1933’s “King Kong” was a mile stone in motion picture history, and fresh off its success, Japan was eager to have its own movie version of the giant ape. So, throughout the 30’s, there were several attempts at Japanese Kong films, but all prints of them have been lost, with the exception of some still publicity photos. Then after the smashing success of 1954’s “Godzilla”, an opportunity finally arose to bring King Kong into Japans giant monster movie franchise. The result was the 1962 crossover “King Kong vs Godzilla”, which was a smash hit, and set the stage for more solo Japanese films staring King Kong. However, despite finally getting Americas giant ape under their banner, only one Kong movie followed in 1967 titled “King Kong Escapes”. This wasn’t a sequel to the previous Godzilla crossover and was instead an adaption of the animated Rankin/Bass TV series titled “The King Kong Show”. It’s certainly a rarity to have a Japanese produced King Kong movie without the inclusion of Godzilla, so let’s see how his final appearance in the East took shape.
Despite having no continuity to the
previous films, the people featured in “King Kong Escapes” still refer
to him like Kong’s had a destructive, yet mysterious history. The story
revolves around two human villains named Dr. Who and Madame Piranha … ha ha ha,
we all chuckle … who are both using a giant robot modeled after Kong’s
likeness.
This Robot Kong has twice the originals strength, but it wasn’t
initially built to fight its counterpart and instead is being used to dig up a
rare substance called “Element X”, which will give both of our villains the
power to rule the world. If this set-up sounds like a really terrible and
cheesy James Bond movie, you’re not too far off. The sinister Doctor
was actually based on many of Bonds adversaries, namely Dr. No and Blofeld.
Although personally, I think this guy would fit right in with the campy
villains of the Flash Gordon universe. Madame Piranha by the way is played by
Mie Hama, who was fresh off of playing a Bond girl in one of my favorite 007
movies “You Only Live Twice”. The whole film just has this distinct
James Bond feel, and there’s several little scenes that could have easily been
lifted from any one of his early movies. As for the real King Kong, he’s
discovered on a far-off island by a group of Americans on a Naval ship. In
typical Kong fashion, the giant ape makes a connection with a beautiful blond
girl, who’s a member of the crew. Meanwhile, the Robot Kong fails to dig for
the element, and with little options left, the villains capture Kong from his
island home, and brainwash him to do their bidding. They also capture the girl
as a fail-safe to keep Kong under their control.
Just like in the previous Godzilla
crossover, Kong is featured as a rubber suited monster, but man oh man … he
looks terrible in this movie. It really looks like a costume on loan from a
Halloween costume shop, and he has this silly cartoon expression to go along
with it. As for his mechanized opponent Robot Kong, he’s actually a unique
rival for the mighty ape. He’s the only original giant antagonist to battle
Kong, and he even pre-dates Godzilla’s more famous evil robot counterpart Mechagodzilla
by a good six years. Having a giant rival that mired Kong’s appearance was
actually a credible idea, and I like how it’s utilized in the film. When Kong
see’s his robot duplicate for the first time, it see’s the thing as one of his
own, and even tries to be friends ... which obviously doesn’t work out. The
effects on display are all in that same cheesy fashion, with obvious model sets
and battle vehicles that are clearly remote-control toys. Truthfully, even
though it’s ridiculously corny material, there’s still this charm and appeal to
the craft that I just can’t shake.
Lets also take a moment to mention Kong’s
other opponent featured in the film, the T-Rex creature called Gorosaurus.
This
was a regular player in Japans giant monster series, and would even appear in
the 1969 Godzilla movie titled “Destroy all Monsters”. Heck, that movie
even features stock footage of Gorosaurus, which is lifted straight from “King
Kong Escapes”. The battle between Kong and Gorosaurus is another
delightfully cheesy rubber suited monster fight, and its actually kind of a treat
to see Kong battle something else from the Godzilla franchise. Gorosaurus’s
signature move is a drop-kick, which he repeatedly uses on Kong. There are also
some amusing winks to the original “King Kong” movie, like a shot with
the Blond girl in a tree branch, while the monsters battle in the background.
Also, just like the original T-Rex, Gorosaurus gets his jaw snapped open, but
this is a G rated death by comparison, as it features foam coming out the mouth
as opposed to blood. Yet another call back to the first movie is a scene in
which Kong battles a giant Sea-Serpent, which is another amusing highlight.
Rhodes Reason is our main human star, and
plays Commander Carl Nelson. For such a campy film, he does a commendable job
keeping a straight face, and plays things just serious enough without being a
stick in the mud. The character is also very similar to another navel character
named Admiral Nelson from the 1961 Sci-Fi “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”.
Of course, we can’t have a King Kong movie without an attractive blond girl,
and this time it comes in the form of Linda Jo Miller. She’s your typical
damsel stereotype, and her performance might just be the worst of any Kong love
interest. Even her relation with Kong is the most underdeveloped and rushed, as
she has instant control over the giant ape the second she’s rescued. I wasn’t
joking either when I stated she has complete control over him, … like, Kong
basically obeys every one of her commands.
In the end, the movie lives up to its
title, and we see Kong escape the captivity of the villains. Just like in the
last movie, Kong makes his way to Tokyo and goes on a rampage. The one
difference between this film and any other Kong movie is that the military
actually lays down their fire arms and gives the blond girl a chance to calm
him down. Unfortunately, just as the day seems won, Robot Kong appears on the
scene, kidnaps the girl and forces Kong into a final battle to the death. While
this rubber suited monster brawl isn’t nearly as amusing as Kong’s previous
battle with Godzilla, it’s still solid campy fun, and I really like the duality
of both the new and familiar on display during this climax. We once again have
a finale set on a tall tower, with a blond girl taken away by Kong, but this
time we also have Kong coming to the girl’s rescue. It’s probably the only Kong
sequel to feature a climax with two Kong’s battling over a girl while on top of
a tall building.
When all is said and done, “King Kong
Escapes” isn’t nearly as memorable as other installments in Kong’s line up,
but I have kind of a soft spot for it. There’s definitely a campy charm to the
experience, some worthwhile highlights, and it’s something to savor as it’s Kong's final Japanese produced movie. While there were definitely plans for future
Japanese Kong movies, his scripts kept getting switched out with Godzilla, and
eventually the studio lost the rights for Kong. It was a short lived, but
enjoyable goofy collection of rubber suited monster flicks. As for “King
Kong Escapes”, while I’ve always found it some-what appealing for its campy
charms, it’s also never stuck with me as anything really special either. I’d
only recommend it to fans of this genera, because anyone else would probably be
either bored or turned off. Not a great film, but just recommendable enough to
those of use that enjoy campy monster flicks.
Thanks for reading my review of the 1967 sequel “King
Kong Escapes” ... and continue to enjoy the Movies you Love!
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