Editing King Kong (1933 film) (section)

==Production==
===Development===
{{Further|King Kong#Conception and creation}}
[[File:T. rex old posture.jpg|left|thumb|[[Charles R. Knight]]'s ''[[Tyrannosaurus]]'' in the [[American Museum of Natural History]], on which the large [[Theropoda|theropod]] of the film was based<ref name=Goldner>Orville Goldner, George E Turner (1975). ''Making of ''King Kong'': The Story Behind a Film Classic.'' {{ISBN|0498015106}}. See also ''Spawn of Skull Island'' (2002). {{ISBN|1887664459}}</ref>]]

''King Kong'' co-director [[Ernest B. Schoedsack]] had earlier experience filming monkeys while directing ''[[Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness]]'' (1927), also with [[Merian C. Cooper]], and ''[[Rango (1931 film)|Rango]]'' (1931), both of which prominently featured monkeys in authentic jungle settings. Capitalizing on this trend, Congo Pictures released the [[Mockumentary|hoax documentary]] ''[[Ingagi]]'' (1930), advertising the film as "an authentic incontestable celluloid document showing the sacrifice of a living woman to mammoth gorillas." ''Ingagi'' is now often recognized as a racial [[exploitation film]] as it implicitly depicted black women having sex with gorillas and baby offspring that looked more ape than human.<ref>Gerald Peary, {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130103102653/http://www.geraldpeary.com/essays/jkl/kingkong-1.html 'Missing Links: The Jungle Origins of King Kong' (1976)]}} ''Gerald Peary: Film Reviews, Interviews, Essays, and Sundry Miscellany,'' 2004.</ref> The film was an immediate hit, and by some estimates, it was one of the highest-grossing films of the 1930s at over $4 million. Although Cooper never listed ''Ingagi'' among his influences for ''King Kong,'' it has long been held that RKO greenlighted ''Kong'' because of the bottom-line example of ''Ingagi'' and the formula that "gorillas plus sexy women in peril equals enormous profits."<ref>{{cite news | first=Andrew | last=Erish | title=Illegitimate Dad of King Kong | date=January 8, 2006 | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/959395991.html?dids=959395991:959395991&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+8%2C+2006&author=Andrew+Erish&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.6&desc=Movies | access-date=July 6, 2017 | archive-date=March 14, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314080024/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/959395991.html?dids=959395991:959395991&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+8%2C+2006&author=Andrew+Erish&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.6&desc=Movies | url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:King Kong Booklet Ad pages 8-9.png|thumb|Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack develop ''King Kong''.]]
Since 1929 Cooper had wanted to create a film about gorillas.{{sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=186}} Inspired by the travels of his friend [[William Douglas Burden|W. Douglas Burden]], Cooper considered filming in the jungles of [[Komodo (island)|Komodo]].{{Sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|pp=189–190, 193}} He had read Burden's ''The Dragon Lizards of Komodo'' and as a result conceived the idea to film a gorilla fighting giant lizards.<ref>{{harvnb|Andriano|1999|p=48}}; {{harvnb|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=194}}; {{harvnb|Harryhausen|Dalton|2008|p=69}}; {{harvnb|Von Gunden|1989|p=108}}</ref> Cooper later remarked that this was "the most important influence" on the final film.{{Sfn|Andriano|1999|p=48}} By the time he joined RKO in 1931, Cooper decided to incorporate a "beauty and the beast" theme into the plot.<ref>{{harvnb|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=202}}; {{harvnb|Rovin|1977|p=33}}</ref> The "Arabian proverb" at the beginning of the film was created by Cooper: "And lo! The Beast looked upon the face of Beauty, and it stayed its hand from killing. And from that day, it was as one dead."<ref>{{harvnb|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=202}}; {{harvnb|Von Gunden|1989|p=111}}</ref> Initially Cooper planned to film in Africa and Komodo Island, but the idea was abandoned when RKO executives decided it would be too expensive.{{Sfn|Rovin|1977|p=27}} RKO was at risk for bankruptcy because of the Great Depression.{{Sfn|Smith|2020|p=99}} Stop-motion animator [[Willis O'Brien]], hearing that Cooper wanted to make a gorilla film, painted a picture depicting a large gorilla carrying a woman and gave it to Cooper. Afterward Cooper requested a test reel, which was approved by Selznick.<ref>{{harvnb|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=207}}; {{harvnb|Dyson|1997|p=30}}; {{harvnb|Von Gunden|1989|p=109}}</ref> O'Brien experimented with different scenes in the test reel.{{Sfn|Rovin|1977|p=31}} These two scenes, which were incorporated into the final film,{{Sfn|Erb|2009|p=29}} portray a fight between King Kong and a Tyrannosaurus Rex as well as Kong shaking men off a log.{{Sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=217}} The test reel was created concurrently with the production of ''The Most Dangerous Game.''{{sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=214}} Meanwhile, Cooper hired actors and had sets built for ''King Kong''.{{sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=208}} For live-action sequences in the jungle, Cooper utilized the set of ''The Most Dangerous Game''.{{sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=214}} Cooper directed the live-action sequences until Schoedsack completed work on ''The Most Dangerous Game.''{{Sfn|Erb|2009|p=31}} Afterward Shoedsack directed the live action scenes while Cooper focused on the live action scenes that were to be combined with the already-filmed animated sequences.{{Sfn|Erb|2009|p=30}} Marcel Delgado developed sample models of King Kong, the dinosaurs, and the people; the models did not have [[Armature (sculpture)|armatures]].{{sfn|Harryhausen|Dalton|2008|p=71}} After about three months the test reel was complete.<ref>{{harvnb|Rovin|1977|p=33}}; {{harvnb|Harryhausen|Dalton|2008|p=73}}</ref> After studio executives approved the film for production, Cooper developed the story further.<ref>{{harvnb|Harryhausen|Dalton|2008|p=71}}; {{harvnb|Dyson|1997|p=30}}; {{harvnb|Von Gunden|1989|p=109}}</ref> O'Brien's ideas also helped with story development. He suggested that King Kong be seen by the characters as a sort of deity.{{sfn|Andriano|1999|p=48}} 

Filming commenced without a complete screenplay.<ref>{{harvnb|Dyson|1997|p=31}}; {{harvnb|Erb|2009|p=24}}</ref> Cooper hired [[Edgar Wallace]] to write the screenplay,<ref>{{harvnb|Archer|1993|p=14}}; {{harvnb|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=217}}</ref> which he started in December 1931.{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=28}}  Cooper told Wallace what he wanted included in the script.{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=28}} Wallace's draft included several instances of attempted sexual assault,{{sfn|Erb|2009|pp=35–36}} which were later removed by Ruth Rose.{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=40}} His draft also included racial tensions between characters.{{Sfn|Erb|2009|p=40}} While drafting he wrote, "I am hoping still to get a good horror picture without corpses, and I am certain that ''Kong'' is going to be a wow."{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=47}} Wallace had a rough draft ready in January 1932{{Sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=218}} and died a month later''.''<ref>{{harvnb|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=220}}; {{harvnb|Archer|1993|p=14}}</ref> Some of his ideas ended up in the final film, such as Kong removing Ann's clothes from her body.{{Sfn|Erb|2009|p=29}} He also roughly outlined the New York scenes, which were similar to how they appeared in the completed film, as well as a jungle chase scene.{{sfn|Erb|2009|pp=35–36}} [[James Ashmore Creelman|James A. Creelman]] picked up work on the screenplay.{{sfn|Archer|1993|p=14}} In his draft he changed character roles, making Denham Ann's cruel uncle. Cooper disliked it, remarking that "The heavy is far too heavy."{{Sfn|Erb|2009|p=40}} Creelman adapted Wallace's jungle chase scene to appear as it does in the finished film.{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=35}} Creelman found it difficult to meet Cooper's plot requests,{{sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=222}} feeling that there were too many fantastical elements for the film to be believable.{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=42}} He objected, "[T]here is certainly such a thing as reaching a limit to the number of elements a story can contain and make sense."{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=43}} Though he incorporated Cooper's requests, the dialogue proved to be too extensive.<ref>{{harvnb|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=222}}; {{harvnb|Rovin|1977|p=33}}</ref> Cooper was unsatisfied with Creelman's work, and in June Creelman decided to quit.{{sfn|Erb|2009|pp=29, 31}} After some difficulty finding a replacement for Creelman, in July Cooper hired [[Ruth Rose]],{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=31}} who had never written a screenplay before.<ref>{{harvnb|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=222}}; {{harvnb|Andriano|1999|p=52}}</ref> She rewrote the majority of Creelman's dialogue.{{sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=223}} Though Creelman initially wrote the film's New York prologue, Rose polished it while writing most of the city scenes.{{sfn|Erb|2009|pp=31, 36}} Rose was able to incorporate the love story between Ann and Jack, something the other screenwriters had struggled with.{{Sfn|Erb|2009|p=32}} Rose also added more "fairy tale-like" aspects.{{Sfn|Erb|2009|p=40}} Upon the film's release Wallace was credited with the screenplay, as Cooper had promised to give him the credit. The studio also saw it as an opportunity to gain positive publicity because Wallace was a well-established writer.<ref>{{harvnb|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=220}}; {{harvnb|Erb|2009|pp=38–39}}</ref>

==== Copyright concerns ====
The creators of ''King Kong'' took inspiration from other films such as ''[[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|Dracula]]'' and ''[[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]]''. The influence was heavy enough that RKO executives were worried about copyright violation.{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=34}} Executives discussed the potential issue with RKO's lawyers.{{sfn|Erb|2009|pp=36–37}} Also among their concerns were the film's connections to ''Ingagi'', ''[[Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)|Murders in the Rue Morgue]]'', ''[[Journey to the Center of the Earth]]'', and ''[[The Lost World (Doyle novel)|The Lost World]]''. The other works being ruled out, [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s ''The Lost World'' posed the most concern.{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=37}} Both ''The Lost World'' and ''King Kong'' concerned primitive creatures being taken to modern society.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2005-09-14 |title=Vaz, Mark Cotta |url=https://www.freshair.com/guests/mark-cotta-vaz |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Fresh Air Archive: Interviews with Terry Gross |language=en}}</ref> Even though Cooper argued against the similarities,<ref name=":6" /> the studio purchased the novel's copyright.{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=38}} Afterward Cooper feared that if the studio were to connect Doyle's name to the film for promotional purposes, consumers might not think the film was fresh. Eventually the Doyle estate granted the studio permission to not associate the film with Doyle's name.{{sfn|Erb|2009|p=39}}

===Special effects===
[[File:King Kong vs Tyrannosaurus.jpg|thumb|Promotional image featuring Kong battling the ''Tyrannosaurus'', though Cooper emphasized in an interview with film historian Rudy Behlmer that it was an Allosaurus]]
''King Kong'' is well known for its groundbreaking use of special effects, such as [[Stop motion|stop-motion animation]], [[matte painting]], [[rear projection]], and [[miniature effect|miniatures]], all of which were conceived decades before the digital age.<ref>Wasko, Janet. (2003). ''How Hollywood Works.'' California: Sage Publications Ltd. p. 53.</ref> The prehistoric creatures inhabiting [[Skull Island (King Kong)|Skull Island]] were brought to life through the use of stop-motion animation by [[Willis H. O'Brien]] and his assistant animators, E. B. "Buzz" Gibson, Carroll Shepphird, Marcel Delgado, Orville Goldner, and Fred Reefe.<ref>Bordwell, David, Thompson, Kristin, Smith, Jeff. (2017). ''Film Art: An Introduction.'' New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 388.</ref>{{sfn|Archer|1993|pp=176, 197}} The stop-motion animation scenes were painstaking and difficult to achieve and complete. The special effects crew could not leave the studio during the day because the lighting would not be consistent.{{sfn|Harryhausen|Dalton|2008|pp=74–75}} The jungle scenery was created by layering glass paintings, which were created by Mario Larrinaga and Byron L. Crabbe.{{sfn|Rovin|1977|pp=31, 41}} They were used when Denham's crew first arrives. The scene was composited with separate bird elements and rear-projected behind the ship and actors.{{sfn|Harryhausen|1985|p=173}}

The most difficult task for the special effects crew to achieve was to make live-action footage interact with separately filmed stop-motion animation, making the interaction between the humans and the creatures seem believable. The most simple of these effects were accomplished by exposing part of the frame, then running the same piece of the film through the camera again by exposing the other part of the frame with a different image. This process is called a [[Matte (filmmaking)|matte]].{{sfn|Harryhausen|1985|p=172}} The most complex shots, where the live-action actors interacted with the stop-motion animation, were achieved via two different techniques, the [[Bipack|Dunning process]] and the [[Williams process]], to produce the effect of a traveling matte.<ref>Corrigan, Timothy, White, Patricia. (2015). ''The Film Experience.'' New York: Bedford/St. Martin's. pp. 120–121.</ref>{{sfn|Von Gunden|1989|p=115}}

[[File:KingKong001C.png|thumb|Colored publicity shot combining live actors with [[stop motion animation]]]] Another technique that was used in combining live actors and stop-motion animation was rear-screen projection.{{sfn|Dyson|1997|p=30}} The actor would have a translucent screen behind him where a projector would project footage onto the back of the translucent screen.{{sfn|Harryhausen|1985|p=173}} This was the first film for which RKO used the method.{{sfn|Rovin|1977|p=33}} It was used in the scene where Kong and the ''Tyrannosaurus'' fight while Ann watches from the branches of a nearby tree. The stop-motion animation was filmed first. Afterward Fay Wray spent a 22-hour period sitting in a fake tree acting out her observation of the battle, which was projected onto the translucent screen while the camera filmed her witnessing the projected stop-motion battle.{{sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=216}} She was sore for days after the shoot. The same process was also used for the scene where sailors from the ''Venture'' kill a [[Stegosaurus]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-22 |title=King Kong {{!}} Giant Ape, Stop-Motion Animation, Adventure {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/King-Kong-film-1933? |access-date=2024-12-27 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> O'Brien and his special effects crew also devised a way to use rear projection in miniature sets.{{sfn|Rovin|1977|p=41}} A tiny screen was built into the miniature onto which live-action footage would then be projected.{{sfn|Harryhausen|1985|p=173}} A fan was used to prevent the footage that was projected from melting or catching fire. This miniature rear projection was used in the scene where Kong tries to grab Driscoll, who is hiding in a cave.  For the scene in which Kong places Ann in a tree, Wray acted out her sequences as Kong's sequences were projected in the rear.{{sfn|Harryhausen|1985|p=171}} She was unable to clearly see the projected images and had to act based on the blurs she saw.{{Sfn|Erb|2009|p=30}} Animation for the film was completed after 55 weeks.{{sfn|Harryhausen|Dalton|2008|p=84}}

Cooper, wishing to create a point of authenticity, insisted that Kong not be played by an actor in a [[gorilla suit]].<ref name=":6" /> Over the years, some media reports have alleged that in certain scenes Kong was played by an actor wearing a gorilla suit.<ref>{{cite news|title=Charlie Gemora, 58, had King Kong role|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C07E2D71239EE32A25753C2A96E9C946091D6CF|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 20, 1961|access-date=February 10, 2017|archive-date=March 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318035303/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/08/20/archives/charlie-gemora-58-had-king-kong-role.html|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Greene|first1=Bob|author-link1=Bob Greene|title=Saying so long to Mr. Kong|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1990/11/27/page/113/article/saying-so-long-to-mr-kong|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=November 27, 1990|access-date=December 24, 2016|archive-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221232727/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1990/11/27/page/113/article/saying-so-long-to-mr-kong/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, film historians have generally agreed that all scenes involving Kong were achieved with animated models.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glut |first1=Donald F. |url=https://archive.org/details/jurassicclassics00dona |title=Jurassic Classics: A Collection of Saurian Essays and Mesozoic Musings |publisher=McFarland |year=2001 |isbn=9780786462469 |location=Jefferson, NC |page=[https://archive.org/details/jurassicclassics00dona/page/192 192] |quote=Over the years, various actors have claimed to have played Kong in this [Empire State Building] scene, including a virtually unknown performer named [[Carmen Nigro]] (AKA Ken Roady), and also noted gorilla impersonator [[Charles Gemora]]... In Nigro's case, the claim seems to have been simply fraudulent, in Gemora's, the inaccurate claim was apparently based on the actor's memory of playing a giant ape in a never-completed ''King Kong'' spoof entitled ''The Lost Island.'' |author-link1=Donald F. Glut |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Glut |first1=Donald F. |title=King Kong Cometh! |date=2005 |publisher=Plexus |isbn=9780859653626 |editor1-last=Woods |editor1-first=Paul A. |location=London |page=64 |chapter=His Majesty, King Kong – IV |quote=Cooper denied any performance by an actor in a gorilla costume in King Kong... Perhaps a human actor was used in a bit of forgotten test footage before the film went into production, but thus far the matter remains a mystery. |author-link1=Donald F. Glut}}</ref> These models were about {{convert|14|to|18|in|cm|0}} in height.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brierton |first=Tom |title=Stop-Motion Puppet Sculpting: A Manual of foam Injection, Build-Up, and Finishing Techniques |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2004 |isbn=0-7864-1873-7 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina|page=22}}</ref>{{sfn|Von Gunden|1989|p=114}} They were made of metal armatures padded with cotton, latex, and rabbit fur.<ref>{{harvnb|Rovin|1977|p=31}}; {{harvnb|Von Gunden|1989|p=114}}; {{harvnb|Harryhausen|Dalton|2008|p=73}}</ref> The fur moved as the animators handled the models, becoming an unintentional feature of Kong. The models required maintenance after each day of filming.{{sfn|Harryhausen|Dalton|2008|p=73}} Closeups of Kong's face and upper body were accomplished by filming a full-size mechanical model of Kong's head and shoulders, designed by Delgado.{{Sfn|Rovin|1977|p=43}} The model, scaled to the dimensions of a fifty-foot creature, was covered with forty bearskins.{{Sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=227}} Six operators were required{{sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=227}} to manipulate the eyes and mouth to simulate a living monster.{{sfn|Harryhausen|1985|p=172}} A proportionally large arm and paw were also created for closeup shots of Kong holding Ann.{{sfn|Von Gunden|1989|p=114}} Dinosaur models were reused from O'Brien's aborted film project ''Creation.''{{Sfn|Archer|1993|p=14}} Production was completed in January 1933.{{Sfn|Erb|2009|p=28}} Production costs added up to $672,254.75, part of which included costs for ''Creation''.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Price |first=Michael |title=King Kong |url=https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/king%20kong.pdf |website=Library of Congress}}</ref>

===Sound effects and score===
[[Murray Spivack]] developed the sound effects for the film. Kong's roar was created by mixing the recorded vocals of [[lion]]s and [[tiger]]s and slowly playing them backward.<ref>{{harvnb|Dyson|1997|pp=36–37}}; {{harvnb|Von Gunden|1989|p=117}}</ref> Spivak himself provided Kong's "love grunts" by grunting into a megaphone and playing it at a slow speed. For Kong's footsteps, Spivak stomped across a gravel-filled box with plungers attached to his feet and wrapped in foam.{{sfn|Dyson|1997|p=37}} The sounds of Kong's chest beats are recordings of Spivak hitting his assistant, who had a microphone held to his back, on the chest with a drumstick.<ref>{{harvnb|Dyson|1997|p=37}}; {{harvnb|Von Gunden|1989|p=117}}</ref> Spivak created the hisses and croaks of the dinosaurs with an [[air compressor]] for the former and his own vocals for the latter.{{sfn|Von Gunden|1989|p=117}} The vocalizations of the Tyrannosaurus were additionally mixed in with [[cougar|puma]] growls.{{sfn|Von Gunden|1989|p=117}} Spivak also provided the screams of the various sailors.{{Sfn|Von Gunden|1989|p=117}} Fay Wray herself provided all of her character's screams in a single recording session.{{sfn|Morton|2005|pp=75–76}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Von Gunden, Kenneth|year=2001|title=Flights of Fancy: The Great Fantasy Films|publisher=McFarland|page=117|isbn=9780786412143}}</ref> Wray explained that afterward she "couldn't speak even in a whisper for days".{{Sfn|Cotta Vaz|2005|p=223}} Her screams have been used in other movies such as ''[[Son of Kong]]'' and ''[[Game of Death]]''.<ref name="tcm notes">{{Cite web |date=2019-12-16 |title=King Kong (1933) – Notes – TCM.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250122202220/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2690/king-kong/#notes |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2690/king-kong/#notes |access-date=2025-01-20|archive-date=22 January 2025}}</ref>

Even though funding for the film was nearly gone, Cooper and Schoedsack decided it needed an original score because they worried that Kong might be too unbelievable as a character and also did not want to use a generic soundtrack.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2020|p=100}}; {{harvnb|Slowik|2014|p=235}}; {{harvnb|Wierzbicki|2009|p=135}}</ref> They hired [[Max Steiner]] for the job.{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=100}} Steiner began composing the score on December 9, 1932, and completed it after eight weeks.{{sfn|Smith|2020|pp=101, 110}} The orchestra comprised 46 members, but upon recording sounded so full it is sometimes described as having 80 members.{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=110}} A 46-member orchestra was large compared to many other film orchestras of the time.{{Sfn|Slowik|2014|p=237}} According to Steiner, Cooper paid him $50,000 of his own money to pay for the orchestra.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2020|p=100}}; {{harvnb|Wierzbicki|2009|p=135}}; {{harvnb|Tatna|2020}}</ref>

Steiner decided to make the music, in his own words, "impressionistic and terrifying".{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=100}} During composition he took inspiration from [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]] and [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]], specifically for the music that was to play during the ocean scene when Denham and his crew travel to Skull Island.{{sfn|Smith|2020|pp=Smith 100–101}} During this scene "Boat in the Fog" begins to play; the harp reflects the waves and the stringed instruments reflect of the fog.{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=101}} Steiner also incorporated dissonance into the score for action scenes, such as when Kong falls to his death.{{sfn|Smith|2020|pp=100–101, 110}} Laurence MacDonald explains that this dissonance is also reflective of Debussy's compositions.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=244}} The ocean scene is the first instance in which music begins to play. This is because Steiner wanted an association between music and the film's fantasy elements.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2020|p=101}}; {{harvnb|Slowik|2014|pp=231, 233}}</ref> Music historian Michael Slowik suggests that such an association invokes a sense of the unfamiliar,{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=233}} also pointing out that music is connected to the audience's need to suspend belief.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=234}} Music does not play during Kong's fight with the T-rex and is replaced by animal sounds, making it the only Skull Island scene without music.{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=105}}{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=235}} Music plays in the later New York City scenes except for when the airplanes surround Kong.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|pp=232–233}} One of the techniques that Steiner often wrote into the score is called [[Mickey Mousing|mickey-mousing]]. MacDonald dubs it "perhaps the single most noteworthy aspect of Steiner's score".{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=239}} According to Slowik, the score includes more mickey-mousing than other film scores of its period.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=239}} He remarks that its "obsessive mickey-mousing"{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=264}} is reminiscent of the music that would play for a cartoon rather than for a Hollywood production.{{Sfn|Slowik|2014|p=240}} In one scene the chief of the island people walks toward Denham's group and the music aligns with his steps.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=239}} The score also reflects actions happening off-screen, such as when Kong walks toward the altar where Ann is to be offered to him. Formerly, this technique had been used for silent films.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=240}}

Slowik identifies three musical themes throughout the score: Kong's theme, Ann's theme, and the jungle theme.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=238}} Steiner took inspiration from [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] in creating Kong's theme.{{sfn|Smith|2020|pp=100-101}} Steiner used a method called [[chromaticism]] in Kong's theme, which comprises three descending notes.{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=102}} According to Peter Franklin, the other themes stem from the three-note sequence in Kong's theme.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=238}} "King Kong March", a [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]-style score played during Denham's show, is an adaptation of Kong's theme, though the notes ascend rather than descend.{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=106}} Ann's theme ("Stolen Love") is a Viennese waltz and begins with notes similar to those in Kong's theme.{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=103}} Steiner eventually combined both themes in one song just before Kong dies.{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=109}} Musician biographer [[Steven C. Smith (author)|Steven C. Smith]] identifies what he calls the "danger theme". It is written with four notes and is meant to sound "questioning". It first appears in "The Forgotten Island".{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=103}} Later, it is reworked into a major key when Driscoll confesses his love for Ann. Smith suggests that this points to what he calls "the perils of romance".{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=103}} Later in life Cooper expressed that "much of the reason for [''King Kong''<nowiki/>'s success] is because Maxie Steiner was able to create what no other man that I knew of in Hollywood at that time could".{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=114}} Steiner himself remarked that the film "was made for music".{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=100}}

Upon the film's release its score received little critical review, being overshadowed by the film's innovations in special effects.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2020|p=113}}; {{harvnb|Wierzbicki|2009|p=133}}</ref> However, it received more attention as the movie became more famous in the years that followed.{{sfn|Smith|2020|p=114}} [[Christopher Palmer]] wrote that the score "marked the real beginnings of Hollywood music".{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=230}} Mervyn Cooke adds that it "almost single-handedly marked the coming-of-age of nondiegetic film music".{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=230}} In his book ''After the Silents: Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926–1934,'' Slowik argues that ''King Kong''<nowiki/>'s score did not influence Hollywood film scores that many music scholars think it did. He suggests that, because the movie was unusual, the score was unable to introduce an alternate way to write film scores.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=249}} He also suggests that Steiner drew upon already-established patterns of Hollywood music.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|pp=2, 231}} He writes that rather than single-handedly shaping the [[Classical Hollywood cinema|Golden Age of Hollywood]] music, King Kong is just one film among others that helped shape it.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=263}} Slowik explains that the score features both "original and symphonic music", something that was not common in film scores of the time.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|p=236}} Portions of the score were reused in ''[[Double Harness]]'', ''[[The Last Days of Pompeii (1935 film)|The Last Days of Pompeii]]'', and ''[[The Last of the Mohicans (1936 film)|The Last of the Mohicans]]'', among others.{{sfn|Slowik|2014|pp=113–114}} The island music appears as an orchestra scene in Jackson's 2005 remake.{{sfn|Wierzbicki|2009|p=223}} Over the years, Steiner's score was recorded by multiple record labels and the original motion picture soundtrack has been issued on a compact disc.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/KingKong1933.htm| title = King Kong – 75th anniversary of the film and Max Steiner's great film score| access-date = March 2, 2019| archive-date = March 6, 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044804/http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/KingKong1933.htm| url-status = live}}</ref>