Renewed interest in the original titan lead to the release of “King Kong Escapes” in 1967. Not related to the 1962 film, this version of King Kong squares off against a robot duplicate of himself, Mechani-Kong. And in keeping with Rankin/Bass’ involvement in the film as producers, Mechani-Kong is an adorable bit of design that looks like an extra-tall resident of The Island of Misfit Toys. A brief-lived animated series was also produced in conjunction with the movie. Following that, 1969's “The Mighty Gorga” was a jaw-dropping jungle adventure made without a budget or sense of shame. It was notable for the title creature’s mask being a permanent expression of dismayed surprise, like he had just walked in on his giant ape wife in bed with his giant ape best friend.
There would be a mini gold rush in the '70s of Kong rip-offs, all hoping to ride the coattails of producer Dino De Laurentiis’ much ballyhooed 1976 remake which bizarrely billed itself as “The most exciting original motion picture event of all time.” De Laurentiis’ version plays like a tacky Italian knock off of “King Kong,” only using the actual name and costing tens of millions of dollars. The centerpiece of the ‘76 “King Kong” was to be a life-size robot Kong built by special effects maestro Carlo Rambaldi. It was constructed and promptly failed to work or move in the slightest realistic manner. Rick Baker was brought in to play Kong in an ape suit for most of the film. And in this special audacity that was De Laurentiis’ trademark, the film ends with crediting Rambaldi for Kong and thanking Baker for his “special contributions” to the film.
The flurry of Kong copies ran the gamut, including the Shaw Brothers’ “The Mighty Peking Man," which mixed a sleazy jungle adventure with sleazy softcore, and ends as a sleazy monster rampage with the “hero” pretty much getting everybody he’s come into contact with killed. Italy itself sent in “Yeti: Giant of the 21st Century” with an infernal earworm of a theme song, and a giant beast that looked like Bigfoot crossed with an acrylic painting of White Jesus. South Korea’s entry was “APE” where the rattiest ape suit in the movies revealed glimpses of the actor’s white t-shirt underneath and an indelible moment where the giant ape flips the bird at a group of soldiers, and the audience. Great Britain was not to be left out and they gifted the world with “Queen Kong,” an atrocious sex comedy where a female giant ape takes a shine to a hapless male named, wait for it, Ray Fay.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7s7vGnqmempWnwW%2BvzqZmn52RqcKzsdJomGafpZ6xpnnTqGSmp56gsrp5wa6qoqaVqMBuwMeeZKGho6m8s8WMqJ1mo5mjtG63zqee