King Kong (Step-Up Adventures)

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King Kong
The 1983 printing
The 1988 printing
Author(s) Judith Conway
Illustrated by Michael Berenstain (1983)
Glenn Dean (1988 cover)
Paul Van Munching (1988 text illustration)
Publisher Random House
Publish date March 12, 1983[1]
April 12, 1988[2] (reprint)
Genre Illustrated junior novelization

King Kong is an adaptation of Delos W. Lovelace's 1932 novelization King Kong for young readers by Judith Conway and originally featuring illustrations by Michael Berenstain that was originally published by Random House in 1983 as the seventh entry in their "Step-Up Adventures" line of chapter books for children who had surpassed the level of their "I Can Read" titles. It was re-released in 1988 as part of the "Step-Up Classic Chillers" line with a new cover illustration by Glenn Dean, and internal illustrations accompanying the text by Paul Van Munching. In this second edition, all references to Berenstain and his work were removed. It was created with authorization from the estate of Merian C. Cooper.

Description

He's huge. He's hairy. He's horrifying. He holds a beautiful woman captive in his hand. He's none other than KING KONG!

Plot

On a snowy evening in New York City, Carl Denham, the "craziest movie man in Hollywood" searches frantically for a leading actress for his latest and most ambitious picture before the insurance company arrives at the docks to ask him about the large supply of munitions and gas bombs aboard. However Denham is determined to find the perfect face for his picture, which is taking quite a long time. At a food counter, he spies Ann Darrow almost stealing an apple when she is caught by the shopkeeper. Denham pays the man off, and looks at her face for the first time. She is perfect for his movie. They discuss her poverty and brief acting experience before he formally introduces himself, and proclaims that they need to get her new clothes.

Ann awakes aboard the Wanderer in disbelief at her change of fortune, and goes to the main deck where she meets an old sailor called Lumpy and his monkey Ignatz. She then sees the handsome First Mate Jack Driscoll, who gestures behind him in an attempt to show a sailor where to take a rope, and accidentally strikes Darrow. He apologizes and tries to make amends, but Ann insists she is unharmed. The two share an immediate attraction to one another. Over the following days they grow closer, even with Ann spending hours each day doing screen tests with Denham, and endearing herself to the entire crew, even its Captain Englehorn. His growing affections for Ann makes Driscoll all the more concerned about Denham's unwillingness to share with them the ship's destination.

Back aboard the ship, Ann speaks to Lumpy about her experience, and questions the nature of Kong. Lumpy puts no stock in the legends, and assures her that Kong is nothing but a superstition. Ann then accidentally steps on Ignatz's tail, and Lumpy goes after the monkey. At this time, Ann feels one pair of hands cover her mouth, and another pulling her over the side. Lumpy returns to discover Ann missing, and an islander's feather bracelet on the deck. He rallies the crew, and they quickly mount a rescue. Ann is tied to an altar on the other side of the island's wall, where a mighty gorilla as tall as 20 men picks her up

Appearances

Monsters

Characters

Weapons, vehicles, and races

Locations

Gallery

Trivia

  • This adaptation greatly expands on the backgrounds of Ann Darrow and Jack Driscoll, giving Ann deceased parents and a conniving uncle who swindled her out of her inheritance, and giving Jack an academic background before he left and went to sea.
  • Ann estimates Kong's height as being equivalent to 20 men. If the average height of a human male is 5'9", then the Kong portrayed in this adaptation is one of the largest, at 115 feet.
    • Denham supposes that one of Kong's footprints is as wide as four men. If the average width of a human male measured shoulder to shoulder is 18 inches, Kong's feet would be 72 inches, or six feet wide.

References

This is a list of references for King Kong (Random House novelization). 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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