Hey, fans of classic horror, here’s some exciting news: This coming Sunday, March 15, is a special day for monster kids of all ages because the original, 1933 version of King Kong, is back in movie theaters!
Courtesy of Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies, King Kong stars Fay Wray, the queen of the scream queens, alongside Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, and the stop-motion-animation magic of Willis O’Brien and his effects team. If you’ve never seen it before, do yourself a favor and check it out!
It’s a good time to be the King: not only did he recently have a successful run on Broadway, by starring in a musical(!), but later this year he’s set to costar in the monster-movie clash Godzilla vs. Kong (a sequel to 2017’s Kong: Skull Island and 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters). And while the original Kong might be in theaters for only a single day this Sunday, you can still read his story—by ordering it from the SWC webstore!
King Kong is an e-book-only republication of the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. Our version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.
Not familiar with the beauty-and-the-beast story of Kong and his “love interest,” Ann Darrow? Well, here’s our edition’s back-cover copy to bring you up-to-date:
Ann Darrow was a down-on-her-luck actress struggling to survive in Depression-era New York when she met moviemaker Carl Denham. He offered her the starring role in his latest film: a documentary about a long-lost island—and the godlike ape named Kong rumored to live there. Denham needed a beauty as a counterpart to the beast he hoped to find, and Ann was the answer to his prayers.
Mystery, romance, a chance to turn her life around, even the possibility of stardom—to Ann, it sounded like the adventure of a lifetime! But what she didn’t count on were the horrific dangers that awaited her on Skull Island—including the affections of a love-struck monster…
King Kong (the 1932 novelization) is available directly from the SWC webstore, so visit its product page for ordering information.
