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King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon
The 1933 KING KONG was not just a terrifying monster movie. It was also an epic fairy tale, a tragic love story, and a landmark piece of cinema that introduced one of the most beloved characters in motion picture history-a universally recognizable cultural icon whose legacy encompasses a vast multimedia universe consisting of more than ten feature films as well as numerous television shows, books, comics, toys, collectibles, and even a Broadway musical.
In this extensively revised and updated edition of a classic book first published two decades ago, King The History of a Movie Icon is the definitive account of the most famous simian in pop-culture history. It spans the whole of the Eighth Wonder's filmography, chronicling in detail the making of every Kong movie beginning with the 1933 original and continuing through the giant gorilla's Japanese adventures and the epic Dino De Laurentiis and Peter Jackson remakes before concluding with the most recent films that place the great ape within an ever-expanding “Monsterverse.” Author and Kongophile Ray Morton also offers entertaining looks at the character's appearances in other media, along with plenty of trivia and reflections on the franchise's enduring appeal. Packed with photographs and based on extensive new research and exclusive interviews, this is by far the most complete and comprehensive guide to all things Kong.
Included here
The creation of the Kong character by Merian C. Cooper
The development, production, and release of the original 1933 film and its many successors
The Cartoon the giant gorilla's animated incarnations.
Kong on the theatrical productions featuring the Eighth Wonder.
Kong on the the many publications devoted to the great ape.
The Sons of Kong variants, spoofs, and rip-offs such as Mighty Joe Young, Queen Kong, and A*P*E*.
The Kongs that Never Kong projects that never made it to the screen
The innumerable Kong-related products generated over the past century
In this extensively revised and updated edition of a classic book first published two decades ago, King The History of a Movie Icon is the definitive account of the most famous simian in pop-culture history. It spans the whole of the Eighth Wonder's filmography, chronicling in detail the making of every Kong movie beginning with the 1933 original and continuing through the giant gorilla's Japanese adventures and the epic Dino De Laurentiis and Peter Jackson remakes before concluding with the most recent films that place the great ape within an ever-expanding “Monsterverse.” Author and Kongophile Ray Morton also offers entertaining looks at the character's appearances in other media, along with plenty of trivia and reflections on the franchise's enduring appeal. Packed with photographs and based on extensive new research and exclusive interviews, this is by far the most complete and comprehensive guide to all things Kong.
Included here
The creation of the Kong character by Merian C. Cooper
The development, production, and release of the original 1933 film and its many successors
The Cartoon the giant gorilla's animated incarnations.
Kong on the theatrical productions featuring the Eighth Wonder.
Kong on the the many publications devoted to the great ape.
The Sons of Kong variants, spoofs, and rip-offs such as Mighty Joe Young, Queen Kong, and A*P*E*.
The Kongs that Never Kong projects that never made it to the screen
The innumerable Kong-related products generated over the past century
368 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 2, 2026
About the author
Ray Morton
12 books3 followersA writer, film historian, and script consultant, Ray Morton graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Television Production, and from Pepperdine University with a Masters in Clinical Psychology.
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Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Gigantic thanks to Bloomsbury Academic and NetGalley for allowing me to preview an advanced copy of Ray Morton’s comprehensive and ginormous detailed history of King Kong titled King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon. This is actually a revised and update edition of the book he initially published 20 years ago as the 3rd version of King Kong, Peter Jackson’s adaptation, was released. This book includes additional research and information about the three main versions of King Kong from 1933, 1976, and 2005, as well as other offshoots including Son of Kong, the official sequel, and the Toho iterations where Kong battles Godzilla. In addition, Morton provides detailed information about the recent Mosterverse that includes Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024). He ends the book with some other appearances of Kong in comics, books, television, cartoons, and movies, including proposed films that never made it to the big screen. As someone who loves monster movies, especially the grand spectacle of giant monsters, this book was a great read. Furthermore, as someone who has grown to love the King Kong story, studying the film in college for some of the possible subtextual readings that its creator rejected, I also found that this book was a fascinating read, and I appreciated Morton’s detailed and loving research into the creation of the main Kong films from inception, to production, to the box office. It’s not only fascinating to learn that the story of a giant ape has been appealing to audiences for nearly 100 years, but also to see how these films have helped to drive innovative practices in film and special effects.
Morton spends the most time detailing the three Kong movies, and these chapters delve into all aspects of the film. It was fascinating to learn about how the first film script changed over time. I wasn’t aware that so many writers were involved in crafting the script, and that there was also a novelization that came out before the film, but also ended up out of copyright and in the public domain, allowing others to develop stories based on the novel rather than the movie. Nevertheless, Morton provides two storylines to allow readers to see how the script changed after subsequent drafts. He also provides a detailed chronology of the film’s production, with a focus on how the special effects were implemented for this film. Although it wasn’t the first film to use stop motion animation, expertly done by Willis O’Brien and Marcel Delgado among others, the film implemented it to such a degree that it changed special effects. I also loved reading about the challenges with filming the 1976 version of King Kong, which attempted to create a giant robotic Kong, but ultimately used this version more for promotion than actually in the screen. I also learned that Rick Baker played Kong in most of the scenes and reportedly had a difficult time working with the other special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, who had previously worked on other Dino De Laurentiis films. Ever since seeing American Werewolf in London, I’ve been a huge Rick Baker fan, so it was surprising to learn more about his role and lack of credits in this film.
The book contains a lot of information about various Kong related projects, including a 1986 film, King Kong Lives, that I kind of remember. I’m sure that I saw it at some point, but as Morton details, the film was planned during the De Laurentiis Studio’s decline and string of failed films, so the budget kept getting slashed, which ultimately had an impact on the story and effects. It’s ultimately a forgotten film, but this chapter does detail how the studio system works along with the challenges that producers and effects artists experience when trying to make the unreal appear in films. The chapter about Peter Jackson’s version was incredibly fascinating since it provides background in Jackson’s career along with his development of the Kong project, which started before Lord of the Rings, but ultimately was made after LOTR (and probably would not have been made without the success of that franchise). I learned so much from this chapter, but I was most enthralled with the various technology and effects that Jackson and his team employed to create this version of Kong along with a realistic recreation of 1930s NYC. Morton does a great job explaining the process of how digital effects work. Like the other versions of King Kong presented in the book, Morton also details the various scenes and technology employed to make the effects appear realistic, which was also fascinating to read, although it is more of a reference and explanation than anything else. Nevertheless, I feel like I have a better understanding of the various uses of green and blue screen technology, among other technologies that have developed from 1976 to the 2005 version of Kong.
I also enjoyed reading about the Monsterverse films, and while Morton doesn’t hold them in as high regard as the other Kong films, I generally like them. As he notes, these are mostly fun films without much serious plot, and in many ways, Morton explores how Kong has developed an alternative backstory to his life on Skull Island, becoming an orphan as other creatures attacked and killed his parents, and eventually discovering a land in the hollow earth where other giant apes (and other creatures) live and battle. Furthermore, Morton traces the challenges that the production teams have in accessing the rights to these monsters, creating story lines where they meet, collaborate or battle, and exploring how technology was used to create their environments and likenesses. I really enjoyed learning more about how the directors and designers looked to other films, including the various versions of King Kong, for inspiration. It’s really cool to see how these more recent films both honor the legacy of Kong, yet also want to try something different or find inspiration from other films and styles.
This book is truly a great reference and resource for anyone who is deeply interested in Kong movies or monster movies in general. My favorite parts of the book were learning more about Rick Baker’s background in special effects and seeing how his work on films like The Exorcist, It’s Alive, and with John Landis eventually led him to work on the 1976 version of Kong. Furthermore, even though King Kong Lives was a failure, the film came out around the time that Evil Dead II, Manhunter, and Blue Velvet were also produced by the De Laurentiis Group (I think that Dune was also around this time too). It shows that De Laurentiis did have an important role in producing some important films, even if the film industry relies on intellectual property and sequels. In fact, this is a point that Morton raises when discussing Legendary Pictures and how financing shifted from studios to corporations and investment firms. Again, Morton helps to highlight much about the film industry and how Kong both represented and drove trends and changes in genres and styles. I was also surprised to learn that Peter Jackson apparently created a film idea for the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise in the late 80s, which I can only imagine what that might have been. I also loved learning about where the newer Kong movies were filmed. I recently travelled to Kualoa Ranch, where some of Skull Island was filmed. I didn’t realize it at the time since most of the focus was on Jurassic Park, but I could see some of the distinct spots after reading through Morton’s indications of the filming locations. Although the book has so much detail and information about all of the Kong movies, it does feel repetitive at times, especially early on when the chapters detail the plotlines and then detail the filming process, and then also details the special effects. I loved reading about how these effects happened, and I think the process was especially fascinating or all 3 of the Kong movies, but I found myself less interested in some of the lesser Kong movies like Son of Kong and King Kong Lives. If anything, including all of these examples helps to highlight the vast differences in quality and innovation among the different productions. Overall, though, this was a really entertaining and enlightening book, and I’m so glad that Morton has not only shared his love of Kong with the world, but has also populated the book with so many images and photos from his own Kong collection, sharing some of the unique merchandise that was used to promote the majesty and regality of Kong. Highly recommended book!
Morton spends the most time detailing the three Kong movies, and these chapters delve into all aspects of the film. It was fascinating to learn about how the first film script changed over time. I wasn’t aware that so many writers were involved in crafting the script, and that there was also a novelization that came out before the film, but also ended up out of copyright and in the public domain, allowing others to develop stories based on the novel rather than the movie. Nevertheless, Morton provides two storylines to allow readers to see how the script changed after subsequent drafts. He also provides a detailed chronology of the film’s production, with a focus on how the special effects were implemented for this film. Although it wasn’t the first film to use stop motion animation, expertly done by Willis O’Brien and Marcel Delgado among others, the film implemented it to such a degree that it changed special effects. I also loved reading about the challenges with filming the 1976 version of King Kong, which attempted to create a giant robotic Kong, but ultimately used this version more for promotion than actually in the screen. I also learned that Rick Baker played Kong in most of the scenes and reportedly had a difficult time working with the other special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, who had previously worked on other Dino De Laurentiis films. Ever since seeing American Werewolf in London, I’ve been a huge Rick Baker fan, so it was surprising to learn more about his role and lack of credits in this film.
The book contains a lot of information about various Kong related projects, including a 1986 film, King Kong Lives, that I kind of remember. I’m sure that I saw it at some point, but as Morton details, the film was planned during the De Laurentiis Studio’s decline and string of failed films, so the budget kept getting slashed, which ultimately had an impact on the story and effects. It’s ultimately a forgotten film, but this chapter does detail how the studio system works along with the challenges that producers and effects artists experience when trying to make the unreal appear in films. The chapter about Peter Jackson’s version was incredibly fascinating since it provides background in Jackson’s career along with his development of the Kong project, which started before Lord of the Rings, but ultimately was made after LOTR (and probably would not have been made without the success of that franchise). I learned so much from this chapter, but I was most enthralled with the various technology and effects that Jackson and his team employed to create this version of Kong along with a realistic recreation of 1930s NYC. Morton does a great job explaining the process of how digital effects work. Like the other versions of King Kong presented in the book, Morton also details the various scenes and technology employed to make the effects appear realistic, which was also fascinating to read, although it is more of a reference and explanation than anything else. Nevertheless, I feel like I have a better understanding of the various uses of green and blue screen technology, among other technologies that have developed from 1976 to the 2005 version of Kong.
I also enjoyed reading about the Monsterverse films, and while Morton doesn’t hold them in as high regard as the other Kong films, I generally like them. As he notes, these are mostly fun films without much serious plot, and in many ways, Morton explores how Kong has developed an alternative backstory to his life on Skull Island, becoming an orphan as other creatures attacked and killed his parents, and eventually discovering a land in the hollow earth where other giant apes (and other creatures) live and battle. Furthermore, Morton traces the challenges that the production teams have in accessing the rights to these monsters, creating story lines where they meet, collaborate or battle, and exploring how technology was used to create their environments and likenesses. I really enjoyed learning more about how the directors and designers looked to other films, including the various versions of King Kong, for inspiration. It’s really cool to see how these more recent films both honor the legacy of Kong, yet also want to try something different or find inspiration from other films and styles.
This book is truly a great reference and resource for anyone who is deeply interested in Kong movies or monster movies in general. My favorite parts of the book were learning more about Rick Baker’s background in special effects and seeing how his work on films like The Exorcist, It’s Alive, and with John Landis eventually led him to work on the 1976 version of Kong. Furthermore, even though King Kong Lives was a failure, the film came out around the time that Evil Dead II, Manhunter, and Blue Velvet were also produced by the De Laurentiis Group (I think that Dune was also around this time too). It shows that De Laurentiis did have an important role in producing some important films, even if the film industry relies on intellectual property and sequels. In fact, this is a point that Morton raises when discussing Legendary Pictures and how financing shifted from studios to corporations and investment firms. Again, Morton helps to highlight much about the film industry and how Kong both represented and drove trends and changes in genres and styles. I was also surprised to learn that Peter Jackson apparently created a film idea for the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise in the late 80s, which I can only imagine what that might have been. I also loved learning about where the newer Kong movies were filmed. I recently travelled to Kualoa Ranch, where some of Skull Island was filmed. I didn’t realize it at the time since most of the focus was on Jurassic Park, but I could see some of the distinct spots after reading through Morton’s indications of the filming locations. Although the book has so much detail and information about all of the Kong movies, it does feel repetitive at times, especially early on when the chapters detail the plotlines and then detail the filming process, and then also details the special effects. I loved reading about how these effects happened, and I think the process was especially fascinating or all 3 of the Kong movies, but I found myself less interested in some of the lesser Kong movies like Son of Kong and King Kong Lives. If anything, including all of these examples helps to highlight the vast differences in quality and innovation among the different productions. Overall, though, this was a really entertaining and enlightening book, and I’m so glad that Morton has not only shared his love of Kong with the world, but has also populated the book with so many images and photos from his own Kong collection, sharing some of the unique merchandise that was used to promote the majesty and regality of Kong. Highly recommended book!
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