels?













Here's how War Eagles is described by the website called The Bedlam Files.
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WAR EAGLES was conceived as a large-scale special effects spectacular about a daredevil pilot who, in true KING KONG, fashion happens upon a primitive land packed with dinosaurs.

There he happens upon a race of giant eagles that come in handy when a foreign power invades the U.S. with a weapon that shorts out all electricity, leading to a very KING KONG-esque aerial showdown in the skies over NYC.
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Since the story is set in an uncharted region of the globe (perhaps an island) populated by dinosaurs, why not set War Eagles on Skull Island — and ignore the dumb ending of Son of Kong!

The only known map of the island was the simple hand-drawn one we see in the movie.





But the shots of the island itself indicated that it might be larger than the map seems to indicate.





Gentlemen, I submit that a portion of Skull Island is the home of the Viking colony which commands its fleet of giant eagles.

The American corporation which is getting rich by conducting the Skull Island bus tours could establish friendly relations with the sky-riding Vikings on the far side of the island, and they would alert them to the threat of Hitler's plans to dominate the world.

This would mean that the original War Eagles script by Cyril Hume (the man who penned the screenplay for Forbidden Planet) could serve as one of the sequels to the King Kong franchise I've proposed!

The Vikings on their giant Eagles would be the perfect defense against the German aircraft, after our own planes have been knocked out by the German EM-pulse weapon!





The book I bought a few years ago has one illustration which shows an eagle-mounted Viking attacking a German plane. The German pilot is firing his pistol at the Viking, and the Viking is aiming an arrow at the pilot while the eagle's talons are ripping the tail off the fighter aircraft!

Good God in Heaven! This movie would have been magnificent!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Funny stuff, Timbo!

I wonder if "ground up Kong bones" could be sold as an aphrodisiac, the same way rhino horn is. Imagine the ads for that stuff.
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Men, are you loosing your ability to do the Jungle Boogie with the ladies in your life? Want to recapture the bye-gone days when you were the Ape Man in your house?

Well, guys, here's the answer to your problem!

You'll get a king-size boner after taking our Kong Male Enhancement. A spoonful of this miraculous cure and you'll feel like you can whip a T-Rex, climb the Empire State Building, and crush airplanes with one hand while groping up Fay Wray with the other!

And the ladies in your life will call you "The Eight-Inch Wonder of the World"!

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)