1976's Dino De Laurentiis's King Kong Life-size prop: What happened to it?
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Tan Djarka
Master Member
I think that also had something to do with the film's promotion. As I recall, initially they were trying to say most of the footage was done with the full size mechanical Kong. That is, until it became patently obvious that it wasn't true (within the first few frames of Rick Baker in the suit).
When I cough this life-size Kong as a Circus act, I was quite disappointed at its limitations, but I still believed it was the coolest thing I had seen as a child.
He was part of a 20 minute live show, which retold the King Kong story. There was a Circus actress who played "the girl." Every time she had to interact with Kong, she had to be tied-up to cables hanging from the circus's ceiling frame. The girl will walk into Kong's open hand, which was also held by cables, and totally rely on the cables since Kong couldn't make a tight grip on her and, obviously, she could just fall off.
They had multiple shows daily. This was my very, very first encounter with a Hollywood prop/animatronic. Yes, the face was functional. I, literally, bugged my mom to take me, for a month, and dragged her to the show. A Major Hollywood prop was in town, and I HAD to see it.
I can't remember if Kong bent to put his hand on the ground for the girl to walk into, or if she was elevated to his extending arm. I can only remember she was easily able to access it, since it was always open, by default.
As a kid, I figured the prop was a "GIANT ROBOT." But to me, as an 8 year old, a giant robot was like the giant robots I used to watch in live action Japanese TV shows, such as UltraSeven, Ultraman, Giant Robo, and Animes, like Mazinger Z, Gaiking, etc. Full movement giant robots who moved like humans, and fought till death.
Having these kind of expectations, I was disappointed to see the Kong prop acting like a gigantic wind-up toy. I was hoping for THE GIANT ROBOT Kong to storm into stage, bang its chest, like a drum, and start destroying stuff. You know, like in the movie.
Quickly, I realized my expectations were far from what reality could deliver, so I dropped my expectations and just paid attention to the working prop. Every little thing it could do, no matter how poorly it did it, amazed me. It's the screen-used King Kong, and it is standing in front of me!
He was part of a 20 minute live show, which retold the King Kong story. There was a Circus actress who played "the girl." Every time she had to interact with Kong, she had to be tied-up to cables hanging from the circus's ceiling frame. The girl will walk into Kong's open hand, which was also held by cables, and totally rely on the cables since Kong couldn't make a tight grip on her and, obviously, she could just fall off.
They had multiple shows daily. This was my very, very first encounter with a Hollywood prop/animatronic. Yes, the face was functional. I, literally, bugged my mom to take me, for a month, and dragged her to the show. A Major Hollywood prop was in town, and I HAD to see it.
I can't remember if Kong bent to put his hand on the ground for the girl to walk into, or if she was elevated to his extending arm. I can only remember she was easily able to access it, since it was always open, by default.
As a kid, I figured the prop was a "GIANT ROBOT." But to me, as an 8 year old, a giant robot was like the giant robots I used to watch in live action Japanese TV shows, such as UltraSeven, Ultraman, Giant Robo, and Animes, like Mazinger Z, Gaiking, etc. Full movement giant robots who moved like humans, and fought till death.
Having these kind of expectations, I was disappointed to see the Kong prop acting like a gigantic wind-up toy. I was hoping for THE GIANT ROBOT Kong to storm into stage, bang its chest, like a drum, and start destroying stuff. You know, like in the movie.
Quickly, I realized my expectations were far from what reality could deliver, so I dropped my expectations and just paid attention to the working prop. Every little thing it could do, no matter how poorly it did it, amazed me. It's the screen-used King Kong, and it is standing in front of me!
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lol
:lol That whole movie is a classic! :lol
Jaruemalak
Well-Known Member
Oh, I LOVE KFM! The very BEST of the "changing channel" anthology movies! (Some others were Tunnel Vision and Amazon Women on the Moon)
Zombie_61
Master Member
My mistake; you're correct. Rambaldi designed the two separate arms used in the close-up shots, but Glen Robinson supervised their construction.
Absolutely. De Laurentiis maintained the mechanical Kong was used throughout the film, and the lie was printed in article after article. Even after the film opened, many critics patted themselves on the back for being able to spot the difference between the mechanical Kong and Baker's Kong, even though many of them were completely wrong. I remember talking to people about the film in '76 who were completely fooled by the hype as well and believed they had seen a 40-foot mechanical Kong in most of the film--until I set them straight, of course. :cool
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I still have my original making of book from 1976 (of the 1976 movie)
I'll see if I can verify some of the stuff already talked about here.
Off the top of my head:
The crew who operated the hands were Italian and had to have all the commands translated, which caused a lot of delays and danger with Jessica.
The suit was covered with bear fur with condoms filled with water lined the chest.
Rambaldi did make the complete suit. Rick just wore it, along with another guy for stunts.
Several heads were made for different looks. It was cable controlled, but cables kept breaking.
The large Kong lying dead was made of styrofoam, covered in horse hair, and came in parts. It was also almost destroyed by New Yorkers taking pieces of it as souvenirs the night of the shoot.
In regards to the hype about mechanical v. real, I distinctively remember Rona Barrett reviewing the movie on GMA and she said it was a 40 foot robot, then they showed the scene where he looks down at Dwan on the alter and roars and beats his chest. I thought it was the most wonderful thing I had ever witnessed on screen, thinking it was a giant robot...
I'll see if I can verify some of the stuff already talked about here.
Off the top of my head:
The crew who operated the hands were Italian and had to have all the commands translated, which caused a lot of delays and danger with Jessica.
The suit was covered with bear fur with condoms filled with water lined the chest.
Rambaldi did make the complete suit. Rick just wore it, along with another guy for stunts.
Several heads were made for different looks. It was cable controlled, but cables kept breaking.
The large Kong lying dead was made of styrofoam, covered in horse hair, and came in parts. It was also almost destroyed by New Yorkers taking pieces of it as souvenirs the night of the shoot.
In regards to the hype about mechanical v. real, I distinctively remember Rona Barrett reviewing the movie on GMA and she said it was a 40 foot robot, then they showed the scene where he looks down at Dwan on the alter and roars and beats his chest. I thought it was the most wonderful thing I had ever witnessed on screen, thinking it was a giant robot...
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houdiniguy
Sr Member
If we only had the money....
SEE: VILLAGE of the "REAL' HOLLYWOOD MONSTERS!
SEE: BRUCE the Man Eating rusting sad in it's current state from the movie
JAWS!
SEE: KONG - The actual original used in the 1976 film, Narrated and sung by Jack Black.
SEE: The REAL Ghostbusters Car! see the actual spot where Bill Murray himself said "something died in here!"
SEE:The Blues Brothers- with Jim Beluishi (autographes just $20!)
SEE: Crap from movies NEVER SEEN BEFORE! ~~~~~~
You will Laugh!
You will Cry!
You will kiss $10 Bucks Goodbye! (Had to)
and special guest, from JAWS, richard Dryfaces cousins, neigbors, best friends bus driver!!!! Bring your camera (cuz you aint using ours)
You're just in time, hurray along and please dont block the midway.
at noon today you will see LIVE in the back for only a quarter, 25 cents, see a man eating chicken!!!!!! (sponsored by our local friend at KFC)
C'mon, join the circus!
ah, the good old days...
Tom
P.S. the Roar of the grasepaint and the smell of the crowd. Here come the rubes, let's gross'em out!
SEE: VILLAGE of the "REAL' HOLLYWOOD MONSTERS!
SEE: BRUCE the Man Eating rusting sad in it's current state from the movie
JAWS!
SEE: KONG - The actual original used in the 1976 film, Narrated and sung by Jack Black.
SEE: The REAL Ghostbusters Car! see the actual spot where Bill Murray himself said "something died in here!"
SEE:The Blues Brothers- with Jim Beluishi (autographes just $20!)
SEE: Crap from movies NEVER SEEN BEFORE! ~~~~~~
You will Laugh!
You will Cry!
You will kiss $10 Bucks Goodbye! (Had to)
and special guest, from JAWS, richard Dryfaces cousins, neigbors, best friends bus driver!!!! Bring your camera (cuz you aint using ours)
You're just in time, hurray along and please dont block the midway.
at noon today you will see LIVE in the back for only a quarter, 25 cents, see a man eating chicken!!!!!! (sponsored by our local friend at KFC)
C'mon, join the circus!
ah, the good old days...
Tom
P.S. the Roar of the grasepaint and the smell of the crowd. Here come the rubes, let's gross'em out!
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As for the 1933 movie, this book is a must have. I still have my first edition from 1975:
http://www.amazon.com/Making-King-K...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243835104&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Making-King-K...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243835104&sr=1-1
Zombie_61
Master Member
It should be noted that, although Rambaldi designed and built the suit, Rick Baker sculpted the various faces used to make the outer latex skins for the mask.
My Jr. High School used to have a section of making-off movie books. Reading about the 40 foot tall Kong, it said the Italian-built hand was a beautiful piece of work, but they were given the wrong plans, and they ended-up building another left hand...or was it another right hand.
So, that 40 foot prop was chopped apart, huh?
What about the 2 other Life-size Kongs from the Universal Studios, Fl, ride? Were those destroyed, too?
So, that 40 foot prop was chopped apart, huh?
What about the 2 other Life-size Kongs from the Universal Studios, Fl, ride? Were those destroyed, too?
Aquaman
Sr Member
LOL...God that was so long ago... I was one of those people in NYC! I was in high school and they ran an ad in the New York Newspapers asking New Yorkers to be a part of the filming. I went with friends and if I remember correctly u can maybe see me run by for a millisecond. I remember watching them play with that Kong all night. And they told people they could take pieces if they wanted at the end. It was a long shoot. I didn't grab a piece, damn it! But I was in awe the whole time. Kong...right in front of me...
I don't know if they were saved, but they didn't have much substance--they were basically balloons with armatures inside. Seeing Kong deflated when the ride wasn't in operation must've been quite a sight.
Balloons? Like an inflatable balloon you see at car dealers?
They looked like gigantic Audio-Animatronics. They moved their arms and faces.
robstyle
Master Member
I recall seeing the show as well, I believe, at Billy Barty World back in the 70's.
They were more sophisticated than a car dealer balloon, but yes. They could move and such, but a blower offstage provided constant pressure to keep his skin taut. Without the bulk of padding, it kept the load down for all the animatronics and such.
LOL!! That is very, very clever! No wonder why the Universal Kongs always looked puffed. I always assumed they made them look cartoony-puffed so they wouldn't look too scary for the kids.
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