Jimmy
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Jimmy is the orphaned lookout aboard the Venture and is a supporting character in the 1932 novelization of King Kong, who makes his onscreen debut in its 2005 remake.
History
King Kong (2005)
To be added
Books
King Kong (1932)
Jimmy was a young sailor aboard the Wanderer when it sailed to Skull Mountain Island. When the crew went ashore, Jimmy was volunteered by First Mate Jack Driscoll to carry Carl Denham's hefty supply of tetrachloride gas bombs. Denham bade Jimmy to stay close and watch his step, as the bombs could put a herd of hippos to sleep by his reckoning. When Jimmy asked if they would see any hippos, Denham hoped there would be more exciting things there. On the island, they happened across a native ceremony, whose nature puzzled the young sailor, but he was the first to spot trouble when they were discovered and all of the women ran away. When Ann Darrow was kidnapped by the natives, he accompanied the crew on their search for her in the jungles, and was tasked with carrying the crate of gas bombs, and declined offers to take some of his load off. They were able to use one against an angry Stegosaurus whose path they crossed. After traversing through dense mist, Denham asked if the crew would want to go back. It was Jimmy who first spoke up, claiming that the dinosaurs, which he referred to as "big lobsters", had yet to meet a force like them. The men made a makeshift raft to cross a river after Kong however, they upset a Brontosaurus who destroyed the raft. Jimmy was thrown off balance, and Carl made a swipe to save some of the bombs, but lost his rifle in the act. Jimmy was forced to abandon his load to keep himself from drowning. In an attempt to escape a rampaging Triceratops, The party attempted to cross a fallen log across a giant crevice, however Kong appeared at the other end, leaving the men trapped. Kong grabbed the log and shook two sailors off before throwing the log into the pit, killing everyone on it, including Jimmy.
King Kong (2005)
Jimmy was a sixteen year old orphan who worked aboard the Venture as it sailed with film director Carl Denham. One night at sea, Jimmy brought two bowls of Lamb brains and walnut stew down to Denham and his writer Jack Driscoll, who was rooming in the cargo hold. There he listened to them try to write a scene in which a man is stabbed in the back, the logistics of which they had horribly wrong, and Jimmy corrected them to their great discomfort. In his off-time, Jimmy was tutored by First Mate Benjamin Hayes out of a school workbook to practice his penmanship. It was Hayes' belief that Jimmy needed an education to get out of life on the sea, but Jimmy was more than content to stay. Jimmy also stole a copy of Heart of Darkness from a library, believing it would be a tale of "adventures on a tramp steamer" just like his and Hayes' life, which Hayes certainly hoped would not be the case. However, as their course shifted, Jimmy, Hayes, and Lumpy pooled their knowledge to warn Denham of the dangers of trying to film on Skull Island, which the director did not heed. He later sneaked into lead actor Bruce Baxter's cabin and drew mustaches on all of Baxter's movie posters. While sailing, Jimmy took a liking to Denham's leading lady Ann Darrow, and one night on deck she enticed him to dance with her after catching him staring. Days later, Jimmy sat in the crow's nest reading Heart of Darkness by flashlight instead of working, however, when a thick fog rolled over, he put it down and got to work shortly before spotting a 200 foot wall. He began seeing rocks to all sides, and the Captain tried to maneuver the ship out of the situation. However, in the moment, Jimmy was fully ready to accept his coming death, and was glad to have been a part of the crew, but was not ready to give up. Spotting an opening in the rocks, he called down its location, but the ship scuttled on a reef. In the morning, Jimmy was forced to find the Captain and Mr. Hayes to tell them that Denham had taken his crew to shore. Englehorn did not care, but as they talked over the repairs, they hears Ann scream from the shore, and something in the jungle screamed back.
Comics
King Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World
Jimmy sailed aboard the Venture to the mythic Skull Island, where he spotted dangerous rocks to all sides of the ship. After a close call with the natives, Captain Englehorn called for the ship to be lightened. Jimmy was then approached by Jack Driscoll asking if he had seen actress Ann Darrow before announcing to the crew that she had been kidnapped by the natives. They launched a rescue party, however Englehorn gave them one day before they would leave without them. After narrowly surviving a stampede of Brontosaurus, Hayes was killed by Kong, and the group was flung into a pit where they were attacked by a number of creatures. A few, including Jimmy, managed to survive when the Captain and a group of other sailors came to save them.
Gallery
Jimmy and Lumpy in King Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World
The sailor carrying the gas bombs in King Kong with Jack Driscoll and Carl Denham
Trivia
- While Jimmy does not appear in The Mighty Kong, a similar "cabin boy" character by the name of Ricky takes his place.
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