KING OF THE JUNGLE (1933)
Article #1233 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 7-30-2004
Postind Date: 12-27-2004
Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and Max Marcin
Featuring Buster Crabbe, Frances Dee, Sidney Toler

A boy who is the only survivor of a plane crash is raised by lions. Years later, he is captured along with the lions and sold to a circus.

This movie starts out as a Tarzan variation, substituting lions for apes, but it comes into its own when the action moves from the jungle into the civilized world. A black-haired Buster Crabbe plays the lion man, who is dubbed with the name of Kaspa (not to be confused with the friendly ghost), and he wears what may be the skimpiest loincloth I’ve ever seen; in fact, the skimpiness of the costume becomes a bit of a running gag once civilization is reached. It’s the animal scenes that steal the movie, though, especially in the grand finale in which the circus catches on fire. Some of the scenes are a great deal of fun; watching Kaspa play-wrestling with one of the lions is a charmer. Some of them are truly exciting; the scene where the elephants escape into the city and start wreaking havoc reminded me of scenes from KING KONG. And some of them are upsetting; there’s a fight between a lion and a bull in the first half of the movie that looks all too real, and one is reminded that animals were not treated as well in the earlier days of cinema as they are now. Still, the movie is quite entertaining, and it has a happy ending. The movie also features Irving Pichel, Douglas Dumbrille, and Sam Baker (Hugo from THE LOST CITY).

KWAIDAN (1964)
(a.k.a. KAIDAN)
Article #1201 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-28-2004
Posting Date: 11-25-2004
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Featuring Rentaro Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe

Four eerie tales of ghosts, spirits and demons are presented.

This movie is beautifully photographed, makes splendid use of sound, and is simply lyrically breathtaking. It is also two hours and forty minutes long, and unfortunately (largely due to the leisurely pacing), it feels it. If I had to sacrifice any story here for the sake of length, it would be the first one (“Black Hair”); though it has a nice ending, it’s the one whose slow build-up makes the passage of time the most noticeable. Much better are the second and fourth stories; the second (“The Woman in the Snow”) is filled with evocative images of the blowing snow and a winter sky with staring eyes, and it has an ending that is powerful and sad. The fourth (“In a Cup of Tea”) was incomplete, but tells an engaging story of a warrior who sees a strange face in his cup of tea and unwisely swallows it; the movie puts together an ending which points the way to what would be the most probable final twist had the story been completed.

Whatever you do, though, you won’t want to skip the third story; it’s the longest of the lot, but it’s also unforgettable. “Hoichi the Earless” deals with a blind musician who is called upon to play the Biwa for what turns out to be a gathering of the dead, and the steps taken by the priests to save the musician’s life makes for a shockingly powerful ending. This sequence also features Takashi Shimura, who should prove to be a familiar face for fans of kaiju and Kurasawa; he played Dr. Yamane in the original GODZILLA as well as the head samurai in THE SEVEN SAMURAI. This segment alone makes the movie essential viewing for any horror / fantasy fan.

KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1962)
(a.k.a. KINGUKONGU TAI GOJIRA)
Article #1195 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-22-2004
Posting Date: 11-19-2004
Directed by Ishiro Honda
Featuring Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yu Fujiki

A pharmaceutical company captures King Kong on Faro island at the same time that Godzilla breaks loose from an iceberg and returns to Japan.

Ten thoughts on KING KONG VS. GODZILLA

1) Like the original GODZILLA, this movie was heavily reedited for the American market and new footage was added. Unfortunately, the same care was not taken with this one as was taken with the original; most of the new footage consists of unconvincing newscasters sitting around and delivering stories, and the editing ot the Japanese footage is sloppy (they even use a scene of a newspaper photo of submarine fading into a shot of the real submarine in motion twice within a two minute period) and eccentric (repeated anomalous shots of a space satellite). They also replaced most of Akira Ifukube’s score with stock music, including an annoying encore of the shrill CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON music. I have yet to see the Japanese version, but I hope to do so someday.

2) ****SPOILER**** For many years, the legend existed that the Japanese version of the movie ended with Godzilla victorious whereas the American version ended with King Kong victorious. This story is merely a legend. In fact, the ending is somewhat ambiguous; though Kong is the only one we see walking away (or swimming away, as the case may be) from the fight, there is no clear winner designated; Godzilla is merely nowhere to be found.

3) This is probably the most light-hearted of the early Godzilla movies. In fact, the American version is a downright comedy most of the time. The Japanese version was more satirical, but some of the satire still shows through in the American version, particularly in the sequences having to do with the pharmaceutical company trying to get a monster to improve their ratings.

4) I’m amazed at the breadth of special effects in this movie; outside of the standard suitmation, they use puppets, real animals substituting for monsters, and even a bit of stop motion. Not all of it is done well, but I do admire the ambition behind it.

5) The story borrows heavily from the original KING KONG, with Kong once again discovered on an island of natives who worship him. He also gets loose in a big city, kidnaps a girl and scales a building with her. However, the sight of King Kong scaling a building that is no taller than himself is just a little bit ridiculous.

6) For me, the most disappointing thing in the movie is the Kong costume; sure, he’s not going to look as good as the stop-motion animated Kong of the original movie, but here he looks mangy and flea-bitten. I really think the costume could have been a lot better.

7) During the sequence where the submarine is suffering untold damage from the iceberg, we hear the admiral mutter the word “Great!” after hearing a particularly distressing bit of bad news. Feel free to mentally substitute any other one-syllable word that ends in a ‘t’ that you think might be appropriate for a man of the sea to mutter under those circumstances.

8) At the opening of the movie, we hear a news report about an earthquake in Chile. What this has to do with the rest of the movie is beyond me.

9) This may be one of the first of the Japanese monster movies to touch upon the love that children have for giant monsters. At one point, a little boy asks his mother if he can go see Godzilla. Gamera would milk this idea for all it was worth a few years later.

10) This was perhaps the first Godzilla movie I ever saw. To this day, it remains my favorite, even if I don’t consider it to be anywhere near the best of the series. Even now I thoroughly enjoy watching this one. So I’m going to throw in another list of ten items to end this one. Here are my ten favorite moments from the movie.

1) The explorers winning over the natives with a portable radio playing a peppy Japanese tune, followed by plying them with cigarettes. The chief than decides he will let them stay, but absolves himself of all responsibility if King Kong should eat them. Key line: “It’s okay! They’re all smoking!”

2) The UN reporter calls in a noted scientist to discuss Godzilla. The scientist uses a child’s book of dinosaurs as his main visual prop. The scientist also does a comparison of the relative brain power of King Kong and Godzilla. He uses a gorilla’s skull and a marble as his props. This guy is a hoot.

3) I love that the head of the pharmaceutical company throws a fit when Godzilla gets loose not because he fears for his life and property, but because he’s jealous of all the publicity Godzilla is getting.

4) The fight between King Kong and the octopus, though hardly convincing, is definitely a highlight of the picture.

5) I like the scene where we see the construction of a huge pit with which the military hopes to capture Godzilla. Quite frankly, I’ve always thought that was the neatest collection of construction toys I’ve ever seen in one place.

6) A man, upon hearing that King Kong is advancing on Tokyo, replies with conviction “We’d better leave….tonight!” Hey, why rush these things?

7) The native chant is one of the few pieces of music from the original soundtrack to remain on the American version; it’s also the best piece of music on the American version.

8) During the final fight, King Kong hits his head on a rock. You can practically see the birds flying around his head at this point.

9) Also during the fight, King Kong tries to shove a tree down Godzilla’s throat. Talk about making the best use of the landscape…

10)…and finally, the airlift sequence. There’s something about seeing King Kong strung up like a puppet (in a very uncomfortable-looking position, I might add) and carted around by balloons and helicopters that is almost sublimely ridiculous. It’s certainly one of the most memorable images in all of kaiju.

THE KARATE KILLERS (1967)
Article #1165 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-23-2004
Posting Date: 10-20-2004
Directed by Barry Shear
Featuring Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Joan Crawford

Napolean Solo and Illya Kuryakin try to track down the formula for extracting gold from sea-water. Unfortunately, the scientist who discovered it scattered the secret by leaving it in the hands of his four stepdaughters, who live in far flung reaches of the globe.

I’m stretching things a little bit here, but I think I’m still in acceptable bounds. THE KARATE KILLERS is the name of one of those movies that were made by editing together two episodes of a TV series (in this case, both halfs of “The Five Daughters Affair” from “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”). I was unable to get a hold of the actual feature, but I did manage to acquire the two episodes which were used; since it was a two part story, I’m assuming that all they really did was edit the opening and ending credits and tie the two episodes together. Since the two episodes were designed to tell a single story, there probably wasn’t the bizarre story-flow problem that usual accompanies this sort of thing.

Despite the fact that I’ve never been a fan of the James Bond movies, I have a somewhat greater affection for its derivatives, and that includes TV shows like this one that appeared in its wake. Maybe it’s because they didn’t try to overwhelm you with the violence, stunts and sex, and actually tried to tell a coherent story with a certain amount of wit. This one has a surprising amount of star power; along with the series regulars Robert Vaughn, David McCallum and Leo G. Carroll, we have Herbert Lom, Kim Darby, Jill Ireland, Telly Savalas, Terry-Thomas and (of all things) Joan Crawford, who has one scene. Fans of serials may recognize Philip Ahn as the Japanese wise man; he played Prince Tallen in the BUCK ROGERS serial.

KING DINOSAUR (1955)
Article #808 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-1-2003
Posting Date: 10-29-2003
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Featuring Ignatz, Rumsford, Little Joe the Honey Bear

Astronauts land on a new planet in the solar system and do “scientific research.”

Title check: “Serf Slurpasaur” is more like it.

Ten thoughts on KING DINOSAUR.

1) This was the first movie directed by Bert I. Gordon, though it was not the first one he produced; I believe that honor goes to the yet unseen (by me) SERPENT ISLAND.

2) He got better.

3) A LOT better.

4) Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but if I had organized this expedition, I would have started out by making sure that everyone’s gator-wrestling skills were up to snuff.

5) I would also have sent along some Raid. A BIG can of Raid, that is.

6) If I were making a movie called KING DINOSAUR, I wouldn’t wait until two-thirds of the way through the movie to add the dinosaur.

7) I’ve heard that the dinosaur footage is from ONE MILLION B.C., but if it is, it isn’t the usual footage I’ve seen from the movie. But I will say that the slurpasaur fights are very nasty looking, and I don’t think the blood is faked. I’ve asked Ignatz and Rumsford about it, but they don’t feel inclined to talk about this movie. Somehow, I don’t blame them.

8) The movie doesn’t have the worst soundtrack I’ve ever heard (not while copies of JAIL BAIT or MESA OF LOST WOMEN exist anyway), but it is repetitive and annoying.

9) If I were organizing an expedition like the one in this movie, I would not send the four people who ended up going, and…

10) …Most importantly, I wouldn’t send an A-Bomb with them. Especially if they have any intention of “bringing civilization” to the new planet.”

There’s some tough competition out there, but for my money, this is the worst dinosaur movie of them all.

KILLER APE (1953)
Article #771 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-25-2003
Posting Date: 9-22-2003
Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
Featuring Johnny Weissmuller, Carol Thurston, Ray ‘Crash’ Corrigan

Jungle Jim has to cope with mad scientists performing experiments on jungle animals, and a giant ape-man.

Here we have more monkeyshines with Jungle Jim and Tamba the chimp. It’s pretty ordinary stuff, though for fans of fantastic cinema, I will point out that the science fiction and horror content is somewhat higher than it was in FURY OF THE CONGO; the scientists are working on a drug that will sap the will from humans, and the Man-Ape is a major part of the story. Quite frankly, the movie is stolen by Max Palmer, who was eight feet tall and weighed 450 pounds; as the Man-Ape, he literally towers over the rest of the cast, and he’s bulky enough to be a real threat to all. The animal stock footage gets a little brutal at times, so animal lovers beware.

Public service: this movie is not to be confused with any of these other classics.

THE KILLER APP – A boring documentary about software and web page designers.

THE KILLER GRAPE – A deadly fruit monster kills people who w(h)ine too much.

THE KILLER GRAPE APE – Ill-fated attempt by the Hanna-Barbera people to resurrect an old cartoon character and breathe new life into him.

KILTED APE – A Scottish chimpanzee wreaks havoc on a golf course.

KILLER ABE – Our 16th president as you’ve never seen him before.

CRULLER APE – Various customers of the Doughnut Shop of the Congo mysteriously disappear.

Okay, I’ll stop.

KONGO (1932)
Article #731 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-16-2003
Posting Date: 8-13-2003
Directed by William Cowen
Featuring Walter Huston, Lupe Velez, Conrad Nagel

A sadistic ivory trader keeps a white girl a hostage in the jungle as part of a scheme of revenge.

Lon Chaney fans will recognize the story immediately; it’s a sound remake of WEST OF ZANZIBAR, with Walter Huston in the Lon Chaney role. Huston even seems to be channeling Chaney in terms of makeup; yet, for all that, I think Chaney was a bit more impressive in the role. The movies are roughly the same length, though this version dispenses with the backstory present in the silent version. I find this one a little harder to follow at times, and the acting occasionally goes over the top, but the sleazy, muddy atmosphere of the movie is on par with that of the silent version, and in the long run, there’s not a real strong difference between the two versions, and they’re both about the same level of quality. Which one you prefer may well depend on who you prefer in your cast and whether you prefer silent movies to talkies. At any rate, the movie’s degenerate sadism make it something that certainly wouldn’t have been made after the Hays office went into effect.

THE KILLER SHREWS (1959)
Article #730 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-15-2003
Posting Date: 8-12-2003
Directed by Ray Kellogg
Featuring James Best, Ingrid Goude, Ken Curtis

Several people are trapped on an island with giant poisonous killer shrews.

Those who consider this movie a landmark in campy badness dwell lovingly (and endlessly) on the fact that the monsters are dogs in shrew costumes. That they are I won’t deny, but if you make the decision to not let that fact bother you, it won’t; they are certainly more effective than the oversized buzzard in THE GIANT CLAW. There are other definite flaws; Ingrid Goude looks like she spends every shot largely concerned with how good she looks on the camera, and Baruch Lumet seems to be too swamped with his dialogue to project much emotion, but James Best gives a solid, strong performance, and the other actors do decent work. Some of the scenes are static and poorly paced; others are strong, exciting and well-edited. It makes strong use of music and sound throughout; in fact, the sounds that the shrews make are creepy enough to get under your skin. The strongest point of all is that the story is solid and has many points of interest, with an ending that is quite logical even if visually it looks a bit awkward and clumsy.

I do have to admit a personal fondness for one of the movie’s quirkiest touches; Gordon McLendon’s performance as Dr. Radford Baines is hardly what I would call great acting, but as a bizarre comic-relief variation of the absent-minded scientist, I’ve never seen anything else like it. I couldn’t help but notice two things about the character this time I watched the movie: a) he looks a little bit like a middle-aged Tommy Kirk, and b) he has some of the worst posture I’ve ever seen from any character in a movie. For some reason, I love it. Just don’t ask me why.

KRIEMHILDE’S REVENGE (1924)
(a.k.a. DIE NIBELUNGEN: KRIEMHILDS RACHE)
Article #685 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-29-2003
Posting Date: 6-28-2003
Directed by Fritz Lang
Featuring Margarete Schon, Gertrud Arnold, Theodor Loos

Kriemhilde seeks revenge against the man who killed Siegfried.

This is the second half of Frtiz Lang’s DIE NIBELUNGEN, the first half, SIEGFRIED, having already been covered. The fantastic elements are minimal in this one, though the same cannot be said for the first half; the most obvious fantastic element here is a short flashback of the first half in which Siegfried kills a dragon. The story is less episodic and more focused than the first one, as it establishes Kriemhilde’s thirst for revenge from the beginning and never strays from that theme. Like SIEGFRIED, I can spot parts of Wagner’s musical themes on the soundtrack. It’s interesting to see Attila the Hun portrayed as something other than a total villain; here his desire for a son, his love for him, and his eventual loss of him makes him a sympathetic character, certainly moreso than the brutal but almost immortal Hagen Tronje, or Kriemhilde herself, whose obsession becomes her sole reason for existing. Like all of Fritz Lang’s silent films, definitely worth a look.