With rare exceptions, a sequel to a popular movie seldom lives up to the original. There is one main reason why sequels are even made: money. It is true these days, and it was true back in 1933, when Son of Kong was released barely nine months after the insanely popular King Kong.
LAUGHS! THRILLS! PATHOS!
With that tagline (one of many), here is a brief overview of Son of Kong, which ran all of seventy minutes. Robert Armstrong reprises his role as Carl Denham, the showman who brought King Kong to New York City. Given the deaths and destruction caused by the giant gorilla before being shot off the Empire State Building, the lawsuits against Denham are piling up.
To escape the process servers, Denham hooks up with Captain Englehorn, also from the first film, and they sail his vessel, the Venture, to the Dutch East Indies, where they move cargo from port to port. Not much work there, so when a guy named Helstrom, the lowlife who originally sold the map of Skull Island to Denham, tells him that there is also a great treasure on the island (a lie, supposedly), Denham jumps at the chance to return to where he captured Kong.
Little Kong is a happy fellow.
Denham had met a beautiful young woman named Hilda at the last port-of-call. She was stranded there and asked him to take her along. He refused, saying it was too dangerous where they were going, but she stowed away on the ship. By the time she’s discovered, it is too late to take her back. (Movies needed a love interest, of course, but Hilda was more than half Denham’s age.)
“LITTLE KONG”
Nearing Skull Island, the crew of the Venture stages a mutiny. Remembering what happened the first time, they consign Denham to a lifeboat along with Englehorn, Hilda, Helstrom, and Charlie the Chinese cook. They row to the island, where the natives tell them to get lost. So they land on another part of it, and they split the party as they search for the alleged treasure. That’s when Denham and Hilda come across Little Kong, which begs the question, was there a Mrs. Kong on the island that we didn’t know about? Whatever…it’s Hollywood.
Little Kong protects his new friends from another beastie.
Hilda and Denham first save the twelve-foot critter—who’s a lot cuter and cuddlier than his dad—from quicksand, then take care of his injured finger, so he becomes their protector. He saves them from a number of prehistoric beasts—leftovers from the first movie—and he just might—heavens!—know where a real treasure is hidden…
I’ll leave it there. Most of the film’s action takes place in the last 20-25 minutes, and I must say, it has an exciting climax. Son of Kong is short, fun, and watchable, but like many sequels, it wasn’t really necessary.