Lost KING KONG Print May Not Be As Old, Or Rare, As First Believed

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: BBC News / Avery Guerra

Earlier this week I posted an article about a rare copy of the classic monster movie "King Kong" that was discovered in the wall of a London movie house. The article has been linked on several different websites and referenced on several others. It seems that many a movie buff was more than just a little excited about the possibility of a rare print of "Kong", with possibly 'missing' footage in tact, being found for everyone to enjoy.

Alas, I hate to be the one to dash every ones hopes, but the copy of the film that sat in a wall for decades waiting to be unearthed, may not be what was advertised.

The print that was discovered is indeed old, and somewhat rare, but further examination has revealed that the film stock is composed of celluloid and not nitrate means that it probably dates back to the 1950s, not the 30s as first reported.

If this is indeed true, any hopes of this copy of "King Kong" containing any rare footage or deleted scenes is slim to none.

It seems that during all the excitement caused by the discovery of an old copy of such a classic film, no one really took the time to examine it to find out exactly what they had in hand.

There is an interesting rumor emerging that suggests one of the Grosvenor Cinema's (the theater where the film was discovered) past employees hid the film so that they could come back and steal it later.

No one knows if that is the case or not.

For now, fans can find some joy that a piece of cinema history has been found, even if it doesn't contain certain items that have been lost for decades.

See Also: Long Lost Print Of KING KONG Discovered In London Cinema / KING KONG Comes Roaring Back In Style At Universal Studios / KING KONG Done Wrong In Bangladesh / King Kong Attacks The Santa Monica Pier! / The Original KING KONG Comes To Blu-ray September 28th! / The Top Ten Hottest Monsters Of 2009 / "Kong: King Of Skull Island" - New Artwork For The Graphic Novel / Kong: King Of Skull Island - The Mighty Ape Sequel / 3D Animation Bonanza - King Kong And Killer Beans / Steve Bissette Creates Special Artwork For New Hampshire Screening Of King Kong vs Godzilla / King Kong And Godzilla Invade The London Subway / King Kong vs Godzilla (1962)(Toho) / Nerdoh Is Producing Movie Inspired T-Shirts In The UK / King Kong, Godzilla And The Creature From The Black Lagoon At The Rose Parade / King Kong vs Godzilla: Trailer / Universal Fire: King Kong & Godzilla Up In Smoke? / Kingukongu no gyakushu / King Kong Escapes (1967)

WAITING FOR GORGO Comes To DVD

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: Avery Guerra

Way back in 2008 I posted a small article about a short film called "Waiting For Gorgo", which was, at the time in production under the direction of Benjamin Craig for the indie UK studio Cinemagine.

Well, it seems that the film, which is a homage to homage to the classic 1961 monster film "Gorgo" that starred Bill Travers and William Sylvester, is finally completed and available on DVD through Amazon.com.

Despite what you may be thinking, "Waiting for Gorgo", isn't a monster movie at all, but a comedy about a young woman who discovers a top secret British organization called DMOA that is run by two eccentric old men who believe that one day the island nation will be attacked by some giant monster or possibly aliens. Despite the fact that the two old coots are a little bit senile, one of them actually believes that Gorgo actually did attack Great Britain, their organization actually has a working system in place to protect the country from any outside attack.

Here is the synopsis:

Deep in the bowels of the Ministry of Defence lies a secretive government department identified only as the "DMOA". Just what the DMOA does has been lost in the annals of time - all that is known is that it's the last line of defence protecting London from total destruction.

Determined to find out more about this strange department, Alexandra, a young ambitious defence analyst, sets off into the rabbit warrens of Whitehall to see the DMOA for herself. Finding two aged public servants in varying stages of senility, Alexandra is convinced that the DMOA is the result of an unfortunate mistake. However, as the conversation progresses it becomes apparent that the old guys may not be as senile as they seem, and more worryingly, they may indeed be London's last line of defence.

Sometimes you need a couple of crazy old guys to keep everyone safe huh?

Actually I think that a couple of old nut-bags are keeping this country safe from aliens, monsters and blimp attacks. It just makes sense.

Oh, and by the way, Gorgo does not make a cameo in this one, but he did make our "The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television" list, coming in at number 64!

Here is the trailer:



See Also: Davies, Amer And Eastwood Are Waiting For Gorgo

Long Lost Print Of KING KONG Discovered In London Cinema

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: Bloody Disgusting / Avery Guerra

It seems that a rare print of the 1933 classic film "King Kong" has turned up in a rather unlikely place, buried in the wall of a London cinema.

During recent renovations to the Grosvenor Cinema, a worker named Ross McMillan was working on knocking down a partition wall in the projection room when he noticed something odd looking in the rubble. To his amazement he discovered that it was a copy of "King Kong." Not just any copy, mind you, a copy that has been missing from the vaults of RKO for more than seventy years. An original print, that may very well contain scenes cut out of the film, including the long-lost Lizard and Spider canyon sequences.

Mr McMillan said: “I didn’t know what it was at first, I hoped it was hidden treasure but when I realised it wasn’t I was about to throw it in the skip.

“One of the cinema staff stopped me and took it away to find out what it was.

“When I heard it was an original version of King Kong, one favourite movies as a kid, I couldn’t believe it.”

Interestingly enough, when the cinema's projectionist contacted Universal, the company that now owns the rights to the film, about the find, he was informed that since the movie wasn't returned on time, way back in 1934, there were some £43,000 in late fees. However, the studio was more and willing to waive the bill just to get the prized copy of "Kong" back into their collection.

As a special added bonus, the Grosvenor Café & Cinema will be able to screen the long lost print in celebration of it's renovation.

See Also: KING KONG Comes Roaring Back In Style At Universal Studios / KING KONG Done Wrong In Bangladesh / King Kong Attacks The Santa Monica Pier! / The Original KING KONG Comes To Blu-ray September 28th! / The Top Ten Hottest Monsters Of 2009 / "Kong: King Of Skull Island" - New Artwork For The Graphic Novel / Kong: King Of Skull Island - The Mighty Ape Sequel / 3D Animation Bonanza - King Kong And Killer Beans / Steve Bissette Creates Special Artwork For New Hampshire Screening Of King Kong vs Godzilla / King Kong And Godzilla Invade The London Subway / King Kong vs Godzilla (1962)(Toho) / Nerdoh Is Producing Movie Inspired T-Shirts In The UK / King Kong, Godzilla And The Creature From The Black Lagoon At The Rose Parade / King Kong vs Godzilla: Trailer / Universal Fire: King Kong & Godzilla Up In Smoke? / Kingukongu no gyakushu / King Kong Escapes (1967)