# The Son of Kong
**The Son of Kong** is a 1933 American giant-monster film from RKO Radio Pictures and the immediate sequel to *King Kong*, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and written by Ruth Rose. It follows showman Carl Denham as he returns to Skull Island, where he finds and befriends a smaller, friendlier son of the ape he brought to New York.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) • [2](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/son_of_kong)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | December 22, 1933 (United States), RKO Radio Pictures; UK release December 29, 1933[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) • [3](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-son-of-kong-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynjywoty) |
| Director / writer | Ernest B. Schoedsack; story and screenplay by Ruth Rose[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) |
| Producers | Merian C. Cooper (executive producer), Archie Marshek (associate producer)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) |
| Principal cast | Robert Armstrong (Carl Denham), Helen Mack (Helene Peterson), Frank Reicher (Captain Englehorn), John Marston (Captain Nils Helstrom), Victor Wong (Charlie)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/son_of_kong) |
| Physical properties | 69–70 minutes, 7 reels, black and white, RCA Victor sound[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) |
| The creature | "Little Kong", a 20 ft (6 m) white ape described as having the characteristics of a friendly puppy[2](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/son_of_kong) |
| Working title | *Jamboree*; the actual onscreen title is *The Son of Kong*[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
A month after Kong's death in New York, Carl Denham is hounded by reporters, named as a defendant in numerous lawsuits, and on the verge of indictment by a grand jury for his role in the ill-fated promotion of [King Kong](https://www.edgepedia.org/king-kong). He flees the city with his friend Captain Englehorn and sets sail for the [East Indies](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-indies). After an unsuccessful try at the shipping business, they stop at the island of Dakang, where they meet Helene Peterson, a singer in a traveling show run by her alcoholic father, and the treacherous Captain Helstrom, under investigation for the mysterious destruction of his last ship. After a drunken fight between Helstrom and Helene's father ends in a fire and the showman's death, Helene stows away on Denham's boat, unaware it is bound for Kong's island.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG)
After Helstrom's tales of buried treasure draw them back to Skull Island, a crew stirred to mutiny by Helstrom puts Denham, Helene, Englehorn, and Charlie the cook ashore from their vessel. Forced by the natives to land on the Skull Mountain side, where prehistoric creatures roam, Denham and Helene find a baby-sized King Kong stuck in a pool of quicksand and, feeling guilty about the fate of his father, rescue him. The young ape protects the group and battles various giant creatures, and they bandage his wounded finger.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) The Science Fiction Encyclopedia summarizes the ending: an earthquake and volcanic upheaval destroy the island, and the ape saves Denham by holding him above the flood waters until help arrives.[2](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/son_of_kong)
## Production
Production on *The Son of Kong* began immediately after the hugely successful release of *King Kong*, which had opened in New York in March 1933. The AFI Catalog records a production span of March 31 to August 22, 1933, and the film reached theaters on December 22 of that year, nine months after its predecessor.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) • [5](https://www.jbkaufman.com/movie-of-the-month/son-kong-1933) Film historian J.B. Kaufman notes that *King Kong* opened to sensational box-office success in March 1933 and that, before the month was out, cameras were already rolling on *The Son of Kong*.[5](https://www.jbkaufman.com/movie-of-the-month/son-kong-1933)
**Budget and scale.** Producer Merian C. Cooper had conceived Kong's follow-up to exceed the original in scope, but RKO balked and cut his proposed budget in half; the sequel was made on a lower budget than the original and was much less commercially successful.[6](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/son-kong) • [7](https://bookerhorror.com/2763-2/) Exteriors were shot on Santa Catalina Island, off the [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california) coast, and at the Santa Monica pier near Los Angeles, according to studio production files.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG)
**Credits and character names.** The original release print's onscreen credits, as recorded in a studio cutting continuity, list Helen Mack's character as "Hilda", although she is called "Helene" in the film itself; IMDb notes that in the story she is identified only by her stage billing, "La Belle Helene". In later prints, Mack's credit reads "Helene", Robert Armstrong's reads "Carl", Frank Reicher's "Skipper", and Victor Wong's "Charlie".[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024593)
## Special effects
Willis O'Brien, the stop-motion pioneer behind *King Kong*, served as "chief technician" on the sequel, with the same techniques of stop-action animation and miniature rear projection carried over from the first film.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG) • [7](https://bookerhorror.com/2763-2/) Willis O'Brien supervised the film's stop-motion effects, and Buzz Gibson also worked on its special effects; [Ray Harryhausen](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-harryhausen) did not animate this film.[9](https://primate.uchicago.edu/2005KingKong.pdf) • [14](https://www.pbs.org/www-tc.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/static/media/transcripts/2011-04-21/204_kingkong.pdf) A Screen Slate retrospective adds that O'Brien was micromanaged on the sequel by Cooper and Schoedsack and consequently left much of the stop-motion work to an assistant; the resulting creature lacks the kinetic finesse of the first film's Kong but has an endearing, comic charisma.[6](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/son-kong) Modern sources also report that recordings of [Fay Wray](https://www.edgepedia.org/fay-wray)'s screaming from *King Kong* were reused, as were parts of [Max Steiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-steiner)'s *King Kong* score.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG)
## Reception
The film received mostly negative reception upon release and was criticized as a rushed cash-in on the success of *King Kong*, with its short 69-minute runtime and several recycled elements from the previous film cited.[10](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Son_of_Kong) Variety called it "the sequel to and wash-up of the King Kong theme, consisting of salvaged remnants from the original production and rating as fair entertainment".[11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-son-of-kong/critic-reviews/) On Metacritic it holds a metascore of 50 ("mixed or average") based on 6 critic reviews; on Rotten Tomatoes it holds 42% from 12 critics and 28% from more than 2,500 audience ratings.[11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-son-of-kong/critic-reviews/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/son_of_kong)
Critics have been more divided in later assessments. Time Out credited the film with efficient action and "a nice melancholy to Denham's regret for his previous conduct", while the Chicago Reader's Dave Kehr called it a slapdash production with a paucity of special effects.[11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-son-of-kong/critic-reviews/) Kaufman, writing for his website, called *The Son of Kong* "a worthy companion to the original", though he stressed that no other film can take the place of *King Kong* itself.[5](https://www.jbkaufman.com/movie-of-the-month/son-kong-1933)
## Place in the Kong series
*The Son of Kong* is the only theatrical sequel to the 1933 original. The pair was followed decades later by Toho's *King Kong vs. Godzilla* (1962), the [Dino De Laurentiis](https://www.edgepedia.org/dino-de-laurentiis)-produced remake of 1976 and its sequel *King Kong Lives* (1986), and [Peter Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-jackson)'s 2005 remake.[12](https://www.arrowfilms.com/blog/features/the-mighty-b-kong-men-an-introduction-to-kongsploitation/) RKO later packaged the film with *King Kong* and *[Mighty Joe Young](https://www.edgepedia.org/mighty-joe-young-1949-film)* in a boxed set.[13](https://www.tcm.com/articles/158012/pop-culture-101-king-kong) The film was distributed theatrically in Japan by RKO Japan in December 1934, in English with Japanese subtitles.[10](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Son_of_Kong)
## References
1. [The Son of Kong (1933), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3929-THE-SON-OF-KONG)
2. [Son of Kong, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/son_of_kong)
3. [The Son Of Kong, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-son-of-kong-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynjywoty)
4. [Son of Kong, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/son_of_kong)
5. [The Son of Kong (1933), J.B. Kaufman](https://www.jbkaufman.com/movie-of-the-month/son-kong-1933)
6. [Son of Kong, Screen Slate (Patrick Dahl, 2024)](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/son-kong)
7. [King Kong (1933), Comments on Culture](https://bookerhorror.com/2763-2/)
8. [Son of Kong (1933), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024593)
9. [King Kong (2005) companion volume, University of Chicago](https://primate.uchicago.edu/2005KingKong.pdf)
10. [Son of Kong (1933), Wikizilla](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Son_of_Kong)
11. [The Son of Kong critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-son-of-kong/critic-reviews/)
12. [The Mighty B-Kong Men: An Introduction to Kongsploitation, Arrow Films](https://www.arrowfilms.com/blog/features/the-mighty-b-kong-men-an-introduction-to-kongsploitation/)
13. [Pop Culture 101: King Kong, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/158012/pop-culture-101-king-kong)
14. [pbs.org](https://www.pbs.org/www-tc.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/static/media/transcripts/2011-04-21/204_kingkong.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Kaiju and giant-monster series film entries*
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