Special Report: King Kong - The History of a Movie Icon

About this episode

Mike talks with film historian Ray Morton about the history and impact of King Kong in cinema.

From his 1933 debut as a tragic fairy-tale monster to his current reign over an ever-expanding Monsterverse, King Kong has spent more than ninety years proving that beauty isn't the only thing capable of killing the beast — time certainly hasn't. Mike talks with film historian and self-described Kongophile Ray Morton about the revised and updated edition of his book King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon (Bloomsbury Academic). First published in 2005 as the definitive account of the King Kong phenomenon, Morton has extensively revised and expanded his original tome to cover decades of new material — from Kong's animated incarnations and stage productions to the Kong variants, spoofs, and projects that never made it to the screen. The updated edition concludes with the most recent films placing the great ape within an ever-expanding "Monsterverse," and is packed with photographs and based on extensive new research and exclusive interviews. Morton and Mike dig into the creation of the Kong character by Merian C. Cooper, the making of the 1933 original, and what it is about this particular giant ape that has kept audiences captivated across every era of cinema. Become a supporter of…

People in this episode

Host: Mike

Guest: Ray Morton

Topics covered

• King Kong
• film history
• movie icon
• interviews
• Monsterverse

Keywords

• King Kong
• film history
• Ray Morton
• Monsterverse
• Merian C. Cooper
• cinema
• interview

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bloomsbury Academic, Weirding Way Media

Books & works: King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon

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