King Kong is a 1933 American pre-Code adventure horror monster film directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, with special effects by Willis H. O'Brien. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, it is the first film in the King Kong franchise. The film stars Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot. In the film, a giant ape dubbed King Kong captured from Skull Island attempts to possess a beautiful young woman.
Theatrical release poster
Charles R. Knight's Tyrannosaurus in the American Museum of Natural History, on which the large theropod of the film was based
Promotional image featuring Kong battling the Tyrannosaurus
Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where King Kong held its world premiere.
A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall under the horror, comedy, fantasy, or science fiction genres. Monster movies originated with adaptations of horror folklore and literature.
Theatrical release poster for Godzilla (1954).