2 March: King Kong

The film King Kong was released on this date in 1933. 10 things you might not know about King Kong:

1. King Kong was conceived and created by American film maker Merian C. Cooper. He had been fascinated by Gorillas since he was six years old, when he was given a book called Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa. The book described a particular gorilla that was larger than usual, that the natives described as "invincible" and the "King of the African Forest". When he grew up and went into the film industry, he decided he wanted to make a horror film featuring gorillas. Seeing a plane flying over the New York Insurance Building, then the tallest building in the world, he claimed he could see in his mind’s eye a giant gorilla swatting at planes from a tall building.
2. Kong is a giant gorilla from Skull Island, the fauna of which included giant Dinosaurs. Kong is captured by a film crew who visit the island and think it would be a great idea to take Kong back to New York to be exhibited as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". Needless to say, the creature escapes and wreaks havoc in the city, eventually killed after being attacked by planes when it climbs the Empire State Building. Which it does to protect Ann Darrow, an actress originally kidnapped by the natives of the island and offered up to Kong as a sacrifice. Hence the comment: "it wasn't the aeroplanes, It was beauty killed the beast".
3. King Kong got his name because Merian C. Cooper was fond of words beginning with the letter K. However, calling the movie simply “Kong” might have led audiences to believe it was a documentary or docudrama so he added the word “King”.
4. Cooper was also fascinated by Komodo dragons, again because he’d read about them in a book. His original concept for King Kong involved a scene where a real gorilla fought with real Komodo dragons. This never happened, partly because of health and safety and partly because a pair of Komodo dragons which had been shipped to New York didn’t live very long.
5. Animation was the way to go, then. Cooper hired Willis O’Brien as chief special effects artist. O’Brien had previously worked for Thomas Edison and Cooper had been impressed with the animated films O’Brien had made for him. But animation wasn’t without its problems, either. It seemed no matter how much the animators brushed King Kong’s fur to remove the signs of them lifting and manipulating him into position, it would still show up in the film, so it looked as if Kong’s fur was constantly moving. Also some of the plants on set were real, and one time a whole day’s filming was lost because one of them flowered and no-one noticed until it was too late.
6. King Kong was a pioneering film in several ways. It was possibly the first film to have an original Music score written specially for it; the first, and possibly only, film ever to debut at the two largest cinemas in New York City, the Roxy and Radio City Music Hall, simultaneously. Both sold out. It was also the first film to be re-released, in 1938, with subsequent re-releases in 1942, and 1952.
7. King Kong’s height was officially 50 feet (15.2 m) tall. In reality, however, his height fluctuated between 18 and 70 feet depending on the context. The scale of the models used for Skull Island scenes made him 18 feet tall; the New York scenes used a scale that made him 24 feet tall; the bust of his head used for close ups would have belonged to an ape that was 40 feet tall and the hand of Kong holding Fay Wray would have belonged to a creature 70 feet tall.
8. Both Jean Harlow and Ginger Rogers turned down the role of Ann Darrow. Fay Wray, a brunette, insisted on wearing a blonde wig for the role, since Ann had been envisaged as a blonde. When pitching the film to her, Cooper told her she would have “the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood,” and she assumed that meant Cary Grant or Clark Gable.
9. King Kong’s roar is a Tiger roar played backwards against a Lion roar played forwards.
10. When the movie was almost complete, Cooper was told by his team that it would fill 13 reels. Cooper declared that was unlucky so they would have to add another scene. He said, “No picture of mine is going out in thirteen reels! I’ll shoot an extra sequence and bring it up to 14 if I have to!” That scene was the one where King Kong attacks and destroys an elevated train. In the end, the film was edited down to 11 reels but the train scene made the cut. Since Cooper had lived near an elevated train growing up and it often kept him awake at night, this could have been an act of revenge!

Character Birthday

Nocturne, aka Bryony Beavan. She is a genetic variant with bat-like wings who is sensitive to light. For years, she lived with her grandmother who kept her out of the public eye and cared for her so she could live a nocturnal existence. Her only contact with the world was through CB radio where she used Nocturne as her handle. One day her grandmother suffered a fatal heart attack while out shopping. Bryony reached out to her radio contacts while her neighbours reported strange sightings at the old woman’s home. The G-Men superheroes investigated and rescued Nocturne, taking her to Ultra-Grav’s mansion. She didn’t stay there long, however, as Shadow, a senior member of the team, had a phobia of bats which led to a difficult atmosphere. She left with Superwil and Electric Blue when they visited, and remains a member of the London based Ultra League. Her story is told in Child of Darkness, which appears in the short story collection Sweet Karma.

Sweet Karma

More murder and mayhem along with moving statues, Ancient Egyptian magic pebbles, a World War II evacuee's diary and a bathtub full of marshmallows.

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