King Kong (1933): The Lost Scene That Showed What Was Waiting at the Bottom of the Ravine

Halfway through King Kong, the sailors chasing Kong cross a ravine on a fallen log. Kong shakes it, and one by one they fall. In the film you know, they hit the bottom and lie still. In the script, some of them lived through the fall, and something was waiting for them at the bottom. Merian C. Cooper said he cut it after a single preview. Some historians think it was never finished at all. Either way, no footage has ever been found. This is the story of King Kong in twelve parts: the lost spider pit, the producer who had been listed as dead, the dinosaur film that was cancelled to make Kong, the famous writer who died before the script was finished, the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood, the wall that ended up in Gone with the Wind, the model that was less than two feet tall, why Kong grows, the roar, the record opening in the worst days of the banking crisis, the men who killed Kong, and what the censors took in 1938. 00:00 The film that taught Hollywood what a monster movie could be 00:38 1 — What was waiting at the bottom of the ravine 03:07 2 — The man who dreamed up Kong had been listed as dead 04:58 3 — Kong was built from a failure at his own studio 06:20 4 — The famous writer who died before the script was finished 07:47 5 — The tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood 08:58 6 — The wall that ended up in Gone with the Wind 10:09 7 — Kong was less than two feet tall 11:43 8 — Kong grows 12:47 9 — The roar, the footsteps and the music 14:04 10 — Ten thousand seats, ten shows a day 15:58 11 — The men who killed Kong 16:57 12 — What the censors took 18:43 Was Cooper right to cut it? Every fact in this video was checked before it was recorded, against RKO's own figures, the trade papers of 1933 and 1938, the AFI Catalog, and the accounts of the people who made the film. Where the sources disagree, the video says so. Ask in the comments if you want a source. #KingKong #KingKong1933 #FayWray #ClassicMovies #OldHollywood #BehindTheScenes