King Kong (London Daily Herald short story)

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MYSTERY MAGAZINE

King Kong Author(s) Walter F. Ripperger Publisher The Mystery Magazine Publish date February-March, 1933 Genre Adventure, fiction

King Kong is the name of a 1933 short story by Walter F. Ripperger published in two parts in the February and March issues of The Mystery Magazine, based on the 1933 film of the same name. From late 1963 to early 1964, the story was published with additional scenes from the film that were absent in the original version added by editor F.J. Ackerman in his magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland issues 25, 26, and 27. At present it is difficult to say for certain what parts of the story are Ripperger's original work, and which are Ackerman's inventions.

Synopsis

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A modern girl sacrificed to a prehistoric monster! The last and greatest creation by the master of all mystery writers, the late Edgar Wallace, contributing editor of Mystery Magazine. RKO Radio Pictures have made an epochal motion picture of it, soon to be seen in your favorite theater. It is presented here in story form.

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Plot

In the captain's cabin of the tramp steamer Venture, first mate Jack Driscoll and Captain Englehorn confront their benefactor Carl Denham about his not having given them their intended destination. Denham is incredulous, and accuses the others of "going soft" on him. This is worsened when it becomes apparent that Driscoll is concerned for Ann Darrow, the actress in Denham's movie project for which he chartered the ship. On top of this, Jack presses Denham on his falsified port documents, the ship having triple the required crew for a vessel their size, and said crew's uneasiness with their carrying enough munitions to launch a war. Denham presses them to stay the course, and reveals to the men that his destination is an island that appears on no map, save one in his possession, sketched by a friend of Denham's. The sailors remain skeptical, but Denham informs them of the great wall whose original builders are long forgotten, that the natives maintain to keep out Kong, a figure in Malay folklore. Englehorn considers this, and ultimately decides to humor Denham, not expecting to find a monster, if indeed he were to find an island in the middle of otherwise open ocean. Jack ends with the stipulation that Ann is not to go ashore, and this breaks Denham out of his trance and he gets back to incredulity, insisting that she needs to be in the picture, as she was not even his idea, but a stipulation thrust upon him by his producers. Jack is unfazed. He goes to the deck to find Ann standing in the prow, and the two discuss the situation. Driscoll, having worked with Denham in the past and nearly died for it, is afraid for Ann's safety, but the more he describes the location and the alleged monster she is to face, the more excited she becomes to see it. Ultimately Jack acknowledges that he cannot stop her, but she can stop Denham by refusing to go ashore with him. Darrow understands his intention, and is flattered by his care for her, but feels she is obligated to Denham to go through with the picture. Denham had saved her from poverty in New York, and she wanted to honor their agreement.

Early the next morning, they come upon the island in the midst of a dense fog. What the lookout mistook for the sound of breakers, Driscoll identified as drums coming from the shore. In no time at all, Englehorn puts together a crew of twelve sailors including himself and Driscoll, to accompany Denham and Darrow ashore. There they find an empty village, but when they press forward they discover a ceremony in which a young woman is standing in terror between the local chieftain and "witch-doctor." Denham grabs for his camera, but they are quickly spotted. The chief and two of his soldiers approach them. Luckily Englehorn understands their dialect, and they are told to get off of the island, but then the witch-doctor spots Ann, and takes the chief's ear. The chief then asks Englehorn if they may take Darrow, in exchange for six of their women, as a gift for Kong. They refuse, but promise to return tomorrow, as Denham would not dream of leaving without having done any filming. That night in the prow of the ship, Jack once again encourages Ann not to follow through with Denham's plan, and she is once again forced to refuse, but she does reciprocate when he confesses his love for her. They have no time to act on this though, as Driscoll is called up by the captain. Ann sits for a moment, taking in the stars when the witch-doctor arises behind her, and drags her overboard. They drag her to the altar, and despite her calls for help, they offer her to the mighty Kong.

Ann hears trees snap and great footsteps as the beast approaches and soon stands in awe of the great ape-like creature, the last of his kind, and seven million years old. The beast ponders discolored delicacy offered to him, and yanks her free from her restraints before lumbering back into the jungle. The sailors rush the ceremony, but are too late to stop the sacrifice. Jack is able to get a glimpse of the beast as it turns away into the jungle, and turns on Carl in a rage regarding the loss of Ann. Contrite, Denham vows to get her back, and Driscoll and the other sailors agree and mobilize into the jungle beyond the gate, which Denham warns Englehorn to keep open. As they traverse the jungle, Denham asks Driscoll about the beast, and Jack describes it in fear and awe. Denham is not fazed, and promptly makes sure the young sailor named Jimmy carrying his gas bombs stays close by. As dawn breaks, the men spy a trail of Kong's footprints and run after him, only to run back in terror before lumbering out of the jungle comes a Stegosaurus. Jack empties his revolver into the beast to no avail. The other sailors flee, but Denham, Driscoll, and Jimmy stand their ground, and the movie man throws one of the gas bombs, which explodes against the Stegosaurus. The dinosaur staggered before falling to the ground, much to Denham's satisfaction. They prepare to move on, but the crew notice that the creature is still alive, which prompts Denham to deliver a killing shot. Jack and Carl then observe the beast in wonder.

Appearances

Monsters King Kong Meat-Eater Polysauro Characters Carl Denham Jack Driscoll Ann Darrow Englehorn Briggs* Jimmy (implied) Nils Helstrom (implied) Native Chief Native "Witch-Doctor"

Weapons, vehicles, and races Venture

References

This is a list of references for The Boy Who Cried Godzilla/Sandbox/King Kong Shorts. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

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THE ONE WHERE DENHAM LEARNS NOTHING

King Kong Author(s) Kingsley Long Publisher London Daily Herald Publish date April 21-June 1, 1933 Genre Adventure, fiction

King Kong is the name of a 1933 short story published in the London Daily Herald newspaper in 37 instalments from April 21st through June 1st of that year, adapted by Kingsley Long. This adaptation is notable for being one of the first licensed Kong stories to expand upon the origins of Kong and the Skull Islanders.

Synopsis

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Blingo Blango

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Plot

DENHAM LEARNS NOTHING AND CHARGES PEOPLE TO SEE KONG'S TAXIDERMIED CORPSE. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT LEVEL ZERO.

Appearances

Monsters King Kong Meat-Eater Polysauro Characters Carl Denham Jack Driscoll Ann Darrow Englehorn Briggs

Weapons, vehicles, and races Venture

Trivia

• Beyond advertisements claiming Kong as an individual to be millions of years old, this is the first product to imagine his origins in an official capacity.
• This is the first Kong story to imagine what became of his body after the events of the film. While Kong Reborn imagined Denham burning the corpse, King Kong of Skull Island, endorsed by the Cooper estate, sees Denham return the remains to Skull Island.

References

This is a list of references for The Boy Who Cried Godzilla/Sandbox/King Kong Shorts. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

Comments

Showing 1 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.

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