The "spider-pit" scene
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The "spider-pit" scene is a name given to a scene cut from from the original King Kong, for timing and budgetary purposes that has attained legendary status as alleged lost media, despite doubts that it was ever filmed to begin with. This mania was spurred in part by publication of test photos of the scene published in Famous Monsters of Filmland #108. Perhaps as a result of its notoriety, depictions of this scene have appeared in nearly all adaptations of the Kong story, including those made for children. This lead to the re-creation of the scene using period techniques and study of Merian C. Cooper's methodology as a short fan-film directed by Peter Jackson. This short film was released as a special feature on the DVD and Blu-Ray releases of King Kong (1933).
The original "Spider Pit Sequence" was cut during the development of King Kong, alongside a scene of Kong on New York rooftops, and the triceratops battle that directly preceded the pit battle. Each of them were in the original screenplay, and in the 1932 novelization of the film, but none were featured on the filming schedule,[1] and can be seen crossed out of shooting scripts.[2] They were most likely cut for budgetary reasons, however, numerous models, and even sets for the spider-pit, and asphalt flat triceratops battle were produced, and may well have had test footage taken, but were never filmed for actual use in the picture.[3] Decades of speculation and misinformation created many pop cultural myths surrounding the sequence, leading to Jackson's creation of the scene, based on production materials from the original film.
Production
The "spider-pit" was present even in the earliest drafts of the film by Edgar Wallace, but it is difficult to say for sure if it was an original idea of Wallace's, or a part of the scenario suggested to him by Cooper. Art depicting the scene in Wallace's draft was created by Byron Crabbe. Based on the pit's victims wearing prison jumpsuits emblazoned with prisoner numbers, it can be surmised that this art was produced very early in the process, before James S. Creelman and Ruth Rose replaced the prisoners with the crew of the Venture. At this time, Wallace described the pit creatures as a giant crab, a giant spider, a lizard, an octopus, and a nondescript 'curious creature' (SAUCE). Crabbe's art, which Cooper's other scenes tended to follow very closely, depicts a few snakes, and a more traditionally sized crab to the mix.
After Wallace's death, and the revision of his script by Creelman and Rose, the octopus became an "Octopus-insect," likely to avoid the idea of an aquatic creature living naturally in the air, and the giant crabs were downplayed in favor of the giant spiders and lizards. This version of the script was adapted by Delos W. Lovelace for the novelization of the film.
Test screenings depict an Arsinoitherium chasing the sailors to the pit, while the final script and novelization depict a Triceratops. Ultimately, this was replaced with a Styracosaurus before the scene was cut altogether.
During production of King Kong in 1932, the sequence that Willis O'Brien would allegedly go on to claim as his finest work was cut from the film for pacing reasons when Merian C. Cooper was asked to cut animation scenes for budgetary purposes.[4] Unlike the scenes that were censored from the film and believed lost after 1938 post-code screenings, it has been popularly alleged that the film was burned by Cooper himself, as he made a habit of doing so to film he did not want to be used. However, in the mid-1960s, Famous Monsters of Filmland published photos believed to be of the scene, sparking hope that the full sequence might still be in tact somewhere. Despite this, later photos that have surfaced featuring the same set with different creatures placed around it gives credence to the idea that the published photographs were simply test photos and not clippings of the apparently destroyed reel as is commonly believed. Given the scene's absence in the film's official shooting schedule, it is unlikely that it ever made it past test shots or photos, which are the most likely explanation of the "Filmland Photos". Ergo, if Cooper did indeed burn anything of this sequence, it would likely have been the test reels.
Plot
While fleeing a quadrupedal creature, either an Arsinoitherium, Triceratops, or a Styracosaurus depending on the draft, the crew of the Venture make their way onto a log bridging a massive chasm, only to find Kong on the other side. Stuck between two titans, the men have nowhere to run. Carl Denham and Jack Driscoll manage to escape and hide on either side of the log, but Kong shakes the remaining sailors into the pit and throws the log down after them. There, they are met by many horrifying inhabitants of the pit at the foot of the chasm, which kill and eat them all.
Appearances
- Arsinoitherium
- Triceratops
- Styracosaurus
- Octopus-insect
- Unnamed crab creature
- Huge spider
- Unnamed giant lizard
Gallery
Pre-production
1933
Art depicting Kong shaking the log by Byron Crabbe
Crabbe's rendition of the horrors of the pit
Art of the pit by Mario Larrinaga
Art of the spider by Marcel Delgado
The spider model
Production
1933
An image of some of the creatures in the pit
An image of the spider and lizard props published in Famous Monsters of Filmland #108
The giant lizard (right) posed in the pit
The spider (left) and the crab mangling a sailor (right)
The spider (left) and a fallen sailor (center)
Post-production
The spider pit depicted in the promotional King Kong comic strip
Trivia
- In the script and novelization, the scene following the pit scene of Jack being menaced by Kong's hand, a giant spider climbs a vine to get to the sailor. In the final film, the spider is replaced by a strange looking reptile known as a Polysauro. It is unknown where this model came from, or what inspired the change, as the only lizard seen in production stills is much larger and has more legs.
- A popular fan theory supposes that the puppets created for the Spider Pit sequence were re-used in the 1957 film The Black Scorpion. The rumor spread from an image caption in the 1993 book Willis O'Brien: Special Effects Genius by Steve Archer, wherein an aside claims that the spider from The Black Scorpion was re-used, despite evidence pointing to their being in RKO's storage at the time.[5] There is some similarity in their designs, but this can be put down to having the same designers. Furthermore, it is unlikely that given the models' construction of rubber, wood, and glue would have stayed in-tact for the twenty-five intervening years.
References
This is a list of references for The Boy Who Cried Godzilla/Sandbox/Spider Pit. 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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