The King of Hollywood (Part Four)

Welcome to our last post in this series. We sincerely hope you've been enjoying our look at the life of Merian C. Cooper and the "secrets" behind the making of "King Kong."  And we hope our conclusion won't disappoint. In our last installment, we described the release of the film and the huge impact it …

The King of Hollywood (Part Three)

As we saw in our previous post, in late 1932, the production of "King Kong" was nearing the finish line. A rough cut of the film had been assembled and Merian Cooper was trying to decide what scenes stayed and which ones would go.  But the film still needed a little help in post.  And …

The King of Hollywood (Part Two)

"How Tall is King Kong?"  - The Stunt Man.  The answer to that question if you've never seen the 1981 movie is 18 inches.  And following up on our post from yesterday, Willis O'Brien built three separate models of the giant ape for the upcoming film. Anticipating the wear and tear they would be subjected …

The King of Hollywood (Part One)

Okay... after describing the early adventures of Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, it's time to turn our attention to Hollywood.  The early 1930s were an extremely difficult time for the film industry.  The double whammy of the depression and the investment needed to convert to talkies had hit all the studios hard.  Almost every single …